SLOW BOWEL TRANSIT

[basten]

Hi I have severe slow bowel transit time and have to take 6 laxatives a day, then all i get is diarrhoea. Tbe consultant hasnt been much help re food. I also have to do comonic irrigation. Is anyone in tbe same boat? Can you advise what foods help and what to avoid. Fibre makes it worse. I've tried everything. I'm 69 female. Thank you

[sst567]

What kind of laxatives and fiber are you using? I'm in a bit of the same boat. I am starting to feel that I have a blockage of some sort. I became so desperate that I got over the 'ewww' factor and used an enema, which had never occurred to me to do before I did some online research. It was a help but only partial.

[basten in reply to sst567]

Hi well I take an osmotic laxative usually called Movicol. 4 a day even shift nothing so if I take 8 for 2 days, it will work but causes diarrhoea and I get lots of gas. I have been using self colonic irrigation for a year now and sometimes it works(,again diaerrohea) sometimes hardly anything comes out. I have learnt that fibre makes slow transit even worse. It just adds more bulk and will make it harder to shift. So I'm trying a new approach and avoiding high fibre foods. I read an article in the UK here of a lady who had slow transit and she said low fibre. I think some veg are ok but I'm going to cut back on insoluble fibrous ones. I often feel like you that I have a complete blockage when nothing shifts. I'm also on certain meds. for other things and they cause constipation, so for me it is a no win situation. Another lady in Australia, when she feels blocked will only eat a kiwi for breakfast, a child's salad or tofu for lunch and a few veg p.m. Or like me she'll take about 8 laxatives over 2 days. It does shift some. However osmotic laxatives draw water to the stool, so my GP has given me magnesium hydroxide liquid up to 20 mills a day. It's all trial and error a d it does get me down when I can't go..it makes me feel clogged up. My consultant told me to continue with the colonic irrigation everyday although I admit there are days I don't do it!!! If I don't take anything I've been 2 weeks and never a poop in sight. So try fruit and veg but not too much fibre as in bread, pasta, cereal etc. If I eat bread, cake, biscuit, scone, pasta it takes ages for anything to come out. Stressing will make it worse. My consultant discharged me back to my GP, which upset me as I feel he should have offered me a 6 month follow up. He really was very unsympathic. Coffee is supposed to help shift too so I've read. My irrigation is a proper kit I got on the NHS via a proper supplier with pump, water bag etc. It's disheartening I know but I'm going to try low fibre. It just bulls everything up more so my bowels struggle even more to shift it. I DO have porridge in the mornings but still nothing. Suppositories have helped at odd times. And exercise is supposed to help of course although right now I've hardly been for 5 days so I'm due another couple of days of 8 Movicol per day. I've been grateful for the advice I've had off this site as I felt so alone with my problem. Eggs bind me up too. Best of luck. Let me know how it goes and what seems to work for you. Linda

[sst567 in reply to basten]

I will share a little of my story, maybe different but then again maybe not so different. I feel that maybe we all on here have parasites of one form or another. Doctors, in the US at least, either don't believe it and/or simply don't know enough about testing and treating for these things.

I hope this isn't all TMI....

For me it's been a cycle of diarrhea (for lack of a better word--just plain weird stuff, quite often) and constipation. Gabapentin, which has basically saved me in more ways than this, is however causing the constipation to become the main problem. Thankfully, I now can function well enough to possibly heal myself! I could hardly be away from a toilet some days. But, it was like I was still full inside and whatever was coming out nonstop was just going around something else that's blocking most of me up......The end plan is quit the pharmaceuticals. I'm convinced all the antibiotics I've been on in my life are the main culprit behind it all.

So...even though sitting on the toilet endlessly is better than having to RUN to it, it sucks bad. I'm trying to focus on natural solutions as another 'pill' will just bring another set of problems, ugh.

The first time when it was so bad this go round I can't even remember what all I tried, but I do know that after finally drinking like half a bottle of mineral oil (which I have since realized probably isn't as natural as it sounds) I was able to evacuate SOMEthing. And it frankly scared me. Research research and come to find out this is happening to people all around in so called civilized countries.

Besides trying to eat a lot of salads and taking a good flaxseed oil supplement, since then I've found a few other things that are a good help in desperate times; Castor oil, a little epsom salt in a glass of water (both taste *awful), coffee enema and apple cider vinegar, water, and lemon juice enema. Sometimes just soaking in a good epsom salt bath for awhile will get things moving as well.

I'm pretty new at this venture. I hope my thoughts and experience may help someone and I'm still looking for help myself. Fixing what I have actually begun to hope is the main problem (!) crazy, right!, and all that goes with it is quite a project and still in progress. Long reply, sorry! Maybe I can just write this stuff once somewhere, I'm new at this!

I wish you well, Steph

[basten in reply to sst567]

Hi well you certainly tried a lot. I know if my daughter eats to much salad she get diarrhoea. I'm going to cut back on for for a day or so as I'm so backed up. I really sometimes just don't know what to eat anymore. As you say it feels like something is by passing stools still left.yes medications are a big problem. I don't sleep well and have oesophagitis and gastritis and horrendous pain on eating. Waiting for results of a test I had done so it's all of my digestive system. I'll try some Epsom salts and a bath too. The very best of luck. Thanks for sharing

[basten in reply to sst567]

P.s. I did go to the hospital via My GP and I had to swallow about 3 capsules over 3 days then x-ray after that and they told me I had slow bowel transit. But some people can of course just go once in say 3 days which doesn't always mean I think that they definitely have my condition. I hope you've been to your GP about it.

[SlowT1]

Hi Basten

I have slow transit too. I’ve tried high fibre and low fibre diets. I avoid porridge and chia seeds as I think they set like concrete! Sweet potatoes seem to help me with BM but they cause me to bloat even more than normal but might be worth a try to see if you can tolerate them.

The best advice I had from bio feedback was to eat breakfast first thing, have a cup of coffee and then sit on the loo 30 mins later. Also to have a brisk 30 min walk everyday.

That said, I don’t have BM without laxatives. I’m now trying dulcolax liquid. This helps me to go but causes diarrhoea, stomach pain and repeat visits to the loo, so not ideal.

X

[basten in reply to SlowT1]

Hello thank you I don't feel quite so alone with this problem on here. I've tried all sorts and my GP has told me to add 2 more laxatives. But when I go, like you it's diarrhoea. I'll try what you said 're coffee. I DO walk my dog in the mornings. I've also been having to use self colonic irrigation and am fed up with it all now. Thank you for replying. Regards Linda