I need help! in distress

Since the end of may I've been having very bad constipation. I've never had problems before, actually I was quite regular. I almost went a whole week without going to the bathroom, & I had taken laxatives, suppositories, & an enema & they didn't work. I finally vomitted & went later. ever since then I've been on laxatives just to get a result. along with the constipation, I've had lots of gas & painful bloating. also my stomach gurgles all the time. it's very loud & when I push on my lower abdomen, below my belly button, I can hear fluid like gushing around. I'm in extreme discomfort & I'd really like to know what could be causing my constipation and bloating. PLEASE HELP.

[ggreg]

Well, first of all, a doctor can probably do some labwork to make sure you don't have an intestinal bacteria or other digestive tract problem going on that needs medicine.  And it's okay to use laxatives to keep things going for a while, anyway, until you can get this straight.

So, let us say you have constipation for the usual reasons and not what a doc would find.  The main cause of constipation is medications, some of them can "dry out" a person, and so review side effects of what you're on, if anything, and stop taking it or switch brands.  If you took antibiotics recently, then that can cause constipation, and the solution is to return the "good" bacteria that the medicine kills along with the "bad" bacteria, by introducing "probiotics" into your intestine, which Acidophilus milk and Activia yogurt from the grocery store has those in it, or you can buy "Pearls" probiotics from the health food store.  Then there is a chance that what you are eating has not included enough roughage or fiber foods, which includes oat cereal, whole wheat bread, salads, fresh or frozen cooked vegies, spinach, colorful salads, and fruit as a snack.  Water is also key to good digestion, and with the heatwave all over the country, could be you need to make a point of drinking extra glasses of water, shoot for at least six glasses a day, keep a cup in the bathroom and every time you're in there, drink one down so you won't forget.

I hear you about the various enemas, laxatives, and suppositories you have tried.  I'll suggest another one, it works for me, a doctor once told me about it, and that's BabyLax or PediaLax, it's a small box of tubes of ointment, it's like a suppository but instead blasts the medicine up in there, so gently squirt two tubes in the rear, and I don't care how goofed up your digestion is, that stuff will make it come out of there in minutes, you might have to get up and walk around for a very short time, and then the urge will come, and the ointment properties of this laxative allows stubborn waste to come on out much easier.  Get some plain KY jelly (not the flavored kinds) and after each bath or shower, put some back there, it will help waste at least pass with less discomfort, too.  Both are lubricants, but the Lax stuff causes a big surge in the muscles that pushes waste out.
  
The fluid gushing you're hearing in your guts is just digestive enzymes trying to break down waste, and your tummy gurgles is acid that is supposed to break down food OR if no food has been in your stomach for a while, acid will build up and make that noise.  A temporary antacid ought to take care of your tummy.  The bloating and gas, once again, the blockages is what is doing that, so an ordinary Alka Seltzer Original will release the gas so it won't hurt.  But now, the bloating, that will NOT go down until you get all your waste moving again regularly.  I hope the few things I've told you will help you with this, but if not, as I said in the beginning, you may have an intestinal bacteria doing this to you, in which case you must go to a doctor and let him do some labwork on you.  

[rara2525]

Thanks so much! I've really been needing to hear a good opinion about this because everyone else just blows it off as if it's nothing major! I think I'm going to head to the doctor just to make sure everything is okay!