chronic constipation

[Liv12b]

can someone please help me ? I’m literally suffering for 2 and a half years now with chronic constipation and trapped gas. I have no abdominal pain, I just feel everything in the rectum high up where I can’t reach and it’s all soft blobs and I cannot get it out no matter how hard I strain. I don’t understand what’s going on but even if I take a little bit out the rest will still be stuck and it presses on my vagina as well and I feel pain both places, that’s only when I’m pushing though. All day every day 24/7 I have pain in my rectum feeling stool in there but not able to take it out. I haven’t emptied my bowels completely in over 2 years and half . It’s only been little by little and I usually go somewhat good once or twice a month . I am not able to defecate at all and I am in severe pain / discomfort. What could this be ? I have done all testings ! Everything is normal . I have done diets as well, nothing helps. I drink a lot of water and it don’t help. Please what could this be? Doctors say it’s ibs and are giving up on me , I literally can barely sleep because of this. I feel the poop all day long every day for 2 and a half years now . Even when I use an enema somewhat will come out but because I’m so backed up, I have way more and it stays there. Please help

[Chocolate41]

Hi buy some lactulose and take 5mls twice a day.That would help to soften the stool.

Also buy some glycerine suppositories and push one as far as you can up the rectum.

This all works for me if I get very constipated.

Good luck.Hope this helps

[Liv12b in reply to Chocolate41]

I just told you my stools are already soft..

[Gerdman21]

Have you tried Metamucil? that works for me when i get backed up or if i want to empty everything out. take two teaspoons in water before bed, the next morning youll take a very large poop. almost in the shape of the colon. its a great feeling. try it out

[Liv12b in reply to Gerdman21]

yes I have doesn’t work

[Iggls]

I take Picolax weekly, 1.5 sachets as prescribed…as you have pre colonoscopy though rather less. It does the trick !

[bluejourney]

Try liquid paraffin. Works for me when all else fails. Just slides out!

[edwangy]

Have you had a proctogram to see how the muscles n your rectum are working? You may have a rectocele or rectal insusepption. I have these had this test after having CTs , colonoscopy, xrays etc. I am awaiting an appoinment with a surgeon and in the meantime have been prescribed linoclotide to empty me out each day.

[Liv12b in reply to edwangy]

I thought linoclotide was to numb ? How does it help empty you?

[Liv12b in reply to Liv12b]

oh never mind I thought you were talking about another medication but yeah linzess doesn’t work on me either

[tdoolittle]

I have had the same issue with constipation and the only thing that works for me is Prunelax(2 capsules) and Hyleys Colon Cleanse.

[xjrs]

What is your fibre intake like? To improve constipation in the short term you can try ground flaxseed on your breakfast, starting at 1 teaspoon and increasing at 1 teaspoon every 2-3 days - you'll need to consume extra water with it.

These foods are also high fibre:

8-9 Prunes

2 tablespoon chia seeds (soaked for 10-15 mins in milk or non dairy milk with cereal or water)

Shredded wheat (or if GF: Nutribrex)

60g Quinoa

Wholewheat bread

75g Whole grain pastas (if GF: Buckwheat)

2 Hard pears

5 Dried apricots

90g Raspberries

1 orange (contain a natural laxative)

2 kiwi.

I find that I need to have 1 orange or 2 kiwi a day and then another high fibre fruit later in the day to help with BMs. Introduce new foods and any fibre increases slowly, starting with one new thing at a time, waiting for 2-3 days for a response and keep a food diary. You may not need to consume as much fibre as I do.

For breakfast I make a porridge of 4 tablespoon of oat bran and 4 tablespoon all bran (wheat bran), 2.5 small cups of water and microwave for 10 mins. I then mix in 2 tablespoon of chia seeds and 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed and leave to stand for 15-20 mins since the chia seeds need to form a gel. On top of that I place 8 prunes and eat. The best thing to do is to start with normal oats in similar quantities and, if needed, replace one of the tablespoons of oats with oat bran for a couple of days, carrying on doing this every couple of days until you get to 4 tablespoon of oat bran and 4 tablespoon of oats. Then start replacing with wheat bran in the same manner. You can then add the other ingredients one at a time. You might find you do not need the complete 'recipe' to have a BM. All these individual components are down to tolerance e.g. you may not tolerate wheat (see later about Alflorex), so it is best to keep a food diary (I do this on a spreadsheet) recording symptoms for up to 2-3 days after each change.

I also take 30 drops of ginger extract before bedtime to aid motility. You may need to work up the dose to say 7 drop increments each night.

Exercise can help with BMs. The government recommends 150 mins of moderate exercise (e.g. walking as if you are late for an appointment) or 75 of intense exercise (e.g. jogging) per week. I also have a bit of a walk around straight after breakfast to get things moving.

You need to ensure that you are drinking enough fluids (2 litres of fluid per day).

There is some good advice about constipation here:

theibsnetwork.org/constipat...

theibsnetwork.org/constipat...

There are also medications that help IBS-C (constipation dominant IBS). I suffer from IBS-C and have been prescribed Linaclotide for it. I also take Alflorex probiotic which has made me more tolerant to taking in the extra fibre I need for a BM, since it not only helps to bulk out stools (much of stools is bacteria), but also helps to digest complex carbs (fibre).

Failing dietary measures, you can try Optifibre, which needs to be worked up to a dose according to instructions. You may not need the full dose - watch out for gas and increment to a level that is acceptable for you.

Some people are more prone to constipation due to their intestinal anatomy. Through colonoscopies I have been told that I have a long loopy (redundant) colon. This means that food takes longer to pass through and in the mean time the intestines have more time to suck out water from the stool, drying them out and causing constipation. I have found that I need to consume much more fibre than other people to have regular BMs.

I have also found useful having most of my food at meal times, leaving 4-5 hours of not eating between meals, eating my fruit snack before a meal. This means that your digestive system has time to process each meal. It also allows something called the MMC (migrating motor complex) to run which sweeps food waste from your small intestine into your large intestine. This only happens when you have an empty stomach. When people snack regularly, it prevents the MMC from working properly. I also find the larger meals help to push things along better than drip feeding through snacking.

If you really get stuck you can try 800mg+ of Magnesium Oxide. I used to take these for a regular bowel movement when having to be low fibre:

myvitamins.com/vitamins/mag...

I used to start around 800mg at bed time on an empty stomach, then increment by 100mg (1 pill) each night until I got a response the next morning or the morning after. Most of it goes straight to your bowels where it draws in water to bulk out stools. Though this isn't a long term solution.

This worked well when I was low fibre, but when I started to introduce fibre it became more unpredictable (either not working well enough or too well), so I had to give it up.

[DawninFL]

Go get a colonic (colonic hydrotherapy). Sounds like the same thing that happens to me. There is old stool built up a little bit each day making the toxicity feel worse. Have it flushed out. I know it sounds weird, but it will help get that stuff out of you that’s making you so ill you can’t sleep. If they will do it have a coffee enema directly following the colonic. I drink prune juice every morning now, but still end up needed the colonics bc of “IBS.” Chronic constipation is a miserable battle. I tried Linzess, but it’s so unpredictable. Don’t go anywhere for like 3-5 hours bc you may not be done. You will actually feel emptied out and overall wellness from a colonic.

[Hollygreen]

Dear Liv12b, I have the same symptoms. I have learnt and heard that this is caused by psychological trauma in life at some point in life. It could be Adverse Childhood Experience ACE, or when you were an adult. 🙂