Long-Term Laxative Addiction

I suffered from constipation since I was a kid. After completing a cleansing using Dr. Richard Schulze's products (www.herbdoc.com) I called and asked them if I could continue using formula #1 and they said yes take it as long as you need it.

One herbal capsule every night with dinner gave me very normal BMs within an hour of rising every morning. I took it for a little over two years and then my bowels became loose so I stopped it.

My BMs have remained normal for many years since then. I think the herbal remedy healed my GI system.

I take 40 mg prilosec daily as I have been diagnosed to have GERD by my GI. Have taken for 2 years.... How might I maintain my GI health with natural meds and wean off prilosec?

FBL: Formula #1 contains TWO stimulant laxatives. Not something I'd suggest for daily use.

Hello. Since menopause has worsened my constipation, I have frequently been taking a senna based laxative (two times a week for around a year, but these past two months I took it twice daily (as advised in the bottle) about three times.) As a result, my BM's are more infrequent now and pretty weak.

I recently discovered that senna laxatives are dangerous for your bowel because they are irritant and with frequent use, they eventually become addictive (they can damage bowel muscles and nerves.) I also read that severe cases of laxative addiction can end in a colostomy. I am so worried.
I immediately stopped taking the laxative and started a high fiber diet (vegetables, fresh and some dried, fruits, lots of water). Now I'm trying prune juice.
Could that help me recover?

PEOPLE'S PHARMACY RESPONSE: YOU MAY ALSO WANT TO ADD FIBER SUCH AS CITRUCEL OR METAMUCIL. UNLIKE SENNA, IT IS SAFE TO USE DAILY AND YOU MAY NEED THE EXTRA HELP AS YOUR BODY READJUSTS.

I need HELP! I have stopped using the Senna products I abused for 5 years. I am now using 5 suppositories at once, sometimes 3 times in an hour to produce a bowel movement in addition to using Fiber Con, 4 capsules, 2 times a day. This is very frustrating. I am in menopause. I eat quite well and consume at least a gallon of water a day. I am very active. I pray you can help me to have a normal function of the bowel once more. thank you!!

My mom has been addicted to laxatives for 30yrs plus. Last year she had to be operated on because her anus had constricted to the point where not even a pencil had room, she was one step away from a blockage.

Not 4 months later she had to go back for the very same problem due to lack of post operative instructions. The only advice she was given this time is to take metamucil 3 times daily. great, now she complains that she has no bowel movement at all. I am so worried, what should she be doing? she is in her late 60's, average weight and has been active all her life as well as having a healthy diet. I tell her to be patient but she feels very uncomfortable not being able to 'go' daily.

is there a natural cure from laxative addiction? It has been 40 years. in my late 30 I went for medical treatment for this and was offered nothing. I had stopped using laxatives then and swelled up all over my entire body gained excessive weight and could not have a bowel movement. I went through the entire eating disorder program w/o taking any laxatives and was just told to eat. I did not get better and nothing changed. All they did was ridicule me for taking laxatives and accuse me of taking laxatives when I wasn't. Nobody seems to have an answer or a cure.

It seems to me that since the majority of the population has trouble with constipation albeit their diets are sensible and correct, can't doctors be a bit more empathetic to patients than they appear to be and most of all, try to find a solution that really works for their patient. Some OTC products are a waste of time and money and easier to prescribe than thoughtful evaluation.

I too am addicted to bisacodyl. I take between 12 and 20 per day. It started when I began long term narcotic use for chronic severe pain. I have tried everything to stop. I tried cold turkey and went 7 days with no bm, and became severely impacted. My rectum was protruding through my vagina. That's how bad it was. Luckily, I am a nurse, so I was able to relieve it with enema and manual disimpaction. Help?

I used Miralax for several years for constipation associated with narcotic pain med use. I had bad stomach pain and went to the ER a few years ago. A test was done and I was told to stop using laxatives by a surgeon. My colon was losing its motility, which means it was beginning not to function normally because I was addicted to laxatives. I've since cut way back on pain meds.

I stopped Miralax and am almost totally off pain pills. I use Metamucil once a day, a tablespoon in a cup of water. My family doctor told me to use this dose twice a day to maintain a bowel regime if I was going to be on narcotics. I decided I need to worry about my overall health before my back pain. I'm used to pain, and pills don't control it anyway.

Now I still have pain but I can also go to the bathroom normally without enemas or laxatives. No pills are worth living like that. We have to maintain overall health or we're killing ourselves. Nothing is worth the suffering I'm reading about here.

I too have been on pain meds and have gotten addicted to laxatives. I don't know what to do. I drink the stuff you take before a colonosopy. I do it once a week cause it makes me so sick I can't do anything for that day. If i don't do this I will go days, weeks without a bm. I haven't had a normal one in years. I don't know what to do. Tonight is the med night that's what I call it so everyone knows I will not be well tomorrow. Help me!

And yet, "colonic cleansing" is the all the rage..... The alt medicine industry needs to start controlling it's members or the government will step in - NOBODY wants that.

