I was told by my doctor a few months ago that all the stomach problems i've been having are likely caused by IBS. Since then i have had an ultrasound scan but no closer to a definitive answer. I have an appointment to see a bowel specialist beginning of September to finally find out what i have.
In the meantime, my doctor prescribed me some Laxido to take at 1 a day to see if that helps my symptoms. From the first sachet i took i felt instantly bloated and have started going to the loo less than normal (which wasn't very often to begin with) after 4 days of the same issues, i rang my doctors to leave a message as to whether i should up my dose or try something else. my doctor said i should try 2 a day for 3 days and then put 4 sachets in 1/2 pint of water and drink over 4 hours for 3 days before going back to 2 a day.
Today is my first day of the 4 sachets and there has been no change in the time i've been taking them. I'm going less than i was before i started taken them, i'm still getting the abdominal pain and although my stool has softened (sorry for the tmi) nothing else is happening.
I have had heachaches/migraines since the first day i started on them and don't know what is best to do? should i stop taking them or is there something else i can take with them?
I know i've had constipation for many years (and without any treatment. i am overweight and have a bad diet with not alot of fibre) and only seem to get a little relief from the pain and sometime a little bm when i push in to my bladder. there is a sensation there when i press it and not in a painful way but it's hard for me to describe.
I'm starting to wonder, although i have many of the symptoms of IBS whether it's something else. I guess i'm not going to find out till September but in the meantime this pain and lack of BM is driving me crazy.
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated
Nikki
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nikki2975
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I had the problem as you for many years and medicine like laxido did not help and made me bloated too. The best thing for chronic constipation is high does of magnesium citrate or oxide. They work by drawing water into the bowel. You get no cramps like other conventional laxatives. I take about 600 to 1000mg at night before bed on an empty stomach with lots of water. It has solved my problem. Even my gastroentologist recommend it. Give it a try. It must be citrate or oxide though.
Thank you i will .I've been told i may have a Magnesium deficiency so that is on my list of Vitamins to start taking. ...
My doctor has since prescribed me some Fybogel to take with the Laxido after diagnosing me with overflow diarrhoea/Fecal Impaction... Not took them yet but hopefully they will start working soon.
Hey I suffer with constipation and I take laxido but that makes me really bloated and makes me feel worser than constipation sometimes how do I get magnesium citrate or oxide do I need to go back to my doctor
Look at your diet. From experience don't expect a final diagnosis. Be prepared to be let down time and time again. Having suffered with ibs for 30 years you need to look at your lifestyle and make some changes to it. Diet stress anxiety depression alcohol medication. Just saying don't rely on the medics. Self help is vital. I recently stopped taking the pill and found that helped to. I take no meds now. Also on a gluten free diet. It's helping me. Good luck
Hi my doctor was useless I list 4 St in a couple of weeks I went private and they found a ulcer and gall stones in one visit I spent 6 months with my doctor not even a examination
Hopefully your September appointment will provide some answers and solutions. Meanwhile, whatever the cause you clearly need some symptom relief; drinking lots of water and eating water based fruit like red melon can help with constipation, as can exercise and eating little and often to give your body a chance to digest and rest. I one sachet of Laxido in 250mls water morning and night and have an enema every few days if I think I need it. This works well for me but it's not for everyone. 4 sachets in such a small amount of water sounds a bit odd. Have you tried stomach massage? guysandstthomas.nhs.uk/reso... Obviously I'm not a medical professional, I am just sharing what helps me. I was told I had IBS for years and have recently been told it's diverticulitis.
I know this thread is now over a year old but as I arrived here from a Google search its clear it is still being read so I thought that I might add my 2 pennyworth in case it is of any help to other sufferers that arrive here.
I too have suffered with chronic constipation for years and despite periodic attempts to improve my digestive system they never seem to last long. I find it hard to keep to a sensible diet that doesn't irritate my bowel plus I take various Meds and Vitamins etc for several conditions that aggrevate constipation.
I have had fecal impaction 3 times and on each occasion have received little practical advice from my Doctor so have ended up researching and find my own solution.
First of all if you suspect that you have fecal impaction I would recommend a 2x pronged attack from both directions . With laxatives and Suppositories.
Here are a few tips to help you decide if you have fecal impaction and how to tackle it.
if you haven't passed a substantial BM in 4-5 days and you can feel that there is something that is sitting in your bowel waiting to come out but won't shift no matter how much you strain . Maybe you have passed a few small small hard stools or some watery khaki coloured diarrhoea with mucus then the chances are you have a fecal impaction.
First of all I would suggest that you try a suppository. Its not as gross as it sounds and can give you almost instant relief ,within an hour or so if you are lucky. I use Dulcalox 10mg from a Chemist and I prepare myself by lying on a towel on the bed just in loose clothing or underwear. Try and insert the suppository as far into your rectum as you can with a finger ,at least 3" so that it has a chance to reach the obstruction.
It will feel very odd for the first few minutes ,perhaps a little unpleasant but once you get used to the feeling try and rest on your back with legs straight and stay as still as you can. Try hard to hold it for at least 20 minutes before going to the toilet if you can so that the medication has a chance to work properly. I always hold it at least half an hour and an hour if I need to repeat the following day.
Once the obstruction starts to shift from your bowel into the rectum you will feel a strong urge to defecate. Be aware that if the obstruction may be large and you may need to insert your finger in order to break up the fecal matter into smaller pieces to make it easier to pass. This is exactly what your Doctor or Nurse may need to do but frankly I'd rather do it at home by myself.
