My wife with MS goes 6 sometimes 7 days between bowel movements. Any suggestions on how to correct this. She does take a daily stool softener and has tried by the clock but just doesn’t get the signal. Thank you for your help.
irregularity: My wife with MS goes... - My MSAA Community
irregularity
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152114randal
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Hi & welcome I go thru this too I take a stool softener 2 times a day by Drs. advice & I also drink plenty of water I try to eat a good diet lots of ruffagousy, fruit , veggies & soup beans! Hope this helps
thank you Kycmary maybe she should take an additional stool softener. She does take miralax but not daily. For years I have been taking 2 table spoons of flaxseed twice a week and I am very regular but she would rather not inject seeds.
Personally, I take one Tablespoon of Metamucil (sugar free) daily. It keeps me "regular." It really helps to lower my cholesterol (about 10%) naturally.
thank you DM that is something we haven’t tried yet.
I also take Metamucil. It’s a drink but chugging it helps 🙂
I think it’s worth a try for her
sure it’s worth a try. Thank you
your welcome
You can buy this tea in the grocery store. If needed I make a cup of tea and drink before bed, then in morning works. I get no cramping from this product.
Tea
I also used to be like your wife. Then I started Aubagio. Since the side effect could be diarrhea, it made me regular. One bright spot to taking a DMT. 😁
I don't need senna, but I've been using other Traditional Medicinals teas for a number of years now, and they seem to be quality, reliable products from a trustworthy company. I get mine off the shelf at Walmart, but they also have a website and are available on Amazon.
Do you use the teas for other things
Herbal Cold Care and Throat Coat at the start of colds or flu symptoms and Dandelion for urinary issues. I haven't tried theirs, but I use other brands of nettle, turmeric, and chamomile when needed.
I've seen the teas for those things but haven't tried
Dandelion for what kind of urinary issues? Incontinence or Utis? I have both
Dandelion at the first stage of a UTI. If I didn't catch it in time, I switch to cranberry. If I could find a cure for incontinence I'd be an overnight millionaire! 😆
that’s for sure
thank you Humbrd we are going to try it, and thanks for the picture, very helpful.
I hope it helps. Not good to keep toxins in you body for long periods.
hi DM, i've been having this symptom for a while. I started eating prunes and drinking prune juice. surprisingly works well. my grandmother was right. thanks for bringing up this difficult topic.
Thais Sandydemop, we tried prunes and prune juice but not together. We’ll give this a try.
do your research and get back to us, ok?
Fancy59CommunityAmbassador
Hello concerned husband Randall it's good to hear that you're looking for ways to help your wife out. Some of what she is experiencing I'm certain is a female thing that often happens to women. I don't know if it's a hormonal thing but as with most of our bodies as women it is normally related to our hormones and how much they fluctuate every month. Both my mother and I suffered from the exact same thing. I'm believed she lived within her entire 93 years. I myself I sought out options to relieve the rhythmatic discomfort I had for the 1st 40 years of my life. First, I used a fiber additive to my drinks. It worked by adding fiber to my drinks 3 times a day. You can buy the kind that is tasteless and have no calories added to it. You can add it to plain water and honestly you can't taste it at all. Then try to drink additional water to help the fiber do its job. Ot enncouraged me to drink more so that was a 2 fold success story. You can purchase any type of fiber at your big Box stores or get the fancy fibers that cost twice as much but they all do the same thing. But for the last decade I've gone to a very natural solution and that is I eat prunes every day with my breakfast. If I eat simply 10 or 12 prunes A-day and then make sure I drink at least 3 to 5 glasses of water A-day plus take a stool softener in the morning I usually go at least every other day. That is a huge success for me. Still occasionally I will go 3 or 4 days without having a bowel movement then I make sure I eat a few extra prunes and drink more water and that usually does the trick. I hope one of these suggestions will help. Please follow up and let us know if she finds relief in what works. Fancy59.
fancy59 thank you for your detailed and thoughtful reply. I’m so glad you found something that works for you. We both appreciate your taking the time to try to help us.
thank you Fancy, i appreciate you sharing your regimen. i tried senna but it didn't work by itself. maybe i have to try that with the other non medication methods to get the full effect.
