hello friends!
I hope you’re well, and coping in this dreadful humidity.. it can wreck havoc with my symptoms.
unfortunately, bowel issues are a part of my MS experience and a GP recommended I invest in some laxatives to help matters. I wanted to know if anyone had found any particular over the counter laxatives (laxido, for example) to be particularly good.
I also wondered if anyone here had any tips with regards to keeping things moving, and maintaining a good routine..
Movicol is good for a sluggish gut.
Have you tried docusate sodium capsules, they belong to the group of meds to soften stools to make it easier to pass. If you suffer with gut issues like IBS this medication is gentle on the stomach. I take them twice a day, plus eat a high fibre diet and drink plenty of fluids. You can buy this medication over the counter, but if you need it on a regular basis it can be prescribed to you. To keep things moving add a teaspoon of milled flaxseeds to your breakfast, plus you could try fruit cubes which you can buy from amazon, Tesco and places like Superdrug, Holland and Barrett.
Hi @jamesdjgale . Ahh - bowel issues , a most annoying thing. I try various things. At the moment my way of dealing with constipation is:
A mug of water first thing in the morning
then some syrup of figs
Prunes, Chia seeds and flax seeds with my oats and bran for breakfast ( but make sure that i have soaked the Chia seeds first)
Plenty to drink during the day
Fruit and veg in my diet ( apples seem to be good)
Sachets of Laxido if there is no movement for a couple of days and if things get bad then I have mixed 8 (!) sachets in a mug of water.
I do resort to Dulcolax sometimes ( apparently stimulates peristalsis along the bowels).
Constipation is sometimes a bit of a worry and for no obvious reason can come and go
Over the last year there have been 2 sort of interesting and memorable occasions when it got so bad the ‘enlargement’ of my bowel pressed on my urethra and made it difficult to pee. The combination of an enlarged bowel and an over full bladder pressed on my vagus nerve causing me to pass out! The first time that happened my wife called for an ambulance and I ended up in the Acute Medical Unit for a night. In the bed opposite me was a youngish guy who was under police guard and was taken off the next day in handcuffs by 2 police officers.
Hi James.
It’s good to hear from you again mate, even under these circumstances 
I was given some Senokot (spelling?) tablets when I left hospital. They worked well the next morning when I took 1 or 2 the night before. Fruit, dates and plenty of fluids throughout the day seems to keep me fairly regular. Nuts tend to bung me up a bit and I have to rock on the toilet seat a little the next day.
I once accidentally used an out of date sachet of Idahoan mash - that had me off to the toilet before I could finish dinner 
A warm drink in the morning seems to keep me on time.
Not all pharmacies are equal but, if you know of one with a prescribing pharmacist, they may be able to offer something that has a very good chance of helping. Either over the counter or otherwise.
Good luck mate
Jon.
thank you alison!
thank you @animali - this is all great. I’ll give it all a try and, as it happens, today was the first time I missed flaxseeds into my breakfast. will see how it goes…
thank you @Hank_Dogs - this is all fantastic. some of these I do already - pints of water in the morning, fruit and veg (apples are good!). but lots of great suggestions to try too
very sorry to hear about the enlargement - that sounds horrible and i’m sorry you had to deal with it. if nothing else I’m glad you got some real life hospital drama - I would have been overwhelmed with curiosity in the same situation…
hey @jthatcher , the same to you! it’s not too bad, but thank you anyway
very glad to hear this - will definitely try the tablets. fruit and dates are a daily must (as are pints of water) but curiously nuts seem to be okay with me… will avoid the out of date idahoan mash from now on.
thank you for the pharmacy tip - much appreciated. I hope you’re well, and coping with the heat!
The dodgy mash was a pretty uncomfortable experience mate. I was tempted to recommend a few pints of Guinness and some dry roast peanuts but, thought I’d better not 
I’m quite lucky with this heat. It doesn’t effect me at all. It’s the cold that really bothers me now.
It looks like we’ve got this weather for a while longer yet so, I hope you and everyone else on here are managing to keep ok
All the best mate 
Jon.
Humidity definitely makes everything harder. Staying hydrated, eating more fiber, and a short daily walk have helped keep me regular. I also started using Resilia Oil of Oregano softgels for gut wellness, and they’ve been a nice addition to my routine by supporting digestive comfort and gut balance alongside my usual habits.
It was all a bit bizarre. Two police officers watched over him during the night . I did learn that the guy had broken bail conditions and had been caught coming out of a window in a house he wasn’t supposed to be in. Before he was discharged and taken away, nurses removed a couple of nails from his leg and found several more puncture holes. Talking to the nurses the guy told them he was drinking heavily and injecting drugs.
I felt kind of sorry and sad for the guy. Unless he is helped to make a remarkable turn around in his life then his future looks pretty bleak.
thank you! all good tips
a few pints of guinness is always a welcome recommendation
sounds like a lot of suffering, of all different stripes. you have to hope for the best in a situation like that and hope he gets the help and support he needs. and that he accepts it in turn
Prune juice definitely helps
thank you - I’ve started eating prunes and they seem to help
Prunes are great - our grannies were right.
Grannies are fab
Hi i have terrible problems, my ms nurse & ibd nurse have blamed each other for far to long. It’s now decided it is my ms however I have an appointment with blowels& bladder. Fingers crossed . I have taken lots of laxatives laxido were ok but I was on 6 sachets a day and ended up with dioreah which as you know is nearly as bad as constipation . The latest one is lactulose it’s very strong so measure carefully. Good luck it’s hard to manage at the best of times but this heat 