I won't lie to you , sometimes it can sometimes be quite painful to pass a large hard mass of compacted fecal matter but its probably not anything that most of us have not experienced before. The sooner you act and tackle a fecal obstruction the easier it is going to be and the sooner you are going to feel that incredible relief and satisfaction of being 'back to normal'
If nothing happens the first time then leave it for 12 hours or so before trying again . It may take a few days to shift a large impaction. You can help things along by doing a little exercise like squats and walking . Whilst on the toilet rocking slowly forward until your chest is on your knees and then back upright again might help to get things moving.
You might try a self administered enema which your Doctor will prescibe. I just arranged for a telephone consultation with the duty Docor of my Medical Centre and he prescribed everything I needed without me needing to go to the surgery. I haven't yet tried an enema but I have one on the way to me . My feeling is that if the stools are very compacted hard and dry an enema is going to have a very hard time (no pun intended) loosening up dessicated stools in just a few hours.
Lastly try to avoid bread , meat and cheese until things are back to normal. Bread can frequently cause bloating and is a major cause of IBS. Meats are hard for the Gut to digest and cheese being fat is well known to cause constipation in some, especially if your Liver, Pancreas, Gall Bladder and Gut are compromised or not working efficiently .
Laxatives ...its difficult for me to give advice on this as every situation is different. I have been taking a single Laxido sachet most mornings for a year now and generally find that keeps my gut working perfectly . My problems start when I periodically suffer severe dehydration due to a Pituitary condition and no matter how much I drink the fluids simply pass straight through me and I become ever more dehydrated and constipated.
Laxido works by absorbing water into the Gut which should keep stools soft . In the case of fecal impaction it should definitely help things to keep your gut supplied with plenty of fluids so I would recommend asking your Doctor for advice as you can take up to 8x sachets a day in a 6x hour period for fecal impaction conditions.
Despite a lot of rubbish around the net about how much water you must drink daily there is no scientific research that I have found to substantiate 6x glasses of water daily. We get a huge amount of water from all the food we eat when that is broken down in the gut during the night.
In tests Milk has been shown to be a better fluid to drink than water for rehydration which is very interesting. Whatever you drink, tea, coffee, milk, water, fruit juice it all contains water so just keep well hydrated so you don't make things worse than they already are.
Hope that at least some of this is helpful to someone
Thank you so much for posting - you have helped me in so many ways, not least knowing that I am not alone and not the odd one out. I am lying here after a very painful attempt to go, taken four Laxido's and waiting an hour before taking my maintenance meds and an hour after that for the next lot of Laxido's. +1 on the oral and rectal strategy. I found the suppository gets out the lower half of what is there, bringing relief in an hour or so, and then the upper half comes down in 24hrs. For me the Ducolax or generic active ingredient in it's suppositories are better than the glycerin ones.
Great tips on breaking up the stool to ease passing, and exercises. Will give them a try next performance.
Hi looking for abit of advice i take 15 laxido a day and now suffering with leg ankle and back ahe do you think i shouldstart taking a vitamin supplement is the pain because of the laxido my doctor is no help at all
Like the previous responder I have just found this post after googling laxido etc. I'm usually to be found on HealthUnlocked Migraine forum.
Anyway, johnyxs I can't tell you how helpful this has been if only because it substantiates and agrees with everything I've ever tried, right back 60 odd years when my elderly grandma advised me to touch my toes and jump around to shift constipation. She also suggested hot cup of tea and that often does help too.
I'm currently in hospital while they try to sort me out, and the lack of exercise and "Nil By Mouth" definitely isn't helping. I've just managed to persuade them to let me have a Laxido. When I first was admitted (& then discharged) the advice was to try a Low Residue Diet (google it!) which is very unappetising - white cereals and bread and mashed potato. Especially hard for a vegetarian who's lived on fibrous foods for years.
Hi to people posting here. I too found this thread via google although I'm a member of HU and this community already. It has been really helpful to read many thanks. I have had constipation off and on all my life along with undiagnosed autoimmunity (Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, Sjögren's and MCTD) until about 15 years ago and now diagnosis piling in!
I have a very neurological presentation of connective tissue disease, a bit like MS. So my rheumatolgist and neurologist have both suggested that my constipation could be part of this and my disordered autonomic nervous system may be the cause. So, while I'm waiting for a gastro referrral im juggling with 2 Laxido daily and, although the tummy pain I had with lactulose and Senna, isn't there - I find I'm having issue with oozing and soiling. This is very embarrassing because my young family are all staying and I have no sense of smell!
So I'm back with laxative Bisocodyl, which I find gives me a lot of pain and glued me to the toilet for half the day, until I see the gastro again. I can't risk "oozing" without knowing it's happening?!
I eat like a paragon of virtue and try to exercise regularly despite pain and other things. I can't understand why I am always constipated? But I just want to say that if it's neurogenic rather than IBS-c - then no amount of roughage or magnesium is going to help - and may cause the issues to worsen significantly. The Fodmap diet is supposed to be really helpful for IBS sufferers and won't be too hard for those who avoid roughage in their diet already. But if your problem is dietary then why not at least try a really good, wholesome diet rather than struggling with all these laxative agents etc?
I would do anything to not have to live with my autoimmune diseases, which I have despite looking after myself really well.
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