Is my laxative abuse leading to heart problems?

I have been abusing laxatives for about 4.5 years now, but I have kind of a different story from most laxative abusers. When I was 14, we discovered that I had a muscle problem that made me unable to get rid of waste, so it would sit there and accumulate (gross, I know) and I would be constipated for long periods of time. This made me very bloated and very self-conscious about my body. I am thin, but when I get bloated I look overweight. My parents and doctors put me on laxatives to help me until they could find another solution. I don't know how many I took at a time at the beginning because my intake was monitored by my mother, but I would assume that it was the regular dosage and probably about once or twice a week.

After about a year, I got frustrated with the doctors. They expected me to go weeks at a time without laxatives so they could experiment with other remedies that wouldn't work, and that just wasn't very comfortable or very good for my body image. I felt fat when I hadn't been able to go to the bathroom for a couple weeks, and extraordinarily uncomfortable. So, I refused to go to appointments anymore and took over the problem myself. For the past three years, I have been abusing laxatives, and the dosages have gone up to 15 Dulcolax a night (any more than that and I puke). Recently, I have experienced some chest pains and dizziness, which frightens me. Sometimes, I wake up in the morning and feel very short of breath to the point where I need to sit and take it easy for basically the rest of the day for fear of fainting or something, and my heart rate is extremely high during these episodes. I am only 18 years old, and I don't want to damage my body anymore. How can I get off these pills? I'm not trying to lose weight, I'm honestly just trying to maintain my comfort level and body image.

Thank you!

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi!
Chronic abuse of laxatives can deplete your body of essential minerals and vitamins and even cause anemia. This could have happened in your case.  Since you had this problem of constipation, and an inability to empty bowel, you need to consult a gastroenterologist and rule out problems like IBS, Crohn's celiac disease and food intolerance.
Severe anemia can cause palpitation and weak hear and low blood pressure. Please consult a doctor to run tests to rule out these causes before more damage is done. Take care!