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Hi Everyone,
I have a much loved and beautiful 20 year old daughter who has been suffering from constipation since she was young. I never realized how bad it was ( I learned about it when she was in 6th grade ). She was ibviously embarrassed by it and I gave her the standard speech of eat more veggies and fruit and drink lots of water. I guess she gave up talking to me about it. In high school developed an eating disorder and a became laxative dependent. She's has gotten real low in weight. We are in the process of finding eating disorder speacialist to help in our area recently. (We had set up a support system for her when she moved away but she recently moved back and this all takes time. ). While we have been traveling she has been trying to slowly eat more and reduce her laxative use greatly. But she now has severe constipation and nothing is working and she is scared and I don't know how to counsel her right now. I have never really experienced what she is. I suggested and Epsom salt bath, drinking lots of water, and she took a magnesium tablet this morning. But she said ( sorry for too much info) it's hard and impacted and won't come out. She said a suppository won't help.
Any advice?
Sue
THE POOP SOUP! Please see
THE POOP SOUP! Please see cut and paste below from Dr. B - this is a very common struggle
Constipation has been a huge topic for a lot of people this week. And, when I say huge,
I mean the BMs ARENT! So, this is a big problem. If we are not pooping every day
AT LEAST once per day, we can't be healthy, and certainly, this process is compromised.
There are numerous reasons for being constipated, and, those issues need to be worked
out individually. But, in the long run the health should improve to the degree that
the BMS should be rolling by themselves and not dependent upon control. One of my
patients gave me this recipe a while back, and I thought I would bring it back to life
and hope it may help some of you having a hard time.
i use one bunch of celery, 1/2 a green cabbage and 3-6 broccoli (i use
the stems and heads - this is important) - this makes A LOT so i
freeze most of it. if she just wants to try it out she should cut it
in 1/2 or 1/4. also - for this much i use 1-3 potatos depending on
what i feel like and 1/2 - 1 onion based on the same.
it's simple - just broccoli, celery and green cabbage. depending on
her taste she can either sautee some onions and/or garlic and then the
veggis, add water, cook till soft and then blend or
just cook w/o sauteeing and then blend.
for a creamier consistency (but perhaps not as poop friendly?) she can
add a few potatos.
really she can do this with any high fiber veggis she enjoys.
also, i add olive oil and salt after i cook but they can be added during prep.
i must say, eatting spinach has really helped me. i find having a
salad or two (and i mean a BIG salad or two) a day with mixed greens,
spinach, celery, cucumber, broccoli and some turkey, chicken, fish or
hard boiled egg (and a bit of boiled potato or spelt croutons if all
is moving well) really really helps.
Denise
Thanks Denise for reminding
Thanks Denise for reminding me of this. We are traveling now and wont be able to cook until Thursday so I will do that then. I guess there isn't much we can do now tho.
Sue
I know my mother swears by an
I know my mother swears by an enema...not the fleet kind...but the old school enema bag...she uses that to clear the hard blockages. She has tried everything too. But says they work everytime.
You may be able to find one at a drugstore...
Hi Livandlex,
Hi Livandlex,
Thanks for your reply. I stopped before receiving your response and got a fleet enema and Epsom salts for this evening if necessary. But you think I should look for another type. I honestly didn't see what you tried to describe in the pharmacy we stopped at. Maybe we should check at another one. It seemed like they only had fleet ones. Maybe it was a smaller pharmacy. I hope we can find one. What are your reasons against using a fleet one?
Thanks,
Sue
Sue, can she take 2 magnesium
Sue, can she take 2 magnesium at NIGHT, 1 hour before bed with some water. In the morning she should drink two very warm glasses of water. With her diet she needs adequate amounts of healthy animal fats to increase her bile production to help move the stools through. Grass fed butter, and grass fed meat. Veggies are important, but so is FAT for lunch and dinner, FATS at EVERY meal, just like we do. This is really important. Tons of fiber (such as psylium supplements, benefiber, etc...) will create problems down the road, believe it or not, as it stretches out the sphincter, etc... and reduces anal/rectal sensitivitiy (the sensation that it is time to move the bowels).
Travel constipation is NOT normal. (But neither are her eating habits). I had TC for my whole adult life. This is a good website that I got from Dr. Brizman. Anal/rectal sensitivity is a big issue for constipation sufferers. Can you impart to her that constipation can lead to big health problems later in life (or sooner than she thinks!!). I suggest you and she explore ALL of this website VERY thoughroughly. There are diet suggestions too:
http://www.gutsense.org/gutsense/sensitivity.html
You should consider getting her to work with a naturopath so she can get the proper probiotic suplementation. She needs to do some of her own research. Great that she is reducing the laxitive suplements. Laxitives mean she is depleting her body of nutrients and vital life force, and it will AGE her very quickly. Maybe that will get her attention!!
xo
If we don't excel at health, the only other option is disease.
