Looking for a relatively safe laxative

Im dealing with severe colonic inertia. My stomach works fine, but my small and large intestine are essentially paralyzed. To manage it i am on a low fiber diet and do water enemas.

However half the time the enemas don't work as the stools get jammed up in the small intestine. Fiber is the literal devil and could probably kill me.

Im organising a fecal transplant to try as this problem started from dental antibiotics.

In the meantime id like to find a safe and reliable oral laxative to take 3x a week. Ive tried OTC senna and it works once then quits. Castor oil works but its a purge.

Many recommend intestinal formula #1 but i cannot get it in Australia.

Miralax is not safe and can cause permanent neurological damage.

Ducolax is one im looking at but im not sure of its safety. I preferably want something herbal.

Any advice is much appreciated. The frequent enemas seem to strip my mucosal Layer (tons of black ropey stuff comes out) which caused some irritation. So id prefer a laxative.

Regards

 

Many people recommend magnesium citrate but I've just used plain Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) daily for the last 20 years. You can take it just once or twice weekly at 3 tsp (15 grams) per dose for colonic inertia. Cayenne pepper capsules can stimulate bowel motility too.

What's in the enemas you are using, it's probably loaded with insoluble fibre which scours the wall of the colon so then you produce more lubricating mucus which comes out of the bowel looking like the black ropey stuff you mention.

 

magensium citrate worked for me. But it eventually stopped. Then one day i took a very large dose and ended up with crippling anxiety. Ever since that day i cannot take magnesium. Makes me feel terrible. My teeth at the time also dramatically got worse so i suspect i caused some sort of cal/mag imbalance.

The enemas i do are just 1L water, or chammomile tea. I was doing coffee enemas for a while and they worked great, but frequent use seem to irritate my colon, no matter whats in the enema. When i started like i said huge amounts of black mucous was coming out.

I read on the web that enemas can strip the mucosal layer exposing a bare layer, which can cause some irritation.

Its not severe pain or anything, it just feels like an irritated scab. I ordered some aloe vera juice to try, as i have seen people recommend it as a retention enema.

Good to hear epsom salts help you.. I have never tried them. I tried all types of magnesium and they all give me sevre anxiety so i guess epsom would do it too.

I already drink straight cayenne pepper all day. Doesnt really help. Im a tough case.

I have vancomycin and rifaxamin on hand, im just waiting for my FMT donor to do blood tests. He has done PCR stool tests and hes passed them. The goal scenario would be for the constipation to be in remission on the ABX, then the FMT after to maintain it. I had remission in 2015 from very high doses of berberine and other herbs, which leads me to beleive some bacteria is damaging the nerves in my colon

 

Bowel motility, in fact, all GI motility can be impaired if there is insufficient blood flow to the bowel through the mesentery artery network so you could try a nitric oxide boosting supplement like citrulline or arginine (or NO2 Black that's mentioned here http://forums.phoenixrising.me/inde...since-starting-nitric-oxide-supplement.43761/) to see if the increase in vasodilation from them helps with colonic motility.

 

I had lost most of my peristalis of my intestines at one point so was doing daily strong enemas (glycerin ones didnt work on me) till i saw a bowel specialist in regards to my severe constipation issues (I couldnt go at all without any treatment of some kind).

Due to my issues with carbs so I couldnt have any laxatives with sugar in it or anything with artifical sweeteners and things like senna even at massive doses didnt work at all for me (nothing natural eg licorice, prunes etc helped me)

He put me onto Epsom salts. Just make sure they are food grade (they will say on them if they are) as many of the brands are not food grade and only supposed to be used as bath salts (they are a bit harsh on the system and can cause anal burning but they work real well). Any form of laxatives can be bad on the body if used long term as can cause reliance, but the epsom did help my body actually heal (my bowel had prolapsed due to my constipation so making my issue worst).

 

Are you talking about constipation, gastroparesis, or some other bowel disorder?

If you need to take a laxative two to three times a week, it might be a good idea to see a GI specialist. Taking too many laxatives can actually cause gastroparesis.

There could be many reasons for your symptoms and sometimes one condition can mimic another. This makes it important to see someone who is knowledgeable about GI issues. Continued gastroparesis or for that matter any intestinal problems can have dire health outcomes if untreated.

Here are some resources. Good luck!

http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/digestive-diseases-constipation

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gastroparesis/basics/definition/con-20023971

Thank you! I did not know this and it's important information.

I did take Epson salts for the first time several weeks ago as I just couldn't make it to the store and I happened to have some at home. It was vile tasting, even with juice but it did the trick. I'd hope people would read the directions but if someone is familiar with the dosage this could easily be overlooked. .

 

Long term problem for me, most likely SIBO. My solution lately has been 10 to 12 oz of prune juice
right before bed. Only works for me every other night, so I skip, and take it accordingly. I keep waiting for it to stop working, as most everything else has, but for 6 months success.

 

High doses of vitamin C powder are well known to have a laxative effect. For me, more than around 8 grams in one day triggers diarrhea. So my bowel tolerance for vitamin C is around 8 grams, and higher than that I get a laxative effect. For others they may have to up to say 15 grams a day to reach the bowel tolerance threshold, and get the laxative effect.

I may have a lower bowel tolerance to vitamin C, due to having IBS-D.

Vitamin C powder can be bought online for around $20 per kg.



Constipation can be a symptom of chronic enterovirus infections (see: Enterovirus Foundation).

