Bowel problems

Just wondering if anybody has had the same problem and found a solution, I eat granola for breakfast and use 1 fibogel drink each morning, fruit at lunchtime and an evening meal, and drink plenty of water, this makes things good for 3 or 4 days, but then I get 2 or 3 days of passing just wind and clear fluid, no faecal matter. Sorry, it’s not a nice thing to talk about, but any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

No need to apologise. Bowel problems is a very common area in MS. The nerve signals that instruct the intestines to push the faecal matter along don’t work properly. Having said that don’t worry if you’re not “opening your bowels” on a regular basis. It’s not unusual for the system to take 2 or 3 days between movements, even for people without MS. Best wishes, Anthony

Maybe try a different laxative to Fybogel? Have you tried Magrocol/Movicol/Laxido (all the same thing)? Or Senna tablets taken at night time?

Or different soluble fibre for breakfast? Maybe porridge or All Bran? Make sure you eat wholemeal bread etc? Aim for less fruit and more vegetables? Avoid eggs and bananas, they are typical culprits for bunging us up.

Do you still have the ‘urge’ to go (ie a feeling in your rectum) but then unable to pass anything? It is possible for some people to not poo every day, but for that to be ‘normal’ for them.

I suppose it also depends on what you were like before MS. Or whether anything has changed to alter your bowel habits, new medication for example?

Basically, I would just go through everything you eat and drink, see if you can identify any triggers, compare previous habits to the current situation and find out if there’s anything you can do to make changes. Keep notes or a diary of what you eat and drink (including the volume of water) and what happens bowel wise over the next few days. Don’t forget that digestion speed tends to be slow for people with MS. So your bowel might be reacting to what you ate 2 days ago rather than today or yesterday.

Sue

Tell your GP and MS team - it took a while but I got tests done and ended up seeing a specialist ‘bowel’ nurse and got some retraining’ (in my case it was learning to resist the urge to go until I really, really needed to, because I was getting the message to go too often). She was very reassuring and helpful. It is a very personal thing and I think even subtle changes can be distressing, and deserve attention. Good luck xx

Someone asked about this topic last week.

Will try and find it and nudge it up so new anonymous can read it.