I take calcium with magnesium and zinc softgels (1000mg) daily (at least 2 at bedtime) fyi i'm 5'4 99lbs.) sometimes I take 3, if have not gone in a few days.
I’m a retired nurse practitioner and often times recommended miralax, a gentle laxative powder that is tasteless. If that doesn’t work, I would recommend Senekot S. It’s a stool softener with senna (a natural laxative)
Vinagirl, both my wife and I are so grateful to nurses. Over the years So many of you have been helpful and kind to us. My wife has been taking miralax and it stopped working. Starting tomorrow we will try Senekot S. Thank you for the suggestion and thank you for your service. We wish you a long and happy retirement.
hi 152114randal. After reading your more recent responses, I’m sure opioids are the culprit. Yakima fruit paste is well known to be the best and safest treatment patient-education.seattlecc...
thank you Vinagirl
it could be that her stool is “too soft” that it won’t pass along inside. She should take stool softener every 2-3 days. Also “green vibrant” supplement powder helps that, too.
Does your wife take any opioids? They can cause big problems for the bowels.
Amore, yes she does. A very small dose for pudental nerve pain and we both feel that is the culprit. Thanks for responding hope every thing is good with you.
I am going to private message you.
see a gastroenterologist for treatment if the infrequent BM’s are distressing for her. There are many possible interventions. Currently, prescription Linzess works well for me.
writing down prescription linzess as a possibility. Thank you.
believe me…I’ve tried all listed already + others and this + plant based diet are magic for me 😊
thank you erase glad it works for you
I had tried all the over the counter options and eventually they stopped working. I also can go a week without a bowel movement. My doctor prescribed Linzess. You can play with the dosage and see what works best for your wife . I take it in the morning and it typically works before lunchtime.
thank you somebeach. Wishing you a “regular “ spring and summer.
I put 1/4 cup all bran on my yogurt, take a Metamucil capsule every morning, drink a lot of water, eat as kycmary advises, and occasionally take a tablespoon of mineral oil when I go to bed.. Your wife must be very uncomfortable. I'm so sorry. What does her doctor suggest?
you do a lot goatgal but if it works , it works and well worth the efforts. Haven’t mentioned it to the doctor yet. She has her six month appointment coming upappointment. Thank you.
Mirolax is poison. Sorry, it works but it is.
Try Dulcolax tablets, magnesium citrate pills or powder, castor oil pills and sennekot tablets. There are also Triphala tablets an Indian herbal mix supplement that can work miracles. All available on Amazon.
I once went 12 days🙃
Was about to go to the hospital that time.
My doctor said gotta go at least twice a week or see a GI doctor.
palomino27 12 days would scare the “bleep” out of me. I haven’t heard about castor oil since I was a kid back in the dark age. I’m curious enough to see if it’s on the shelves even in pill form. Thank you.
Yeah it finally scared the Sh*t outta me lol. A double dose of castor oil pills finally did it. It does come in pill form.
I am a nurse and when I worked inpatient we would give patients warm prune juice and it would help. I work outpatient now with cancer patients and constipation is a common problem. We recommend Senokot-S or plain Senna, which can be increased until you get results. Probably start with 1 twice a day and increase from there. Other recommendations are Magnesium supplements, plenty of water, exercise, as well as raw fruits and vegetables.
I have always been on the slow side my entire life. I know my body likes 2-3 liters of water a day. They used to tell everyone 8 glasses a day (that equals 2 liters) but realized it varies from person to person. Try increasing water intake by a couple glasses
Good luck!
