Laxative Dependency

A little worried

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Re: Laxative Dependency

Postby chachacha » 16 May 2016, 08:17

I use Metamucil in capsule form, because I just couldn't drink the slimy water and powder version. I actually don't use the name brand, but generic psyllium fibre capsules instead, because the Metamucil brand is VERY, VERY expensive. I have not had any bowel consistency issues since my LIS procedure 16 months ago, but keep taking the capsules "just in case". The psyllium coats your stool with a gel-like substance, so I figure that if I ever did become constipated (I actually suffered from chronic diarrhea before LIS, and psyllium also helps with that), the movements would come out more easily because they are all "greased" so-to-speak. I hope that your consultant has some answers and suggestions for you too.

:D
Fissure since about 2007
Fissure diagnosed in 2011
Diltiazem for two years - didn't work well
LIS January, 2015
Hemorrhoidectomy December, 2017
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Re: Laxative Dependency

Postby Ana » 17 May 2016, 03:42

Thanks! I hope so too as I feel like he foobs me off, and gives some more medicines to try every time I see him ( recently a "new generation" medicine for IBS-C called Constella but apart from just watery diarrhea, it did nothing). I will ask him for some suggestions regarding psyllium in capsules and generally something to increase BM consistency.
I will try to push him for some more tests to be done too. He was reluctant to refer me to colonoscopy. He thinks there is no point in doing this at my age and with my symptoms and sounded as though that was last resort.
I think my transit time is ok, it's just the bowels that are slow and lazy. It might be related with the muscles :/ I've read that some people have had a colon transit study done to see how it functions and that helped investigate the problems further. I also suspect I might have some problems with bad bacteria i.e Candida as I have a constant urge for sweets and chocolate and they don't make me constipated as the stool is still soft - it's just small and thin.
Very depressing. Anyway, thank you for all your replies!! :))
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Re: Laxative Dependency

Postby owowow » 20 May 2016, 06:35

I'm in the same boat as others. Been using movicol / laxido / magricol for a year or so now. Everything is fine if take a sachet every day. But I get trouble usually within a day or two if I stop using it.

TBH I am less worried about laxative dependency than the nagging suspicion that I must have some unidentified health issue that causes this problem.

Either my bowels are too sensitive or my bm's too hard! but there must surely be some underlying issue?

I have recently begun to suspect that perhaps I have gluten intolerance or some other food allergy which may be contributing. 2 months without gluten now and I feel (or imagine?!) that definitely I am more fully healed down there than ever before.

going to try stopping the movicol again in a week or two.

wish me luck please....!
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Re: Laxative Dependency

Postby Ana » 20 May 2016, 07:25

Hi owowow!,

I'm the same - I struggle if I don't take it, although that doesn't happen often as I use it regularly. However, I think it's not as effective as it was when I first started using it, but it does help a bit (with the help of other things like prunes/fruit in general/vegs etc) and I've recently started using half sachet of Fybogel and olive oil or coconut oil in the evening as well, and will see how I get on.

I also remember that when I first took Movicol it was kind of more effective than when I switched to Laxido. From what I read on this and other forums it works, and is, the same thing. Have you noticed any of these in your usage of Movicol/Ladixo?

Yes exactly, I too fear that I have some unidentified health problems. When I was a teenager I tended to have bigger BMs but harder, and things then changed and I started to have very small, think BM. Having had rectoscopy done, I was told this is IBS-C. But the BM patter did change from when I was a kid/teen to when I became an adult, so perhaps there are some health problems associated with that.

I also thought that gluten might be the reason, and I try to eat gluten free bread and pasta where possible. But I'm not sure if that helps...perhaps I would need to be on a really strict gluten-free diet to see the benefits (if there are any).
Have you completely eliminated gluten for the past 2 months? What benefits did you notice exactly?

Good luck with stopping the movicol! Gosh, I think I will never be able to stop using it. I also hate not going to the toilet in the morning. This is sort of my daily routine. To take the movicol/laxido at night/in the evening and have a BM in the am.
Fingers crossed for you, keep us updated.

PS. Forgot to mention. I've also recently bought some Milk of Magnesia. Is that helpful? I've read on the forum that people do find it helpful as well. Not sure if safe long term though..? (again mixed opinions. On the internet it says that frequent or excessive use may result in bowel dependence or an imbalance in the blood minerals...?)
). Yes, I think I also got to that point where I don't care about laxative dependency so much (if I have any, as I avoid stimulant laxatives and do not increase laxido dose) as I've had several blood tests done and all is fine, but I rather worry about some bowels/stomach/or other health problems in that department in general.
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Re: Laxative Dependency

Postby owowow » 20 May 2016, 07:46

Hi Ana,

No, I've not noticed any difference betwen Movicol and Laxido other than the flavour! I'm pretty sure that in terms of their active ingredient they are exactly the same thing. They both seem equally effective and I've not noticed that they become less effective over time.