 

This is problem my wife has been facing for a couple of years, she has a Coxsakie viral infection in the muscles of the wall of her small bowel and is dealing with ongoing and progressive reduced motility. She has tried a number of prescription drugs for motility but none have been more effective for her than the herbal options. It is important to look for solutions to small bowel motility and not just colon constipation, enemas are not really effective in the small bowel.

The best herbal treatment we have found is Triphala, this is an ayurvedic medicine that is a collection of three herbs that has been very effective for her in increasing general bowel motility. Triphala is available from health stores in the US in capsule form or from Amazon in bulk powder form- the traditional protocol is to make a tea from the powder and to drink both the tea and the "sludge" remaining in the cup. She takes two of the capsules daily and has for over a year with no noticeable side affects.

So far we have been able to get results from using the capsules only but I can see the day coming when she will have to move on to the "tea" protocol. Traditional ayurvedic medicine indicates that daily use of Triphala is approved of and in some texts it is encouraged so we have not been concerned about ongoing use but as with most things the best plan is to not get sick- after you get sick everything is a compromise.

 

I have diarrhea-predominant IBS, which would appear to involve the opposite problem of too much gut transit and motility:

But in any case, I also find the triphala herbal formula an effective treatment for my IBS. Interestingly, two of the three herbs found in triphala are antiviral for coxsackievirus B:

Emblica officinalis (Phyllanthus emblica, amla) root potent antiviral for CVB3. Refs: 1 2
Terminalia chebula (haritaki, He Zi) antiviral for CVB3 and CVB5. Ref: 1

For other coxsackievirus B antiviral herbs and drugs, see here.

 

As you may have noticed I'm new here but I've followed and used this resource for years, once I get over my "probation" I have several ideas and experiences to post concerning herbal antivirals for enteroviruses.

In regards to the IBS-D vs IBS-C, I have found many of the traditional herbal treatments to fall into the "adaptogen" category where they can just "fix what ails you". I suspect this has to do with the combining of various herbs and the resulting concoction being used for "general tummy problems". This combining of herbs allows for more flexibility in diagnosis, more emphasis on whats wrong and less on why.

 

There seems to be confusion around here with terminology.

Gastroparesis = stomach is paralyzed and not emptying

Colonic intertia = everything works except the colon

 

Is cayyenne pepper capsules the same as eating it?

If i eat a large amount of raw chillis my IBS-C turns into very loose burning stools, which i prefer ha ha....

I read taking it in a capsule shocks the body as it is not prepared. Would it in a capsule work better?

 

If you can handle it in your diet I think that would be the better way to go, it all depends on how sensitive your stomach is and whether or not you have a stomach motility problem to contend with too.

I made up my own capsules from a packet of cayenne pepper I bought at the supermarket but if I didn't have an upper motility problem, I would choose to add it to food instead.

 

Ok thank you.

I think i also have small intestinal motility issue. I tend to get much worse with fiber too. I have been managing IBS-C with enemas and sometimes sennasoft.

I tried triphala once but it didn't work. How long does it usually take to work?

My SIBO keeps coming back. Maybe if i maintained motility with the peppers i can finally beat it. I read on another forum people curing "colonic inertia" like douglasmich has with cayenne pepper. But they were taking a few 500mg capsules. I am eating at least 5 grams

 

For best result, take some form of magnesium to draw water into the bowel to soften the stool and the cayenne capsules to promote bowel motility.
I only actually tried the cayenne capsules once. I'm not a good guide to go by as I have a very sensitive and screwed up system, one capsule had me running to the toilet after about 40 minutes and I kept on going about every other hour for nearly 24 hours.

Some suggest an elemental diet for 2 weeks to starve out SIBO
http://www.siboinfo.com/uploads/5/4/8/4/5484269/homemade_elemental_diet_options.pdf

 

Wow I heard Triphala is great for stopping PPI . Which are Proton Pump Inhibitors.

I am going to try the Triphala slowly as my stomach does not empty fast enough sometimes from the PPI I need to take as I have Gastrtis and a small Hernia.

Since having my Gallbladder removed 2 years ago, I have been ill off and on.
I am fearful of going off the PPI , but fear staying on them forever is not good but neither is Acid Reflux.

Triphala Is also suppose to help empty the bowels naturally. On amazon many take it and the revews are great.
I will wait to take my Triphala. Bought the Powder so I can take small amounts.

I am new here Thank you for all your great information.

 

You could try eating prunes...................;
http://www.chatelaine.com/health/di...-prunes-and-five-reasons-to-eat-more-of-them/

 

We are going through a "flare up" and need to move up to the Triphala tea from the capsules and I'm trying a new method of brewing the tea. I'm using a principle known as Microwave Assisted Extraction to accelerate and improve the brewing process.

The new method is to place the dry powdered herbs in a glass cup and just wet them with water until they form a soft paste, then microwave for a short time at a low power (I'm still working out what settings to use on our microwave but it's about 30 sec. at 30% power). The principle is that the microwaves will burst the cell walls of the herbs and allow the "good stuff" to be extracted faster.

After microwaving the paste I add boiling water and then let it cool to a drinkable temperature, I'm not sure how to evaluate the results but it seems to make a stronger tea more rapidly.

 

Are you taking any medications at moment which could cause this as side effect? I get severe colonic inertia / constipation as side effect from over half of the medications I've tried, some of which even don't have that side effect mentioned on their label. I've also got it from antibiotics if I stick to them for over a few weeks, but luckily that has always been reversible for me with probiotics.

I've used lactulose to treat it, it's not as powerful as some other medications, but is safe and doesn't cause dependence long-term