Help with "resuming" regularity after months long constipation..

[kar_ma]

Given my ridiculously low energy level, I have always wondered whether j have had CFS, but it has just not been bad enough to warrent testing and life has been soo demanding for the last few years. No time to take care of myself.

Which may be another reason why this happened besides my age, being female and having had 3 kids, etc. also, I began to put on a bunch of weight last winter and things slowed dow regularity wise. Then maybe it was after a month of antibiotics after a tick bite this summer that I began to notice that I'd be lucky to have a BM in a week and my usual flax fiber wasn't working at all, (which wasn't that great a surprise because it had become less and less effective) Sooo my instinct was to add more food to get things moving rather than the stool softeners that made me feel alternately sick or ready to explode I did terrible things like eating a half a jar of peanut butter, or 10 servings of prunes in a day or two. It probably just increased the size of my colon and added to any organ pressure that might be inhibiting movement. So yeah, I just kept getting fatter and felt more and more like there was an obstruction. Called the GI office, made an apt and the nurse told me to use miralax.

So the appt is day after tomorrow. I would rather avoid colonsoscopy & just have the fecal blood test done depending on what the doc says. As I've been looking for what may be causing these symptoms, I'm seeing all sorts of diagnostics that could take lots of time to go through. Time which I don't have. Id like to first rule out being able to solve this thing with probiotics, etc, because my theory is that I allowed myself to get into some very bad eating and bowel habits, for example, hardly eating all day and then binging at night,

I was thinking for example, that maybe I could reduce the miralax whilst starting with an easily digestible lower fiber diet, and supplements. Also, I've never had a problem digesting milk, but I drink a lot, especially with peanut butter! I've heard it can be very constipating. Would it be better to perhaps start on a diet that simply eliminates milk, if this is a common problem even when a person tolerates it well?

In the meantime dropping some weight, strengthening my pelvic floor and other muscles couldn't hurt.

Im really surprised at how terribly this has affected my quality of life these recent months and that is mainly why I am asking for help.

Before the miralax started working a week after I took 2 doses per day, I often felt like I was carrying around a fifty pound lead slug in my abdomen. It was uncomfortable, more limiting than the weight alone, and exhausting. I'm still a little uncomfortable. I feel like maybe I have some internal swollen hemorrhoids because there is a sensation of pressure in the rectum.

Thanks for reading.

Carolyn

 

[shaqun]

Dear Carolyn,
Nobody can understand without actual tests. There are several reasons behind constipation. The best option to find out is to see an expert gastroenterologist. However, I read your whole thread and I catched some life habits and things.

Why this happened besides my age, being female ? Then maybe it was after a month of antibiotics.

Constipation seen on female more than male due to several some reasons. Antibiotics are the number one constipation or diarrhea reason. Some people gets constipation, some gets diarrhea. Because it kills good bacteria in your intestines and if you dont eat probiotics and support your intestines, the bad bacteria over takes and it goes like that until you remove sugar from your life for 6 months, as bad bacteria feeds by sugar.

I allowed myself to get into some very bad eating and bowel habits, for example, hardly eating all day and then binging at night. I did terrible things like eating a half a jar of peanut butter.

If you dont eat in time and stay hungry all day, you will have constipation for sure and if you eat peanut butter on that time, you will have premium type constipation because peanut butter can cause constipation when eaten alone without any other food all day.

Would it be better to perhaps start on a diet that simply eliminates milk

The peanut butter can cause constipation and many peanut butter products have tons of sugar which supports bad bacteria.

Hemorrhoids can be detected by colonoscopy or rectal examination easily. The most reasons of hemorrhoids are constipation, straining, inactive life. But if it is not getting well, always keep in mind colonoscopy if your gastroenterologist requires it.

 

[Eastman]

I personally found magnesium citrate very helpful for constipation.

Constipation kicked off by antibiotics suggests dysbiosis. Nevertheless, don't ignore other possible causes, which may also be contributory factors. This article has a pretty comprehensive list of causes and treatments for chronic constipation.

 

[overtheedge]

I've had some serious long term constipation in the past, the first time it was absolutely terrible, years of having barely more than a movement a week, tried a lot of things but eventually came upon Betaine HCL and Digestive Enzymes which normalized my bowel movements within a few days, don't know which specifically is responsible. Betaine HCL is a strong acid meant to acidify the stomach, I only had to take one table with meals but some recommend more such as increasing the dose you take with meals till the dose induces burning and then reducing the dose to one less tablet than would cause the burning. Never take the stuff without food. If you don't notice any difference from taking Betaine HCL after a while it might be best to stop using it as your body may not need the acid and might be getting too much, again, the results were immediate for me, within days and definitely within less than a week I noticed a certain increase in bowel function.

My bowel funciton continued to improve over the course of several months after starting Betaine HCL and digestive enzymes until it was really working well and right around the time it started really functioning perfectly the CFS I had at the time went away, it might well have stayed away too if i hadn't immediately jumped into working long hours under very stressful conditions for nonstop immediately after getting back to wellness.

The second time i developed severe consipation was when this most recent CFS hit me a few years ago, started only having one movement every three days, tried the betaine hcl and enzymes again with no results, after some months i tried DGL which is a form of licorice, immediately my bowel movements increased to one per day. I took DGL for around 9 months then stopped to see what would happen, turns out it permanently fixed the problem so I no longer need to take the DGL.

I should mention that I still take digestive enzymes, don't notice any overt effect from it but I see results on the stool test I take every now and then, the chymotrypsin levels were low but normalized as i increased the dosage of digestive enzymes from one to eventually two with each meal.

I think the constipation and the CFS or the state that allowed CFS came about as a result of stimulants I took as a child for hyperactivity, I wouldn't have movements on days where I took the drugs nor would I have an appetite during the day, I also had to deal with insomnia, paranoia, and fatigue on the days where the meds were used but being a kid I never put 2 and 2 together.