Mimi,
Mimi,
Thank you so much for your detailed reply. I did speak to her about how important fats are for her today (unfortunately she just hears blah blah blah ...) She also took a 400 ml of magnesium this morning. I will have her take another one tonight. And I will ask her to read your response.
I did tell her that I was going to write on the forum about needing advice as there were so many women on it who have mentioned having struggled with eating disorders in their youth.
She just took a tums (she insisted as she has horibble stomach pains and bloating. )
I am going to try to set up an appointment with Dr Brizman for her because she had an operation on her small intestine at birth due to a blockage when she was only 2 months old. Going to Dr Brizman can only be a good step for her.
She will continue with all the support from nutrtionists, physician and therapist. It's been such a long haul journeying through this complicated disorder.
Sorry I'm leaning on you and others with something that is not IC related. Thank you for caring enough to share your thoughts.
Sue
She's complaining of pain and
She's complaining of pain and wants to go to a hospital. She's had so many X-rays I really don't want her to go. But if she's in this much pain maybe we will have to. I want her to try enema first.
Did she try the infant
Did she try the infant glycerine suppository?? Taking mag when you are very constipated will cause more distress. Night time is better.
If we don't excel at health, the only other option is disease.
She used the stuff I brought
She used the stuff I brought and is beginning to feel better. I feel like I need a nursing degree as a mom. I have no experience with this stuff. What a failure.... :(((
no not a failure! no one
no not a failure! no one teaches this stuff! be kind to yourself :)
I'm so glad she's doing better.
Claire
Sue,
Sue,
You are not a failure!!!! This stuff is complicated and you are doing the best that you can, especially reaching out to us for help :)
I dealt with an eating disorder ( actually caused by IC b/c I was scared of what to eat or not eat) AND had surgery on my small intestine as well...and let me tell you, my Mom felt pretty helpless too, but how was she to know what to do? Lucky her to have you as a Mom to set her up with Dr.B!!!!
Best of luck to you and your daughter...
( also, not eating regularly can REALLY REALLY screw up your intestines and cause more pain with constipation and everything...trust me, I've done it and been to the hospital with constipation/gas/lower back pains ( it may sound funny but it is so so painful)
..eating more regularly may help...
Also as Mimi said, I also make sure to have adequate animal fats, and I eat a ton of veggies that I steam or broil very very well so that they are not too fibrous that it would hurt me to use the restroom,...sometimes I even put them in a pot with water for an hour or so to make sure that they are easily digestible, but somehow the smooth fiber is still there b/c my bowel movements are smoother...
When I was eating raw veggies a lot, it really hurt and I was constipated more often so this helped me...
Also, I do magnesium at night as well ( it helps you sleep AND helps you when you wake up...)
I just had my Mom add this to her regimen at night and she is finally sleeping/having regular BMs in the morning as well..I am convinced magnesium is a miracle ( as temporary solution of course while the bowels heal)
Pixie, thanks for your
Pixie, thanks for your thoughts about going too long without eating. Before I got sick, if I went more than 6 hours (and maybe my previous meal was too carb-heavy) I would very occasionally get HORRIBLE gas pain. I also think that may have happened when I ate fruit on an empty stomach. Now I realize it was connected to my imbalance. So many pieces to the puzzle!!
If we don't excel at health, the only other option is disease.
I've had horrible
I've had horrible constipation throughout treatment... Dr B said it was die off because it just kept happening with no relief. I take 1 mag every night before bed but she also had me do a warm water enema. I just bought an enema bag & put warm water in it... It really helped. I have also tried infant glycerin suppositories & those were also helpful.
I am happy to say that by being more aware of my veggie intake, mag & I also drink 1 small cup of French roast organic coffee every morning. I have gone to the bathroom every single morning for the last 8 weeks without ANY trouble.
Amy
Claire, Pixie, Mimi And
Claire, Pixie, Mimi And Amybarbara,
Please accept my apologies for not responding. I'm nursing a real bad flu and sore throat while traveling back home and just completely rested all morning. (I haven't been sick for about 5 years! - Oh , ha, except for IC!!!).
You all gave me such a wealth of great information and support. I truly appreciate it. I feel so much better prepared to help my daughter through this. It's amazing that I have made such powerful connections over the interenet that are making such a huge and wonderful difference in my life.
Thanks guys,
Sue
Denise,
Denise,
I include you in my last sentiments too. :))))
Sue