An embaresing subject. Costipation.
 

Serious constipation, miserable subject, but an indicator of many things.


I have alway been dirty-loo phobic...quite a problem for a pilot. It is now getting serious with a relatively sudden onset.:ooh: Edit: The constipation not the fear of grot.

What there is seems to be made up of nodules which break apart readily. I wondered if this is indicative of what is going on in there.

I have symptoms of prostate problems but no others.

I've tried over the counter stuff, and indeed herbal remidies (which used to work but now don't.) Yep, tried bran etc., (which makes me ache, so not for long) and even cabbage soup! Nothing seems to work.

Believe it or not, I can't get figs, let alone syrup of figs in this God forsaken place.

Any ideas, or natural remedies?

LR

So it really should be "Tight Rivets"!
How about plain old dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate. I.E.: DOSS, Colace, or generic equivalent thereof. You want to soften those rivets, not blast them!

For many years, after repairing ladies' posteriors following difficult childbirth, I didn't want my repair to "pull out" so to speak. Instructions were Colace 100 mg and Milk of Magnesia 30cc, twice daily for 10 days whether needed or not.
Trust me, they were all loose!
________
Graham

Have you tried Sennacot - made from senna pods. Sounds like you could have mild IBS.

Aha, number one on the Bristol Stool Chart....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Stool_Scale.

(Believe it or not, the academics have made a science out of szh!te)


Try and eat as much fibre as possible, at every oppurtunity- up to 5 -portions a day, orange juice with the bits in, fresh fruit, loads of veg, and don't neglect the fluids either.

If your bowel habit has changed, consult a doc.:)

Thanks for that chaps. Wiki never ceases to amaze me...it seems that I'm somewhere between one and two.

I was aware about Senna pods...Thanks to Spike Milligan :}

I was also aware that there was, and has been for a long time, considerable science on the subject of poo. I knew that royalty had a person of considderable status looking in their pots in the morning, but Google Didn't quite find my try of "Keeper of the King's stools." I did however get "Keeper of the King's elephants." and although it does feel like I'm trying to pass an elephant, the entry wasn't much help.

I am concerned about the sudden change, but will try the above posts before pressing the panic button.

Bran has become an issue. I seem to ache after a few days of eating any significant quantity. It's quite bad...sit in a chair and do nothing but moan about the weather type bad.

I get the feeling that a lot of these things that change are caused by processing in the skull, not 'global' chemistry, but then, who or what we share our minds with is something of a hobby horse of mine.

I am reliably informed that a product called Micralax saves a lot of time and trouble. Readily available from your friendly local pharmacist.

You have my sympathies L-R. Check it out with the doc.

I had similar symptoms and followed the common sense advice of fruit, fibre, fluids - didn't make much difference, in fact bran and milk was downright unpleasant. Later got a tentative diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome - stress will out somewhere if we're adept at suppressing it. All goes back to the dim recesses of the brain where peristalsis is controlled, and no amount of fibre helps. Try a stress free break see if the symptoms go.

Another possibility is a lack of fluid retained in the gut to help things along. A mate was prescribed 'Fybogel' for this, it seemed to work for him.

Gingernut has given good advice, if things have changed then take yourself off to see your doctor. You may like to try using a glycerine suppository. Glycerine attracts water thereby softening up the concrete rabbit droppings you are currently producing and making them easier to pass. If you have been constipated for some time it may take a couple of doses of the suppositories to soften the build up.

None medic talking.

I have a reaction to codiene which produces your symptons. And i have every sympathy for your plight.

Bran is bloody horrible. Porrige works for me.

Fresh oranges or 8 pints of Westons Scrumpy Jack cider with bits with a haggis and curry sauce with chips on the way home.

And sushi has a similar effect to the codiene.

And How did we go from lowering stress levels to poking things up the blokes bum in one post.

If the habit has changed, you do need investigating.

It's likely that you have something as simple as diverticulitis, but do discuss this with your doc:)

Yes sorry - IBS means irratable bowel syndrome. I have been diagnosed with this from a CAT scan but I can't feel any symptoms apart from the odd twinge in me guts. Everything seems pretty normal.:confused:

agree see your doctor
 

Agree with a sudden change in bowl habit at any age really is safer to see GP asap

When I added my bit above, I was still processing the evening's excellent Cab-Merlot. I failed to notice the bit where you said this was a change of rather sudden nature.
I agree with those above: off to the doc with you, my good man. You may well require a bit of "looking-up". As a beneficial side effect of that, the prep will temporarily relieve your problem!

Pulses have a very good effect on most people. Buy them in cans and mix them into stews, casseroles etc., or buy them dry, cook them up, and then as before.

In summer you can mix them up into salads made with a couscous base, and mix in some vinaigrette dressing.

Colonoscopy Recommended
 

Hi Loose rivets,

I'm not a doctor but as has already been stated, a visit to your GP sounds like a very good idea.

I have no idea of what the problem is but if you haven't previously had a colonoscopy, I would strongly urge you (and anyone else over 45) to have one (younger if there is a family history of bowel disease) - in fact I had one today myself and can confirm that the bowel prep will sort out your problem in the short term.

Good luck.

Have a can of Guinness with or after a meal. Worked for me everytime! Tastes good too.

Don't fear the colonoscopy. Doctors seem to like doing it under GA, but I insisted for my last that I wanted to be awake and watching the procedure on a monitor. Medium short term discomfort, but a fascinating exercise, with a wonderful 'release' afterwards (you are pumped full of air). The most unpleasant bit was the clearing of the system for the day before, and not being able to eat or drink anything but water or clear soup.

Indeed Rainboe, nothing to fear there.
It's the camera down yer gullet that's bloody awful.
At least with the camera on approach downwind, so to speak, you can have a meaningful conversation with the medics.

Thanks again for all the input. Finally I pressed the panic button and signed on with a local doctor.

He gave me Lactulose syrup, which he probably would have done anyway--in preparation for the prostate investigation mentioned in another thread.

I don't know what they put in it, but one thing's for certain: Poo doesn't like it . :ooh:

Flippin' heck. Getting old is like balancing half a dozen ball bearings - one on top of another. Get one out of line, and all the others go out of kilter.

Hi Loose rivets,

Well done on going to your GP. Even if it is prostate related I still highly recommend having a colonoscopy if you haven't had one in the past few years. The worst part for me was going without solid food for near on 2 days, however it is a very worthwhile procedure as bowel cancer - which appears fairly common these days, is a largely avoidable disease.

For info, I had mine under sedation rather than a GA. In other words they put you to sleep for it and I noted that I was only out for about 20 mins.

I am going to start a thread when I get 5 minutes, on the role of the GP in our overall health as I personally see plenty of opportunity for improvement, but more on that there.

Good luck in any case.

VH-MLE