As I previously stated we have such love and admiration for nurses. You guys are truly doing Gods work. We never met a nurse we didn’t like. Senokot S has been mentioned a couple of times. That’s a lot of water you drink. I think my wife is up to 4 glasses and struggling. Putting magnesium on the list. Thank you ehrogers. Do you notice the moments of joy on your patients face when you walk in the room?
.
Nursing is a very rewarding job!
Thanks
to everybody who responded, I think we have enough information for my wife to become regular. Me? I take flaxseed regularly and no problems but didn’t really work for my wife. We are all different.
it’s been a lifelong problem for me. Recently I’ve been eating prunes everyday, apple cider helps me, I also started taking a probiotic and drinking some kombucha.
thank you Ethyrum. Hope you are getting relief.
Good morning, I had this problem after chemotherapy for throat cancer ♋️. My doctor prescribed Movantik 25 mg. one every morning. After about 3-4 days I began to become regular 👍🏼 After about 2years my system started up on its own and for the last 4 years I haven’t had to take it. Pain pills differently affect your movements, when I had surgery and was taking pain pills it started again so I did Movantik again and became regular and was able to stop them later. Fiber also helps with irritability 👍🏼 I take 20 grams of fiber daily and also seems to help. Works for me 👍🏼🙏😉
sounds like a rough period you went through. Hope every thing is going the way your constipation went. Writing down Movantik 25 mg. Thank you for responding.
I also use the smooth move tea, drink lots of water and unsweetened home made ice tea. Also use 2 tbls of Chia seeds. Really helps with constipation
The doctor recommended Lactose. You will have to ask the pharmacist for it, it's not on the shelf.
thank you. We are both a little afraid of ingesting seeds
thank you Ibenmaor glad it helps you. It was good for my wife for a couple of years and then stop working at all.
bowel problems resolved once I started taking 400mg of Magnesium daily. Bonus is it also helps with muscle cramping/spacicity
I take bisglycinate. Other forms don’t work as well.
what type of magnesium do you take?
I have tried several. brands. It’s hard to find the bisglycinate in stock. . I currently am taking country life, chelated, magnesium glycinate for this reason. I find it’s equivalent. The pills are quite large so if you have difficulty with that, I would recommend a powder form that you would mix in water and drink.
Goldilocks I'll have to try magnesium since I have Spacicity problems. I hope it works and it's sure worth a shot. Fancy59.
thank you Goldy. Glad you also have the bonus. We are going to look into this.
I did the average 1 week +/- routine for years with M.S. keeping it from becoming a problem by eating lots of fruits, veggies, and dinner sized salads. I could easily loose up to 5 lbs in one sitting! You need a really good toilet and a really good plunger ready and right there. I got plumbers grade tools to keep the best toilet in the house working! But, although I tried once or twice the Miralax thing my wife has done for years, I kind of liked not having to worry about taking time to loose my "exces weight". But I had an appendectomy recently, and the 7 days of fever associated with that, turned my stools to steel, clanging so loud I thought I was going to break the toilet. So, I succumb to the Miralx (actually the cheaper version Laxaclear). Works great. Now I am spending much more time reading in the bathroom! And seldom need the plunger. Just beware, you may have to skip a few mornings of the magic potion in your morning juice. You will know when to. Luckily it's still winter and I'm really not that busy, so I can afford a daily routine with a quick read in my library. Magnesium, I have taken the recommended daily dose for years about an hour or two b4 bed to stop the RLS. Works great for the RLS. Did nothing as it is supposed to for the BM's. Nor the cups of caffinated coffee all day. And I get more than average fiber from lots of fruits and veggies. The Miralax/Laxaclear is a game changer however for me. Don't miss all the plunging and toilet rodding, even though there is now a sitting appointment neded every day!
i wouldn't hazard a guess about her functioning, though i know ms can affect our bowels. i also know our meds can cause constipation. i was told to take stool softeners... and they did nothing. i ended up getting a prescription for relistor tablets and that did the trick. no matter its cause, i would discuss it with either her neuro, pain doctor or primary care doctor.
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