Re gluten, yes I have been as strict as I can. I had a falafal once by mistake and a bit of my wife's sandwich by mistake. And fish in breadcrumbs when there was nothing else in the house. But in general I have stocked up on gluten free products and tried to avoid gluten whenever as possible. In doing so I have come to realise how much bread and wheat I was previously consuming. Which even if I don't have a gluten issue is probably unlikely to have been helping.

I've noticed two or three differences. Firstly I get less mouth ulcers, and can get away with biting my cheek or lip while eating without developing an ulcer which wasn't previously the case. Secondly my fingers feel less stiff. And lastly I feel as if my bum may have fully healed. Even after nearly two years on movicol I could always feel that something wasn't quite right. That feeling seems to have gone now. But of course stopping the movicol will be the real test......! At the minute I am enjoying the sense of optimism and a bit scared of testing it out....!
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Re: Laxative Dependency

Postby Ana » 20 May 2016, 08:04

Hi:)

Right, I guess I will stick with Laxido then for the time being. I've also been on it for more than a year and it doesn't seem to be less effective, it's just when I had it for the very first time (and then I only took half a dose) it worked better. Just like I said in the previous posts, sometimes, I can't figure out the right dose - either too little or too much as the BM becomes runny and not so effective. Nevertheless, it helps the things moving so I'm afraid to go off it.
I guess if you notice that you are not doing well without it you can always come back to it. My thinking now is that I've been taking it for so long without any negative side effects (rather positive) that it can't be that bad and the positives outweigh the negatives.

If you feel significantly better having gluten free diet, perhaps you should have some tests done to confirm that you are gluten-intolerant? I will ask my consultant for something to be done in that area, too, as he excluded coeliac disease purely on the basis of the blood tests. I've heard that these not always suffice to diagnose gluten intolerance, and endoscopy with tissue samples for biopsy is needed.
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Re: Laxative Dependency

Postby owowow » 20 May 2016, 08:14

yes - i feel the same way re the laxido. deffo more positives than negatives. but yes i have the same experience - the results can be a bit unpredictable!

Bit of a problem with the gluten intolerance / coeliac test, is that I have done things in the wrong order. Tests apparently can only identify a gluten intolerance if you are eating gluten.

Ah well..... I guess I will come back to that issue if the gluten free diet does indeed fix the fissures.....!
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Re: Laxative Dependency

Postby sore » 20 May 2016, 08:20

Hey Ana,

Have you seen anyone except your GP about your IBS? I've also got IBS-C and have just recently started seeing a dietician who knows so much more about the condition than any GP I have ever seen. With her guidance just over two months ago I started the low FODMAP diet which has significantly helped (one of the foods that are often causes major issues for people with IBS is wheat - but it's actually the sugar in wheat (a type of fructan) not the gluten). A lot of research has been done on this diet through Monash university. You can have a bit more of a read here: http://www.med.monash.edu/cecs/gastro/fodmap/

Hope things get regular for you again soon.
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Re: Laxative Dependency

Postby Ana » 20 May 2016, 08:24

Exactly. To eliminate coeliac disease you actually need to eat gluten. Apparently, it's not so much recommended to go on a gluten-free diet on your own anyway, if you don't have coeliac/gluten intolerance.

Yeah, if the fissure is fixed then you can come back to that problem. And I guess if you feel better with not eating gluten you can stick with it for now, and then if the tests need to be done, you can start eating it again just for the sake of having the tests done.

Good luck with everything.
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Re: Laxative Dependency

Postby owowow » 20 May 2016, 08:27

sore wrote:Hey Ana,

Have you seen anyone except your GP about your IBS? I've also got IBS-C and have just recently started seeing a dietician who knows so much more about the condition than any GP I have ever seen. With her guidance just over two months ago I started the low FODMAP diet which has significantly helped (one of the foods that are often causes major issues for people with IBS is wheat - but it's actually the sugar in wheat (a type of fructan) not the gluten). A lot of research has been done on this diet through Monash university. You can have a bit more of a read here: http://www.med.monash.edu/cecs/gastro/fodmap/

Hope things get regular for you again soon.


Yes, I have read the same thing re gluten/wheat/ fructans and fodmaps

http://www.sciencealert.com/scientists- ... sn-t-exist
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