The laxatives that are safe to use regularly (heh....) are, in order of preference:
1. Fiber supplements - Metamucil, Citrucel or Fibercon. Metamucil is even "Natural" if that's important to you. Won't help as much if you have motility problems - ie, your bowel doesn't move normally (after years of senna abuse or while taking narcotics) - but it should be the basis of all bowel regimens, taken with plenty of water - double water if you're constipated.

Side benefit - The single most effective supplement you can take for long term health promotion. Puts ALL vitamin and herbal supplements to shame.

2. Prunes - talk about your natural goodness. They have 3 separate laxative effects - sorbitol, an osmotic that works by pulling water into the bowel movement; dihydrophenylisatin, a mild stimulant that has not been associated with colon problems; and fiber, if you eat them whole or stewed rather than juiced. Raisins apparently have some similar properties, as do strawberries and dried apples.

Side benefit - Full of antioxidants (for whatever that's worth, really) and vitamins and minerals.

3. Docusate. It's basically a detergent that helps water get into the stools and makes them soft. Doesn't absorb into the body, stays in the gut and gets pooped out.

And that's about IT. All the rest are associated with serious problems or side effects if taken in excess or for long periods - lactulose, Milk of Magnesia, mineral oil, you name it.

As for Senna, it remains the poster child for the alt med industry's cynical hypocrisy - they damn "western medicine" on one hand, and peddle poison with the other.

I, like FBL have suffered on and off with constipation all my life. As I have grown older (I am 52) it has become worse. I had extreme pain in my stomach and bloating for years which the traditional doctors could not help with and labeled as IBS ("irritable bowel syndrome").

Through careful observation I have discovered a lot of what causes my problems (dairy, gluten, soy, any rice flour cake or baked products, or anything which seems to have a drying affect in the bowel). My problem is not motility as I get very strong urges to go each day due to a diet of plenty of veg, fruit and fibre. What happens to me is that my motions seem very dry and difficult for me to eliminate.

I have suffered a front and back prolapse as a result of straining to go to the toilet which I have now had repaired. I am currently on a medication called Movicol (as I am 3 months post op) which keeps everything soft, however even taking this I recently accidentally had some product with soy in it and was slower to go and found it slightly difficult, I have to be extremely vigilant which is not always easy and some things can slip through the net.

What I would like to know is if there is a product that will naturally help to keep the bowel moist, as I will be coming off Movicol soon. I have tried a combo of coconut oil (which makes me gain weight and have large pimples on my body :( )..with linseed seeds, rice bran and slippery Elm, which does help a little but is far from ideal. Also I suspect I may have leaky gut, can this cause a dry bowel?

Any suggestions would be most welcome Thanks. :)

Hello, you did not mention taking Benefiber powder, made from wheat dextrin. This is what my gastro specialist recommended to me, he said just use it once a day, but it can be used up to 3 times a day. It does seem to help me.

I am asking for help.
I am reliant on Ducolax. I take 6 in the evening so I have a good BM in the morning (I feel I need this so I feel ok) then I take about 2/3 in a morning ensuring I have a movement mid afternoon.

I NEED to come off this and have tried. I last about 2 days, taking senna, movicol and taking one or 2 Ducolax. This does nothing and I find myself exasperated, feeling huge and constipated and give in and take Ducolax again.

My diet is ok. I do lots of exercise. I understand that the side effects of having a reliance on these tablets will lead me to feel bloated when I try to stop and retain water. I don't do it for weight control, but to control the appearance of my stomach so it is not huge and bloated and control how I feel (eg not sore and feeling full and constipated).

I know this sounds barmy. I used to be regular as clockwork until I had some stress in my life and then my BM seemed to alter, but I know need help. Can anyone please suggest something?

Thank you.

Am I understanding this correctly, you take 6 Dulcolax pills every day??????? That is more than what is necessary for a colonoscopy!!!! Does your doctor know about this?

hi there, I really hope you can help me, would appreciate any advice you can give me. I'm 32 and have been using dulcolax tablets since I was 20. I started college and wasn't eating properly thus became constipated. Since then I have not been able to come off them as my bowel just wont move without them and I have tried, I'm eating properly now but nothing works, I take 4 dulcolax tablets about twice a week... please, please help me, is there anything I can do now to return to normal or have I done permanent damage? I was even thinking colonic irrigation or hypnosis just to get the bowel started again but don't know? please, your help would be very much appreciated.

Hi, VS here. I have just had to go what is in effect cold turkey. It has been 6 days now. It has been awful. I have had cramps, severe constipation, bloated stomach, been upset and obviously felt very low.

However, things are improving. I have drank prune juice and eaten regularly. I have 'been' naturally today for the first time in over 18 months. I am weeing normally (as I'm not sure why, but maybe the laxatives took all water from me???) and also I am eating food and not feeling absolutely bloated after the slightest thing. I ate a meal last night and felt normal and just full, not like my stomach had doubled in bloatedness.

I am not better by any means but I read it should take about 2 weeks but I have cleared my diary. I have also been referred to the eating disorder clinic by my doctor who are doing an assessment but the appointment isn't till Nov and I'm hoping that all will be ok by then. It was only when I was referred there did I start doing research as to how bad they are have I decided to come off them.

