Hi all, so I've been suffering from constipation for around 3 months now and I've tried literally everything from Senna to Docusate to Laxido to Normacol and many different suppositories. The senna and Docusate had no effect, the Laxido i couldn't stomach, and the suppositories only worked for the first 2 days of taking them and then began to have no effect at all.
Recently my lower bowel had become extremely swollen as i hadn't been to the toilet for over a week and a half so i visited the doctor and she prescribed me Picolax (2 sachets to be dissolved in water, meant to clear bowels completely in 24 hours). Now this medication is usually prescribed to those who have to have a complete clear out of their bowels before an operation. The doctor warned me that i would need to be in close proximity of a toilet as it is very harsh treatment but so far after taking both sachets I've only been to the toilet 3 times, haven't had any bowel movements for hours now and still have a very swollen bowel that seems to still need emptying! I'm sure this isn't normal for a 17 year old? Any suggestions?
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Louise98
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It can take up to 24 hours for it to work because the drug needs to reach the large intestine where bacteria break it down. The by-products of this stimulate the bowel to move, thereby forcing out the faeces. However, I'd also say to make sure you drink plenty of water. Unless the faeces is soft, it might be difficult to move. You say you've been to the toilet three times but haven't emptied your bowel yet. Excuse the intrusion, but has anything happened yet?
There hasn't been any changes since my original post. My bowel is still swollen and still needs to be emptied despite it being well over 24 hours for the picolax treatment to work.
hAVE YOU TRIED herblax from Shaklee , It is not a laxative it is a stool softener but very effective Start with one at first at night with water to see if you have a result from it, then if nothing hapoens try two, Shaklee.com
It sound to me like you have what I did when I was young. I was born with lazy bowels as it was called back then, and my grandmother gave me a spoonful of liquid paraffin every morning. I hated it, but it worked. I don't even know if chemists still stock it, but you could try it. The oil helps my smoothing thee lining of your bowels and making it easier for you to pass your stools. Also, start to eat plenty of bran in your diet, every morning have a cup of hot water from the kettle, then some bran cereal of some kind. There are quite a few on the market these days, or even porridge, as it is a laxative in itself. Good luck.
You should go back to your doctor and ask to be referred to a specialist to investigate the cause of the constipation and get the right treatment. Even if the Picolax works it is not something you should keep taking on a regular basis.
I have a friend who was diagnosed with a gynaecological condition that caused her extreme constipation. Nothing was properly diagnosed until she saw a specialist when she was in her early 20's.
It sounds as though your lower bowel is impacted and no amount of oral laxatives will shift things if you haven't had a proper bowel movement for over a week. You will probably need an enema to get things moving properly and I would go back to your GP as soon as possible or present yourself to A & E.
My daughter had the same problem when she was 21. Nothing the doctor prescribed worked for long. What did change everything for her was to cut out wheat and she went gluten free for a year and everything functioned normally. It might be worth a try.
Oh bless you! At 17 you definitely shouldn't be feeling like this.
I'm in a similar situation but in my 40's. One question I'd ask is do you take any other medication and how much fresh veg do you eat? The other factor that you might like to consider is whether life has become more stressful recently..?
I'm sorry to hear that your in the same boat! nope not taking any other medication and eating hot meals with veg at lunch and dinner. I have actually been suffering with some anxiety for a couple of years (nothing too disabling just can't use public transport and few other odd things) and i do have elevated cortisol levels (stress hormone) but i'm more of a suffer in silence type so haven't been to see the doctor about it. Never thought that could be affecting it, thank you for bringing it to my attention
If you read through stuff on here and online ( it's the only way I've learnt things) you'll find out that the more research doctors do the more the link between our gut and stress/ anxiety seems to be proved.
Maybe you could have a look on YouTube for some relaxation and/ or mindfulness videos? They definitely won't harm you and they might help a lot!
Good luck darling, you deserve to be free of stuff like this at 17 and enjoy life! xx
I would ask to see a gastroenterologist. I have been diagnosed with slow transit constipation which means the nerves and muscles don't work in my bowel. I also have an under active thyroid which makes your bowels very slow too. After being in hospital 15 times with bowel obstruction I had 1/3 of my large bowel removed last year. Before my surgery I was on linzess. Magnesium hydroxide and 4 laxido a day. Now I just have 2 laxido a day but am gluten, dairy and soya free which really helps. Don't let the dr fob you off.
I had this problem of not going to the toilet for a week, or maybe once if I'm lucky. It started to get me worried because even If I visit a toilet, I then struggle to take it out (you know what I mean). I had to push very hard, and only for one small piece of sh*t to come out. so, I researched more than 6 months. I got many solution, but none really worked for me, only one tried/ seemed to be working, which was the capsuled named "colon ecology", I was able to go to the toilet with this pills, but I had to rely/ depend on them, they are a bit expensive. once I finished them, the problem just got bigger and worse.
This is strange because I eat the same food as my little brother and my sisters. but they don't experience the problem I have. They use a toilet every day.
Now Working solution found. I stated to digging more on the web. And I came across an article that consist of " a lemon has the fluid needed by your digestion system ......." blablabla. But I cannot remember the source and all the details. I then tried to buy a lemon juice (un-mixed), As you can guess (it did not work, and it does not taste nice, then I quitted it, this was 6 months ago),
Its just a nice juice, I'm sure its the one that helped me.
the first day I bought 2 of them, I noticed a difference on my toilet going. the following day, I did the same, for 3 days, afterwards, I just buy 1 (once a day). from then, I can now go to the toilet twice a day, sometimes once a day.
I don't know what it did to my body, bout for me, this did help me. so I tot I must share this information with you who have the same problem. I think I must say that I'm from SA and the shops selling this juice is (pick'npay, foodlovers,etc).
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Any suggestions?
How many bowel movements? 
Need for urgent bowel movement
