I can’t advise you on the colonoscopy situation I’m afraid but I can give you a recommendation for a safe and effective product that will totally get rid of your constipation. It’s called Oxypowder and you can get it on Amazon. I take it 3 nights a week and I’m never constipated anymore. Good luck X
It seems a bit premature to be going for a colonoscopy. Many of us have suffered from constipation for many years and have tried great varieties of remedies and products without having a colonoscopy.
Two sachets per day of Laxido (aka Movicol or Magrocol) is a bit much and is likely to give you diahorrhea. You could try alternating one and two sachets on alternate days, or go for one and a half sachets. Or try sticking to one sachet and also add some prunes or prune juice, or Senna in the evenings. Or have you tried glycerol suppositories? They’re a bit slippery to get in, but they do work. Or try changing your diet, go for more whole wheat bran or adding linseeds.
Do you have a continence nurse (or a bowel and bladder nurse)? They might have more suggestions to make rather than going head first into an invasive test. For example, you could try the Peristeen anal irrigation system. It doesn’t work for everyone, but many people swear by it.
Constipation (and it’s buddy, diahorrhea) are a very common feature of an MSers life. I’ve had it for years. Feel free to PM me if you want to chat about it.
hello Sue…I am an old hand at constipation. I dont really get diarohea as such, but my poo can get too soft and I sometimes mistake a fart for a stool and the other way round!!!
Those laxido are good, but they take some juggling to get the happy medium.
I generally take 1 at night, but if i dont go for a day, i take an extra.
It`s a chuff this lark. A few weeks ago, I posted about a new idea, but still havent found the way to do it. There were a lot of takers hereabouts…
instead of going the way we do, we should have a wastehole in our wrists.It would never leak or pong.
No more rushing about, pulling at nix to get on the loo in time…heaven!
I take Magrocol daily, as I hate taking a full sachet in water I have a heaped teaspoonful in my tea every morning and another in my hot chocolate every evening. Sometimes I empty my bowels daily sometimes I don’t go for days so I add another heaped spoonful with a drink during the day. I probably shouldn’t mess about the way I do but it works for me.
While I have never had a colonoscopy. I have had a bowelscope which wasn’t painful or even very uncomfortable and the people who do this kind of thing are very good at putting you at ease and explaining exactly what will happen.
Persevere with laxido I’m sure will trial and error you will find what works for you.
Thanks for replying. So I guess I have to except that constipation and diarrhoea is an on going problem that I need to try and find what works best for me!
Not sure that I need a colonoscopy though but I see what the Hospital suggest.
I think they want you to have a colonoscopy because of the diarrhoea. That can be a sign of bowel cancer and that’s what they’ll be checking for. You should make sure the people at the hospital understand exactly what you’ve been taking because they may change their minds about the colonoscopy if they are sure the diarrhoea is a result of the laxatives.
I had a colonoscopy years ago. From memory, the procedure itself wasn’t too bad. Unfortunately to have a colonoscopy, you have to have a completely empty bowel. Before I had it, they gave me loads of laxatives and I had diarrhoea for hours. When it started coming out as clear water, I was ready for the colonoscopy. I think in some places they give you an enema instead.
Hi I had constipation before I even developed ms spent years struggling with it ,Then was watching a health program about a women who had treated her her crones disease with Kefir, So thought I would give it a try but the only one I could get from the health food store or the polish shop was made from a dry powder not the fresh grains So no other choice than to make it myself . Having spent what seems to be my entire life with constipation stomach pain, Its gone !!! I really did try everything every opening medicine you can think of even colonic irrigation I am still in complete disbelief , It’s now been 6 months and I really couldn’t be with out it I can eat anything go to the toilet fine. I also feel a lot healthier . I really am a complete sceptic about everything although delighted for people when they find some thing that works , so really didn’t believe it would make me feel better and was scared it would make me feel worse , Gosh I sound like I’m trying to sell some thing I’m not I’m just so enthusiastic to find something that has worked Its not difficult to make (having said that my husband makes it for me!)Any way hope you get some relief and find something that works
Are you getting enough fibre in your diet? An easy way to get extra fibre is with linseeds - sprinkle a tablespoon full on your breakfast. You can get them cheaply from the supermarket, & are packed full of fibre. Drinking lots of water is important.
Our bowels are most active shortly after eating, especially breakfast. So it may help to sit on the toilet quarter of an hour after having your brekkie to see if that helps. And on the subject of sitting on the loo, get a Squatty Potty. Search Youtube for it, and you’ll find an advert that explains what it is & how it helps (it’s also one of the funniest adverts you’ll see!). You can buy them on Amazon.
I know the feeling of being bunged up is pretty horrible, so I hope you find the right solution.
You’ve had lots of good advice here but mine is that tou need to contact your Continence Advisor. If you haven’t been allocated one, you can always self-refer . Just Google your Health Board for details.
I’m fortunate with my own CA in that we drew up a tailor-made regime specifically for my own needs #notwothesame
I suffer with constipation, well I know that now, because until I lived with someone I didn’t realise it was normal to poo every day(ish)! I generally manage once or twice a week at best, but that is pretty much how I remember it always being.
But, my GP put me on metformin, which has a reputation for causing upset tummies, but heck that made the constipation unbearable. Over a week and a half and the pain and discomfort involved was keeping me awake. I gave it my best shot, but then just gave up. The GP didn’t believe me but I’m not trying it again Not sure if it was an interaction with another of my drugs or just the mad reactions to thing MS can give, or just me.
Hi Lisa ,The only advice i would give is to start with just a small amount maybe a quarter of a glass if that is too much just go down to a spoonful a day and work up until you find out how it effects you I suffer with constipation and it took about 6 weeks for my bowels to get back to normal But the most wonderful thing for me was There were so many things that gave me stomach ache now i can eat what I like I now have one glass a day and that seems to keep me healthy My life has changed dramatically I have had constipation and stomach pain since being a child I was taking prescribed antacid and anti spasmodics now I don’t use them It’s only been 6 months and I have more energy less viruses If I get any further improvement that will be fantastic but if not I’m delighted that for the first time in my life my digestive system finally functions I have been told that the Kefir lines the bowels preventing nasty things getting into the system I know now I can eat lots of bread and the Kefir just seems to digest and strangely although i make mine with full fat milk it is pretty much dairy free as the kefir grains feed on the milk sugars and turn it into something completely different it’s very fizzy sorry I’ve gone on and on ! Oh don’t take it just before you go out in some people causes the runs! Good Luck
Colonoscopy is not at all dreadful hon, it is the thought of it that is horrible.
The laxative you take the day before is not very nice as you do spend quite a lot of time on the loo and need to cream your bottom with zinc and castor oil cream so you dont get sore but honestly the colonoscopy saved my life.
If you decide to go ahead with it you will be treated with kindness by the staff and it is not scary at all.