No my doctor saw me, I went in and he read the cat scan. Here is the problem, the hospital I had my surgery at is the only one trained in the area but it is 45 minutes away, I couldnt make it there. He was so mad they didn't call him. Trust me
I started Miralax this morning, and will add in BeneFiber tonight. Been 2 weeks for me. I was going every 4 - 7 days but it's completely stopped. I wasn't even really paying attention and all of a sudden it was like... Umm, self, you haven't pooped in a REALLY long time... Drinking a small apple juice right now, and going to try and get in an extra 20 oz of Water tonight.
Hubby is threatening to get me this to wear, to "celebrate" whenever I get somewhat normal bowel function back.
I'd probably totally wear it.
BM 101... There are four basic types of laxatives. Be careful which you're taking because without extra precaution, some can do a LOT more harm than good.
1. "Bulking agents" - your fibers, natural or supplement. They bulk up your poop, which helps trigger your body to start contracting it down the bowels. These can do more harm than good, fairly easily. You need to really, really ensure that you are getting more than enough fluids when taking fiber-based laxatives. I've seen people who have taken Fiber without enough fluids basically pooping out... chalk. I'm not sure how else to describe it. There was so much Fiber present, and so little Water, that it basically dried the poop up. Think dog poop that has been sitting out in the sun for a week or two, and that's exactly what it was like.
2. Osmotic laxatives - work by pulling Fluid into the bowel via osmosis. Need to make sure you intake extra fluids here, too, but they won't dry you out the way fibers will. They're pulling Water from other parts of your body so you want to make sure you put extra water back in to replace it. When they work you basically have "osmotic diarrhea" which is the same kind of diarrhea people have during sumping syndrome. (The behind-the-scenes of dumping is the bowel signaling the body to send extra water its way). Miralax is one of the best osmotic laxatives, IMO. I actually started taking some this morning. Epsom salt is a really common homeopathic osmotic laxative. Magnesium hydroxide (e.g. Milk of Magnesia), etc. Osmotic laxatives also pull water in, period, so they shouldn't have the same "reach" issues that something like an enema would. Sorbitol and a few other artifical sweetners are also osmotic laxatives... that's why SF candies give so many people the runs.
3. Stimulant-based laxatives - basically is to pooping what pitocin is to childbirth. They chemically stimulate your bowel to contract much harder than normal.
4. Stool softeners - agents that generally just add Fluid content to your poop. My daughter had horrible Constipation when she was younger, so bad she would tear and bleed when she could finally poop. The best thing we found for her was flax oil added to her drinks and stirred into some Cereal. Worked quickly, and sometimes too well.
What to take dependson what your problem is. E.g. stool to dry to pass, or soft poops that you're having a hard time getting out, or...
So what else to try: I generally recommend the flax oil, or a bit of something sugary (in your case I'd skip the sugary, I think you might be a bit beyond that stage). I have seen flax oils working nothing short of miracles for the BM-impaired.
Here are some typical treatments:
Sorbitol (70% concentration): 15-60 ml PO daily
Magnesium salts:
(Milk of Magnesia) 15-60 ml PO qd prn
(Manesium Citrate) 8 ounces PO daily prn
Oral sodium laxatives: Phopho soda (Oso-prep, Visicol) 2 tablespoons in 4 ounces water orally
Polyethelene glycol 3350 (Miralax): 17gm dissolved in 240ml/9oz water or fluid (hot, cold or lukewarm)
PO = by mouth
QD = every day
PRN = as needed
A lot more info than you're looking for, I know, but hopefully it can help.
I'm sure the coffee and metamucil won't hurt. It can't hurt to try right? Be fore warned though, the salt Water mix tastes horrible! I personally just put the 2tsp in about 4oz of warm water and take a "shot" at a time, then chug (as much as we can chug) 32oz after
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