I just wanted to share with you some information I got about constipation, and maybe some of it will help you too.
First of all, good deal on trying the oils. Some folks say that makes a world of difference.
Anyway, constipation runs in my side of the family. Both my mom's parents dealt with it, my mom delas with it, I deal with it, and Wes and Mitch both deal with it.
When Mitch had his most recent bout, I talked at length with the nurse practioner and got a lot of good information about medicines/laxatives.
First of all, there are the old stimulant ones and those are the ones you want to try to stay away from unless you really need things moving right away. These include ex-lax, senokot, correctal, etc.
There are those that are more natural and work by drawing water into the stool. These are not habit forming and can be used long term and on a daily basis. These include citrucel, metamucil, benefiber, etc.
There are laxatives that are not "natural fiber" so to speak, but also work by drawing water into the stool and are safe for long term use and not habit forming. These include milk of magnesia (I was surprised to find out that this one was safe for long term use), mineral oil (another surprise), and miralax. Miralax is what Wes and Mitch take.
Then there are the stool softeners like Colace that can be used long term as well.
According to Mitch's doctor, constipation can really be a problem and it is totally safe to treat it accordingly. Her issue was just to not use the stimulant laxatives, but any of the others are okay. She said to play around with the dosages until you find what works for you. For some people that may be 1/2 a dose daily or even every other day. For others, it may be a full does 2 times a day.
I found that I needed to take the fiber products 2 times a day for them to be effective and if I got backed up, it would be more than that. I need high doses to work for me. My mom is the same way and so is Mitch. Now Wes takes 1/2 the amount Mitch does and it sometimes is too much. Go figure! Mitch is 6 and weighs not even 50 pounds, and Wes is a teenager and weighs almost 200 pounds! Everyone is different.
I hope some of this helps you too. This is a miserable problem, but it doesn't have to be. There is stuff out there that can help. :)
Thanks Uki. I've tried almost all of that. When I went to the GI doc for the last colonoscopy they put me on a new med for chronic constipation. When I priced it at the pharmacy it was going to be over $200 per month. No way that is happening. I need to be more diligent with something like Miralax. Thanks for taking the time for all the info.
