can laxatives make constipation worse?

[GKT1969]

my doctors and charts indicate I have constipation, My colon is full of stool and this was clear during a recent X-ray and enterography ct scan, There is stool throughout the colon. I was told to adopt a laxative regime using miralax and each morning I have large loose bowel movements. But the volume of stool does not decrease and throughout the day I have several smaller soft stool movements and continuous cramping and pain. My concern is that my constipation is in fact due to a build up of soft stool and that I am drawing too much water into the colon. Osmotic laxatives also draw water into the colon so my concern is I’m making the build of stool worse. It certainly feels that way. Does anyone have similar symptoms and can advise on different ways to reduce the stool burden and limit the soft stool build up? Thank you

[Hidden]

It is not the soft stool that is the problem. It is the constipated stool that is the problem. I have just been through this, scans and all. What I am having to do is eat bran with fruit for breakfast and laxative at evening meal. It so far has eliminated the backup but I constantly have to watch the constipation levels.

You can get flow pass with constipation also. Which sounds like what you may be experiencing. Soft stool leaks past the constipated stool but does not empty the bowels so you end up with BM's through the day never quite clearing the bowels. Meantime the constipated stool gets worse. I make it a habit never to go a day without a BM. When I do I use all measures I can to clear the bowels as left unchecked it can become impacted. That being very difficult to shift and painful.

I use fruit preferably fresh and green, not ripe. Canned fruit can also work, failing that I use anything and everything I can to clear the bowels as impacted stools are very painful and difficult to shift. Then it is suppository time or left to the penultimate, removed manually by hand, usually someone else's. Never reached that point and hope I never will. But it certainly makes the self management more urgent.

Cheers

[GKT1969 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for the reply DC39. I’m not able to stop the loose stool and I see a lot of undigested food as well. It’s almost like food and liquids are causing a response in the colon and filling the colon with stool. It’s hard to describe but maybe it is constipation. May I ask which laxative type you use?

Thank you

[Hidden in reply to GKT1969]

Hi,

I use Docusate sodium x2 every evening. I find Bran flakes for breakfast are beneficial and evoke a reaction within an hour of eating.

[binks]

I’m no expert but having taken Movicol (Miralax) for years every night, I think if you are doing a normal amount of BM then the cramps, gas and trips to the toilet are actually typical of this laxative. It’s the lesser of the two evils for me (IBSC) but the side effects are rubbish.

[Hidden]

A couple quarts of warm water up the ole keister will clear out that colon in no time. People keep putting harsh chemicals into the top end of their digestive system with hopes of clearing out the bottom end but apparently it doesn't work very well. A little discomfort from having your bum prodded will produce results.