Prednisolone and constipation

[811Yoga]

I have been on Pred since May 23 started at 15mg had a lot of bumps on the way. I am now on 8mg and having constipation with abdominal cramps. I am using Lexicol but this is hit and miss. GP has ordered abdominal scan and I had a clear colonoscopy 1 year ago. FIT test was OK also recently. Any advice would be appreciated.

[SnazzyD]

Have you yet done a food/symptom diary for at least a month? Your post reads as though you have yet to have a scan. This will be very handy as it can see non bowel causes too. Have they done any blood tests?

Your colonoscopy result was true as of a year ago, not necessarily now. Why was the scope done then?

I can’t find Lexicol for some reason when searching.

Other causes need to be ruled out but out of interest - When people complain of new allergies or food issues here, it’s often under 10mg I’ve noticed. I was no different with new hayfever, skin problems and IBS. Already gluten free for years I did a food diary and horror of horrors found I had become intolerant of cruciferous vegetables of all types. I have eaten them at least twice a day for decades and sauerkraut is my favourite 🙁. If you haven’t done a diary, it’s something you can be getting on with while other tests rumble through the system.

[SnazzyD in reply to SnazzyD]

Just seen on your other post you mean Laxido. It works by drawing fluid into the bowel to soften stool if your poops are on the hard side. May or may not be the answer depending on the cause.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Not much I could add to Snazzy's reply - but if it were pred causing the problem, I'd have expected it to be worse at higher doses.

Although we usually think of adrenal insufficiency in association with diarrhoea, it can also lead to constipation. While 8mg is relatively high to expect adrenal wobbles, some people start to feel the effects as high as 10mg. So that may be a consideration.

By constipation do you mean infrequent stools, hard, dry stools, difficulty in passing them or a feeling of incomplete evacuation? All constipation - but potentially different underlying causes.

[811Yoga in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you for your response. Interesting what you say about adrenal insufficiency although constipation was often a problem pre pred and lower abdominal cramping at times. Yes hard dry stools with incomplete evacuation. I did mean Laxido of course. Snazzy D's Suggestion of a food diary is a good idea as I have eaten yoghurt broccoli and porridge nearly every day. However will pursue with my GP.

[811Yoga]

I did mean Laxido and not Lexicol. Apologies.

[Lizzab]

I'm not on prednisolone so I don't know how effective these things would be for someone that is. But normally they all work quite well.

Things that may help:-

1. Carrot salad - grate longways, rinse until water runs clear. salt, vinegar and olive oil - to your taste. Eat mid afternoon away from food. You can Google the this. It's widely used.

2. White button mushrooms, boiled with lid off. Cut up and eat as preferred. I put them in an omelette.

I actually boil them for a very long time so the not so good things (the names of which I cannot remember) evaporate off. they don't need a vigorous boil.

3. Bamboo shoots.

4. Well aged cascara. If interested I'll send you a link to a product I use.

I'd try one thing at a time for say two weeks. The cascara would work pretty much within a day or two.

[Dinahmite in reply to Lizzab]

Hello. I would really like the link to the cascara supplement if that's OK. Thank you

[Lizzab in reply to Dinahmite]

saturee.com.au/products/new...

Looks like it's currently out of stock. Email them to ask when they are expecting new stock.

It's an Australian company. I trust them. The delivery took 7 days. It's probably the best cascara on the market.

Others tell me you can order directly from Italian manufacturer. Farmalabor.

[Dinahmite in reply to Lizzab]

Thank you.

[811Yoga in reply to Dinahmite]

Yes got the link.

[811Yoga in reply to Lizzab]

Many thanks. Yes please send link for cascara.

[Lizzab in reply to 811Yoga]

saturee.com.au/products/new...

Looks like it's currently out of stock. Email them to ask when they are expecting new stock.

It's an Australian company. I trust them. The delivery took 7 days. It's probably the best cascara on the market.

Others tell me you can order directly from Italian manufacturer. Farmalabor.

[KerryIreland]

This may not help you, but when I had similar problems recently I went back to having decaf coffee with my breakfast. It has worked well for me. Best wishes

[Hope_full]

Did you start taking an antacid while taking prednisone? Like Omeprazole or some proton pump inhibitors like that. It can certainly cause constipation.

[811Yoga]

Yes I did. It seems all drugs either cause constipation or diarrhea!