constipation and pbc

[dm1360]

and urso , help my bum is soooo sore from trying to go to the loo, is it the meds. I ate 20 prunes yesterday and at 5 am success, if that's what you call it. went to the dr today to ask if he could give me some thing , anything to reduce my loo hours.. you guessed it prunes. he said because its a specialist disease and he hadn't seen a pbc er in 2 yrs I could have my annual thyroid tests and a full blood count plus a lft, and he would give them to my specialist. at least he knew some things about how the bile system works and about the condition itself. I can deal with the hair thinning, the crazy itch and the rest of it , but not the , constipation, I sit there and think ive had 5 kids and I cant even do a bodily function lol, so any suggestions would be great, not a good subject ,but I am desperate

[Mcinnel2]

Hi my dr put me on methylcellulose tablets which did help. Drs try and make you have the powder form but I insisted in tablets and they do work. Take care and your much braver than me eating prunes.

[June9961]

Hi. I could have the prunes and they wouldnt work lol. I now go with the flow and go every two or three days. Means I have to put up with bloating and when I finally need to go, I really need to go, if you know what I mean. I did get movical from my dr but I didnt take it because I feel I take enough drugs as it is.

[florrie505]

hiya,

My Doc gave me lactulose and I drank it like water as I was so desperate. Thank god it has not happened too often, but when it does I feel absolutely helpless and distraught and would try almost anything. I admire you for trying that many prunes as I hate them with a passion. I changed my eating habits and drank at least 2 litres of water and have at least an orange or glass of orange juice and it did the trick. Well done for persevering with this as it will surely pass xxx

[Hidden]

Hello dm130.

I had never had constipation prior to starting urso Dec 2010 but for me too this has been something that I have. I know it is the urso.

I still eat wholegrains, fibrous foods, etc like I used to prior to diagnose but find they don't seem to be the same as in I am regular like I used to do. Some people go naturally every couple days, some more but I think yourself you know when you feel you should.

I am on the go all day and moving about I think keeps the system chugging. I also think you need to drink more fluid. I buy red tea that I tend to drink from afternoon onwards as it's caffeine free. It's apparently rehydrating as opposed to dehydrating that standard tea and coffee can cause.

Ive never done the old prune trick, not certain that is really the answer myself. I tend to wash potatoes and leave the skin on for cooking but I particularly like jacket potatoes. I eat bananas a lot actually as well as nuts and raisins too.

If I have instant porridge like our Ready Brek or the supermarket equivalent then I tend to throw some oat bran into it as that adds more fibre.

One thing I've tried not to become with this constipation at times is not to really worry about it due to the fact that I think you can start to feel worse. I've not taken any over-the-counter preparations either or doctor's script for this either and hope not to do so. (I only take urso.)

In the past year I've been experimenting myself with milk thistle. Started late last year after I had the 2nd slight climb in the bloods. I took milk thistle for the month prior to going for the bloods and got a really good result. I then stopped and had a slight climb again so took it back up. I noticed about 4 months ago that since taking milk thistle regularly my motions had become almost like normal again and not sure if the addition of milk thistle had something to do with it but I suspect it did. I then did think I was going the other way, too loose, so I now take the milk thistle every other day and I do feel normal. Don't know if this is for everyone as it's my experience, if in doubt as it's said, speak to a medical practitioner.

[dm1360]

A Big Thankyou to every one reguarding the constipation issue..once again nice to know others may feel the same,it was a hard subject to write about,and I really am grate ful for the replies, I will keep eating the prunes and I gave up on bread products about 4 yrs ago because of the same thing, so I eat spinach wraps and have a lapse every 6 mths of fish and chips,i know my body doesn't like it , but I figure we have to spoil ourselves some times lol..crazy as it seems I am at peace with my illness the good the bad and ugly, I just have to be able to poo lol

[Lexi_Img]

I thought I was the alone with the prunes. Thanks it does work. I drink my prunes it sure does work. Thanks dm1360.

Lexi-imgxx

[Hidden]

Yuck to the prunes, I was told to take senokot but they taste horrible to I take another brand that was recommended by the chemist ( Dulcolax ), he knows I have PBC I also take andrews every now and again but have to be careful as i could drink it like pop as it gives me a zing.

Other than that I eat what I want if it doesn't upset me

[Val02]

I use lactulose, 10ml a day and that does the trick most of the time. I think sluggish digestion with PBC is common.

[Soos125]

My consultant prescribed Fybogel (Ispaghula Husk) twice a day, which I now get on prescription from my GP as it works out cheaper.

I find this helps 'keep me regular' as opposed to swinging from one extreme to the other as I was previously

Sue xx

[Pooche]

Movicol and sennokot is my remedy! Plus apple juice!

[Hidden]

its good to hear (although I wouldn't wish it on anyone ), that others do suffer from this. I have had trouble before diagnosis but after starting on meds I could cry. sat on toilet for an hour at a time for three days in a row before eventually parting, I sobbed everytime. I wish you well and everyone else xx

[mumofthree]

Hi dm1360

My father also used to take prunes but in drink form mixed with hot water which worked wonders for him. My mother swears by liquorish. I on the other hand suffer with the opposite.

[littlemo]

Hi there all I too suffer from constipation despite the fact that I am not on Urso and generally eat a high fibre diet and drink at least one to two litres of water a day and am on the move a lot with working part-time, doing housework and running around after a 6yr old, a 17yr old not to mention the other half! Eating porridge in the morning sometimes with a few prunes thrown on the top used to work a treat but lately I have had to resort to Lactulose 20mls daily otherwise I get extremely bloated and like a few others have to spend way too much time on the loo! As the saying goes Life is too short to have to spend all that time trying to do what is fundamental usually(!) an easy bodily fuction! Good luck to us all and our intestines!Lol!

[WendyMarie]

Both my gastro doctors in Germany & USA told me to take, Poly Ethylene Glycol & it works great! It's safe, non-addictive, & very gentle. You can now buy it over the counter & take it the rest of your life without any harm.

[Hidden]

This compound is also used as a filler in a lot of tablets. This filler was in my original urso (Urdox 300mg) that I started on Dec 2010 at diagnose but since they were recalled July, my current ones Ursogal 150mg do not have this ingredient in them.

I believe that it is polyethylene glycol that is the powder that is given to patient to take the day before a colonoscopy. Certain that is what my son got a few years ago when he had this procedure.

The one thing that I'd be a bit dubious about would be whether taking this product too frequently could cause other problems ot is it possible that the body could get used to it and then start working against one, ie causing the opposite effect as in then becoming 'too loose'.

[dorisdaydream]

hi I also started suffering with constipation mentioned this at yearly check up and she suggested I try adding linseed to my breakfast cereal I tried it I and find it is the best thing I have I Weetabix with hot skimmed milk sprinkled with linseeds and ground linseeds and blueberries and the effects are great I highly recommend linseed . also I would like to ask anyone out there on1,000 urso daily which I am but reading most comments people seem to be on a lot less than that worried I am on to much?

[Alley27]

I take 1000 per day urso and have bad constipation. I am a gluten free veggie, so eat lots of leafy stuff and fruit but the constipation is very bad for me. Today I bought a ground seed mix from Holland and barratt and from tomorrow I am giving it a go sprinkled on my porridge...will see what happens x