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Seemingly Chronic Constipation

I was given iron supplements as a baby, grew up and have experienced constipation off and on as long as I can recall. I am 30 years old now, have taken Miralax on a daily basis for over a year (a friend of mine who was a nurse said it was safe as it does not alter your colon, only draws in water), and have no problems defecating. I am active (exercise almost daily), eat very healthy (fruits, veggies, no processed foods, no sugar, low salt), and take supplements (multivitamin w/no iron, glucosamine, quercetin, ginkgo, l-glutamine, omega-3 fish oil). I also have protein shakes made from whey or casein when I work out.

Anywho, when I do not take Miralax for a few days, or not take it at all, my stool is very rocky, to the point where I almost have to force it out, which can be painful and at times I may see streaks of blood on my stool. Has anyone ever heard of some kind of condition where your stool is simply not holding water, or is there some condition where my intestines are not retaining water needed for the stool? Any thoughts?

Please do not tell me to see a doctor, I work at a hospital and interact with them on a daily basis and I would be very awkward in having to see the doctors that I help as a patient. I just want information and then will make a concise decision from there.
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Avatar universal
I'm going through the same problem, do any of you get navel pain? Or lower back pains when blocked. Prun juice makes me go but don't drink more than a 8oz glass of you get the runs.  Then c gets worst, I was told to use acacia fiber its at whole foods. It's natrual and doesn't cause bloating. My symptoms started after probiotics for d. I have linzess but haven't used it. I usedly recover when I excersis but Iv tryed that and hasn't helped much.  Are you guys able to eat well?
Helpful - 0
140029 tn?1393298142
sorry to hear you're suffering - I'm also going through chronic IBS-C nonsense..

bunch of doctors have told me to just do fiber and no matter how much water I drink it doesn't seem to matter - it's almost like a motility problem vs. fiber problem.. another thing to check which I'm SURE you have checked already is your thyroid... or possibly going gluten free or dairy free... those things you can try... some grains are super hard to digest - like with me if I eat a bowl of popcorn - I will get super locked up beyond hope :(

anyway have you tried lizness?  That's one pill that has had some success with others - it's expensive but it's a lot like miralax...another idea is magnesium - or one that sort of works for me is soaking ground up flaxseed soaked overnight (tastes actually pretty good..) or maybe a combination of those but... I unfortunately cannot tolerate miralax because I'm fructose intolerant and that stuff makes me super ill.. (although I WISH I could take it..)

but I'm like you - my gut seems to just soak up water no matter what I try... maybe iron supplements messed your system up chronically like abusing laxitives?  *shrugs*
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I take Miralax everyday and sometimes twice a day for chronic constipation as well. It really is a pretty safe laxitive that beats all the others I've used and my hep recommends it for me. So I'd say you're safe in your continued use. But this isn't exactly normal so a visit to a different doc at a different medical center maybe worth it, if you're comfortable with it of.course. In my case, my constipation is caused by serious liver disease so unfortunately it offers no insight for you wrt this chronic issue.
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