constipation

[mishtymitra]

i have constipation . i drink water a lot but then also i have to take medicines everynight.some of nice persons adviced me. but i live in India.so.i may not get every product here as chai seeds. so what i will take that keep my organs well.its so much serious problem that some times i feel that stool is like stone.so can any dear doctor help me please.

[ggreg]

Dear Mishty,
The way you get to the "Ask The Doctor" forum is at the top of this page, the blue bar that goes across and has menu items, the first one says, "Forums."  You click on that word and it will take you to the forums page.  On the right-hand side of that page, is entitled the column, "Ask The Doctor" forum.  Under there is Gastroenterology, and that way you can ask a doctor about your situation.  I'm glad your two new medicines are working, keep it up.  I did not realize this was probably a lifelong physical or chemical problem of some kind, becuz my tips were for the average individual.  But hope a doctor can help you with this.  Bye!  GG

[Dalubaba]

I am sending you some details of Isapgol- a bulk laxative.Psyllium is Isapgol, available at all chemist shop.
Fiber and bulking agents (eg, bran, Psyllium, calcium polycarbophil, methylcellulose) provide fiber and are the only laxatives acceptable for long-term use. They act slowly and gently and are the safest agents for promoting elimination and preventing constipation. Proper use involves gradually increasing the dose--best taken tid or qid with sufficient liquid (by adding 20 oz/day of extra fluid) to prevent impaction --until a softer, bulkier stool results. This approach produces natural effects and is not habit forming. Bulking agents normalize both constipation and diarrhea.
   Psyllium is a bulk-forming fiber. Other fibers that belong to the class of bulk-forming fibers are cellulose, methylcellulose, carboxymethylcellulose sodium, karaya, malt soup extract, polycarbophil, and wheat bran. Bulk-forming fibers are laxatives because of their water-holding properties. They exert their action primarily through mechanical effects by bulking the colonic contents and decreasing transit time.

[Dalubaba]

Bulk laxative like psyllium husk (isapgol) is safe and effective.Naturolax, marketted by organon Laboratories, is quite effective. It is not harmful as osmotic laxatives.Dulkolax suppositories are also available. Bu oral route you can use  dulkilax(spelling?) tablets.
In yoga, there is one procedure called shankh prkshalan. You may visit some yoga teacher who can help you to do this procedure. The procedure cleanses your complete digestive tract. Then you can do mini-shankh-prakshalan at your home, regularly.
Naturopathy treatment; In the morning foment you abdomen with hot water bag for 3 minutes and put wet napkin on the abdomen for one minute. This is one round. You should do such five rounds. This should be done in the morning before you take your breakfast.
Another naturopathy treatment is Kati snan in which you submerge your navel  and hips in a tub. Your chest, face, and legs remain out side the tub. Special tubs are available. You have to take this navel bath everyday till your gastrointestinal problem is solved.
In yoga there is Sahsrar kriya. If done regularly, you can get rid of your constipation.Because of your long term problem you should consult expert in yoga or naturopath and take their guidance. wish you best of luck.

[mishtymitra]

hello,how r u? thanx a lot for your kind advice.but u knw i have this problem since my childhood. n i feel it became stone. n i attempted many type of alternative medicines but it dint work as i expected.nw days i m taking 2 type of medicines nd its woking can u suggest me hw can i ask a question to a doctor at this site?i ll attemp ur suggetion.please keep in touch wid me.god bless u.

[ggreg]

I meant to add that unless your medicines are essential for your good health, then perhaps you will consider either reducing the amount you are taking until your digestion straightens out, or stop them altogether.  If a doctor is giving them to you, talk to him about what is happening with your digesiton, and he can actually give you the very best advice about how to deal with constipation, or maybe he will find other types of medicines you can take that will not cause constipation.  But I do think in the end, you may need to stop taking those medicines.

[ggreg]

I am not a doctor, this is a patient-to-patient forum, but could be I can give you a few ideas as to how to deal with your constipation.  It may be caused by your medicines, so you will need to eat certain things or take certain laxatives to counteract the effects of those.  I had the worst constipation from chemotherapy for cancer for a while, and the only thing that kept me from being too stopped up was spinach.  If you can find canned spinach, or get some fresh spinach leafs, eat those every day.  You can just heat up the canned spinach and add it with a normal meal, just a half can is all you will need each day.  Or the leaf spinach, you can rinse and put in a salad daily, or heat it up in some water, just a few handfuls will be fine.  

Another good food for constipation is whole potatoes.  Again, you can buy them in a can, just eat half a can, heat it up with some butter or whatever you like on potatoes, really tastes good.  Or you can get fresh potatoes, the smaller ones are best, and boil them in water until they are very tender, just four or five small ones or two big ones, cut them up and add butter or any flavoring you like.  For some reason, those two vegetables really help keep constipation from getting too bad, you can alternate if you get tired of one of them.

Now, there are non-food "laxative," ways of easing constipation, but in India, I am not sure you will find these products.  But anyway, sometimes people need to do enemas with warm water to keep a bowel clear, which I imagine you can consult with a local nurse about how to go about doing those.  There are also laxative items in a pharmacy or drugstore, see can you find ones for children since they are so mild... adult ones can be a little too strong on the digestive muscles.  Laxatives cause the digestive muscles to surge very hard and by sheer power they push out the constipated waste.  So, if you can find children's laxatives, then see if they have a kind that you can put in the place where waste comes out.  You can get "suppositories," which are soft gel capsules that dissolve when you put them in there and will cause the waste to come out.  In the U.S., they also have little boxes of ointment tubes, "BabyLax or PediaLax" and you squirt a couple in the rear and waste comes out in minutes.  I hope all this description will give you some idea of what might work like that.

There are adult and children liquid laxatives that you can drink that will work overnight.  Some people also will mix Metamucil with water and this seems to help constipation, could be there is a laxative that you mix with water in India that will be similar.  I am not as familiar with the names of bottles of laxatives, but a pharmacist can tell you what he thinks would work well.

If the medicine is not doing this to you, then you will have to visit a physician, so he can determine if you have a bacterial infection that is causing your constipation.  This is a fairly common possibility.  So, if he gives you antibiotics to get rid of the infection, then that will be the end of the whole thing and you'll do fine afterwards, even taking the medicines you have.  I'm sorry you are in this condition, I know just how awful you must feel, and I hope you will get better soon.