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Q. My mom has been addicted to laxatives for over 30 years. Last year she had to be operated on because her anus had constricted to the point where not even a pencil would have passed. She was one step away from a blockage.
Four 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 three times daily.
Now she complains that she has no bowel movements at all. I am so worried. What should she do? I tell her to be patient but she feels very uncomfortable not being able to 'go' daily.
A. Chronic laxative use can impair the ability of the digestive tract to function normally. The dependence on chemical stimulants often leads to a vicious cycle of constipation. It will take time along with plenty of fluid and fiber for your mother’s bowel to recover its normal activity.
There are some simple approaches in addition to fluid and Metamucil that may be helpful. Boiling two tablespoons of flaxseed in three quarts of water and consuming two ounces of the liquid daily is one. Chewing sugarless gum is another. A magnesium supplement of 300 to 500 mg per day can be helpful, so long as her kidneys are healthy.
We have also heard from many people that Power Pudding (applesauce, wheat bran and prune juice) can be useful. We have a recipe for this and many other suggestions in the Guide to Constipation we are sending you.
Please recommend Miralax to this patient. It is what the doctors give their patients when they are suffering from constipation. IT is safe.
Also I use 1000 mg of magnesium supplement and prunes, 7 a day cooked and they do work. I have an enlongated colon and have to use something to help me go. After miralax regularizes my bowels I only use the prunes and mag. supplement. You can regulate how much.
I have found that taking one capsule of aloe vera gel along with Metamucil everyday helps with my constipation.
I used laxatives for 30 years. After having colon surgery recently a nurse worked with me encouraging me through the period it takes to get your colon working again.
Please realize it can work but you have to stick with it for at LEAST 6 weeks to 2 months. I do still take 2 stool softeners a day which they approved reluctantly. You must drink at least 8 glasses of water a day, that's primary, if you take a fiber supplement, and for me the fiber was the key to my recovery. I had tried them once before but immediately quit when they just balled up in my stomach because I wasn't drinking enough water.
I have found a particularly good product called Colon Care Formula by Yerba Prima which works pretty good for me, and it has psyllium husks in it which I think Metamucil is basically. Then I have started eating as many fruits and vegetables as I can which I did not previously eat.
Occasionally, I will have to take a senna tablet when I've overeaten very rich food or fatty beef, but for the most part I can testify that it does eventually happen if you stick to it.
Per the constipation problem in the Sumter Item 31 May. Once my stool turned to almost like concrete due to a drug given to me after an operation. I bought all the "softners, etc" nothing worked. So I drank 50% prune juice and 50% apple juice and within 24 hours (or less) I was clear!
I can only hope it will work for some others too, Plus it is so inexpensive compared to all the other drugstore items which did not work and cost me too much money.