Constipation

Gael23

I have already been to GP so I'm only looking for opinions rather than medical advice.
Doctor prescribed me a selection of Laxose, Senokot and microlax enemas to try and see what works for me so I was just wanting to know which of these work and are safe to use for longer periods?
So far I only used 2 microlax with little success and when I was buying them up the pharmacist warned they can cause irritation in the rectum so thinking I shouldn't use those.

jlm29

I don't think medical advice is allowed here, so you should really ask your pharmacist. I previously had the same problem, and found regular duphlac and milpar beneficial. My gp also mentioned to me once that senokot isn't great to use often, because if makes your bowel lazy- but maybe that's inaccurate.
Ask your pharmacist what they recommend- they may well come across this more often than the gp.

silverharp

Linseed is your friend, grind 4 tablespoons into a soup, porridge or even makes a pancake.

Out of curiosity was your diet brought up? its the obvious way to deal with this

Gael23

silverharp wrote: »

Linseed is your friend, grind 4 tablespoons into a soup, porridge or even makes a pancake.

Out of curiosity was your diet brought up? its the obvious way to deal with this

He said try to eat plenty of fruit&veg and all that sort of stuff. My diet is not the best as I don't eat a load of those things but then on the other side of it I don't eat alot of junk food either.
I do go most days and would never be more than 2 days so were not talking anything too severe but he thought that straining was the cause of the problem I went with.

Norinoco

Unfortunately i have become a mini expert on getting through constipation without being allowed to take meds.
I found fibre and loads of water are the most natural ways to get things moving and softer.
Most of the health shops (Holland & Barrett and Evergreen) have psyllium or chia seeds, you can sprinkle them in pretty much anything you eat. It is basically a way to increase your fibre intake fast.
You really need to take a look at what you are eating and work out how much fibre you are taking in - you should be taking in approx 38 grams a day for a man, 25 grams for a woman.

Have a look around the internet to work out what foods are high in fibre
Quick reference is here: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-fiber-foods/NU00582
I have peas with every dinner I eat - 9 grams a cup!
Apples, bananas, broccoli and potatoes are all great.

Hope you feel better soon

bbam

Prunes or Prune Juice

spurious

The old prune juice is fairly effective, in my experience.

Thephantomsmask

I put two teaspoons of psyllium husk into my protein shakes

shedweller

Kiwi fruit works wonders for me. I take two with my lunch and all is well.

Gael23

Norinoco wrote: »

Unfortunately i have become a mini expert on getting through constipation without being allowed to take meds.
I found fibre and loads of water are the most natural ways to get things moving and softer.
Most of the health shops (Holland & Barrett and Evergreen) have psyllium or chia seeds, you can sprinkle them in pretty much anything you eat. It is basically a way to increase your fibre intake fast.
You really need to take a look at what you are eating and work out how much fibre you are taking in - you should be taking in approx 38 grams a day for a man, 25 grams for a woman.

Have a look around the internet to work out what foods are high in fibre
Quick reference is here: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-fiber-foods/NU00582
I have peas with every dinner I eat - 9 grams a cup!
Apples, bananas, broccoli and potatoes are all great.

Hope you feel better soon

I can count on one hand the amount of things I eat off that list so maybe that needs to change!
I'm not so bad that I feel terrible with it or anything but when I do go my stools are fairly hard and I find myself straining quite a bit which the doctor I saw thought was causing another issue so I need to try these things to see what gets me have softer stools that require little effort to pass.

lighterman

The other issue probably being a fissure. Avoid this if you can. sore and irritating and very difficult to heal

Gael23

lighterman wrote: »

The other issue probably being a fissure. Avoid this if you can. sore and irritating and very difficult to heal

It's not a fissure. The Doctor I saw said it was an irritant dermatitis which was being further irritated by straining .

Squiggle

See this thread.

cailleach an airgid

Having taken iron supplements on and off over the years, this is an issue I occasionally have to address. I find lentils the best job (if you're not keen, you can blend them into soups as a thickening agent - use the red split lentils and you don't even notice them). And drink lots of water - if you aren't the fibre doesn't work as well, so aim to drink a lot more fluids.

Gael23

Some of those things taste vile so I find it hard to make myself take them! The Linseed sounds like something I could possibly manage so might give that a try.
I've used a few of the different laxatives over the past few days and have found something wrong with them all really but need to try for a bit longer before I judge. The enemas produce great results quickly but they do cause irritation when administering them, and the issue is irritation in the first place so thats not going to really work. The Senokot also works, easy to take but I find it quite harsh. The first morning after I took it I thought this stuff is great but the next day I had a much looser stool so felt it pushed me too far the other way.That laves the lactulose which is gentler by far but takes longer to work and I find you get through quite alot of it too. Also being in a big bottle its easy to spill and its not that easy to carry around. Im a student so I go up and down home every weekend.