The only way for me is just cutting them out. I can recommend colonic irrigation. I've had it a few times, gets the bowel moving. A friend of mine does it and I am going to have one during the next week to help.

Thanks

I am so glad I found this website. I have felt so alone with this secret for years. My irregularity started when I was a child. I am 58 yrs old. As a child BMs were not talked about. Bodily functions were not discussed. We were brought up on meat potates,vegetables, white grains and dairy. The remedy for me was my mother forcing me to drink prune juice or eating prunes (which I hated) and when that did not work, an enema.

The pattern kept going. As a teenager I resorted to Maloxx or similar product. My irregularity improved after the birth of my children but then I quit smoking and it started again. This time extreme exercise and suppositories helped. Stress with divorce and life changes increased the problem again.

Eased up after that but still on suppositories and Mylanta. A few years ago another life change and stress increased 2 fold and so did the dependency where I turned to Ducolax for similar products. I was up to 3 a day for the 5 years.

Last year I weened myself down to 1 day, tried adding more herbal remedys. It has been 3 weeks now, free of any chemical laxatives. I am on pear cinammon cider with a splash of prune juice. Apple cinammon tea, fiber supplements with oat and bran in it as well as a Multigrain oat,bran,and barley hot cereal topped with cinammon. I have to stay away from dairy, red meats (which I never ate anyway) sweets. I also use Konysil 1 time a day (at night).3 8 oz of water or more a day.

I go bm once a day so far ( morning). The hardest part for me was to confess my secret to my husband who is my best friend and I should have been able to share this a long time ago but was so ashamed. I am hoping to be able to go 2 times a day. Don't know if that is a realistic goal considering this has been an addiction for 40 years.

I do have an appointment with my doctor so that I can tell him the truth as well. I am just hoping I have not done serious damage. That is my biggest fear. I am so glad I raised my children unlike I was and never got them fearful of discussing their BM's and taught them to eat the proper foods that they like in order to help them go. NOT make it a painful function.

I can see I am not alone in this battle with constipation and laxative dependency. I am an RN so you'd think I'd know better than to allow myself to take laxatives on a daily basis, despite the warnings. But, I'm only human and have problems just like everyone else has. Since my colonoscopy last month, I weaned off of laxatives except for fibercon at the advise of my GI doc. He found internal hemorrhoids as well as melanosis coli. I knew I didn't want to end up with a colon resection or cancer so it was time to do something.

I got dependent on laxatives because of chronic pain and pain meds. I'm not about to stop taking my pain meds as they give me a normal life that allows me to exercise and function daily. Anyway, here's how I weaned off. I stopped taking the cascara and other osmotic and stimulant laxatives and switched to fibercon only. I changed my diet as well: no more cheese, cream, white flour and pastries. I eat bran, prunes, apples, pears, grapes, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and basically every fruit and vegetable that is fresh, bad tasting and fiberous.

Yes. I hate my diet but it's worth the sacrifice to have healthy working bowels. In addition, I drink 32 oz. of diluted Gatorade to stay hydrated and correct the imbalance caused by the laxatives. I get at least 30 min of exercise every day. The first week of this was HELL: gas, bloating abdominal pain and discomfort. As expected, I went 3 days without a BM when I first got off laxatives. I used a fleet liquid glycerine suppository and this helped. I tried not to use one daily. Just one if no bowel movement after 3 days. Pretty soon, I started going on my own again.

I am now on my 4th week laxative-free and have a bowel movement almost every day. I can't say I'm out of the woods yet. My stomach is still delicate and if I get off my diet or get sick or stressed, I'm constipated again. I can't stress enough how important it is to get off those darn laxatives!

As far as I'm concerned, I feel they should become controlled substances and addiction to them is way more harmful than any opiates that doctors are so afraid to prescribe for people. Getting off laxatives is not easy but with patience and retraining, it is possible to heal.

Hi. Wean off the Dulcolax ASAP. Talk to your doctor and get thoroughly checked out. He may recommend a colonoscopy. Start drinking a glass of 1/2 diluted Gatorade 4-6 times a day. This corrects the electrolyte imbalance caused by the laxatives. Take fibercon and a stool softener. You can take fibercon daily if you need to. It is not addictive. Cut out sweets, cheeses and white flour and fast food from your diet. Eat lots of bran and flax cereal, all raw fruits and vegetables, some nuts and seeds and only a little chicken or fish.

This will suck and you will hate it but trust me: you'll feel better. I had to do this and now live this lifestyle in order to save my bowel from a what would have been a certain colostomy. You will be bloated and very constipated when you first stop taking the Dulcolax. Resist the urge to take some to get relief. Instead wait until you have gone 3 days without a BM.

On the 3rd day, take a fleet liquid glycerine suppository. Make sure you exercise at least 30 minutes a day. Repeat all of these steps until you begin going on your own without the need for the suppository or the stool softener. It will take time. Be patient and allow your body to heal. I hope this helps you.