stomach crapms

[bbj2856]

I have been so constipated for past 2 weeks had to finally take a laxative. My family dr told me to take colace well that dont make u go it is stool smotner . I have no inclin why if u have not been for days he cant suggest to u something to make u go. I was miserable so i got otc laxative and  took 2 sunday night I finally weet  cramped and  was packed such miserable feeeling. I had never had tummy ache till this out of all 18/25    . woke up in middle night felt need to go to back room and cant go again...................he told me take fiber i dont know what it does for some but nothing for me any suggestions. I have been constapated all through treaatment but not ths bad.
thanks for any suggestions.

[rivll]

Thanks for that! I am going to pick some up-

[1oftheclub222]

I hope something works for you!


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God bless and praying for suv for us all

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I know you meant SVR, but I'll take a SUV as well :).

[bbj2856]

Oh my I picked this senna up at drug store. I took it few times  The times I have tookit is before  before bed time and I take my rib at 4pm or so in afternoon usally no never took it on top of the rib..Thanks for inf ....sure wont take any  more. Family dr said take colace but when u need to go u can wait 3 more days dont seem to help  also fiber does nothin family dr told me up to 4 that dont help. As for the water I drink and drink and drink, I do the 16.9 oz bottle and  make sure have at least 4 plus tea. and weakend down coffee in the morning. and I do eat fruits but my appitite ***** i have 0 none have to make my self eat nothing taste good and if it is sweet  i want puke. lot things cooking make me sick the smell is awful. I am older so mayde this is why have problems thanks to all of u for help .God bless and praying for suv for us all

[pooh55811]

Whatever you decide to take, be sure to run it past the specialty pharmacist and  your treating doc. Many fiber products should be taken 2 hours before or 2 hours after the Hep C Meds.

Here is what I found on  Drugs.com:

Applies to: psyllium/senna

"ADJUST DOSING INTERVAL: Bulk-forming laxatives such as guar gum, psyllium, polycarbophil, or methylcellulose may affect the bioavailability of concomitantly administered substances due to their effect on the rate of gastrointestinal transit and gastric emptying.

MANAGEMENT: In general, oral medications should be administered at least 2 hours before or 2 hours after dosing of the bulk-forming laxative."

http://www.drugs.com/interactions-check.php?drug_list=3323-0,1968-0,2009-0,1093-10681,3328-15346,1806-1159

[BoceprevirGal]

I was constipated before I started treatment, and my Doc suggested Psyllium Husks, so I went out and bought a big glass bottle of a good product, by a company called Flora. The name of the product I bought was FloraLax, and it is all natural fiber formula, made from ground flaxseed, psyllium husks, and oat-bran. I take it about every third day, because I havent been constipated as much, on triple tx with Victrelis. But you could start out, by sprinkling a couple tablespoons into an 8 oz glass of juice or kefir, three times a day. I dont take it near the time that I take my meds though, a few hours after, to make sure they are absorbed.
   You can order it on the Interenet. It worked better for me, than my husband. I have read that Senna isn't good for the liver.
   The other thing tha has worked for me in the past, is to make   giant pot of home-made vegatable soup. I add tons of fresh cabbage, carrots, celery, and green beans.  You can make enough of this soup, to last 3 days.

[ceanothus]

I've had problems with constipation too and my treating hepatologist instructed me to use "Miralax", an OTC product that works quite differently from the usual fiber additives. I took it as directed on the package (measuring up to the line inside the cap), and it worked too well  - I was getting sudden attacks of severe intestinal cramping followed by diarrhea, multiple times daily. My hepatologist then said that because the ribavirin can cause g.i. problems, I might need to take a smaller dose of the miralax. I gave up on measuring in the cap as instructed on the label and started fine-tuning the dose while measuring with a teaspoon. I think I've finally got the right dose down for me - 1.5 teaspoons. 

Anyway, Miralax is clearly effective and safe for use with liver disease and while on tx, but be aware that you may need to find your own best dosage. It is easier to take than regular fiber, as it is colorless, flavorless, grit-free and non-thickening. You can put it in any liquid. I put it into tea or coffee. Good luck!

[ninjamonkey]

The only other thing I would say is a cup of prune juice in the mornings with a tablespoon of butter melted in it so the prune juice is warmits gross unless u like prunes then its fine. But it seems to help.

[orphanedhawk]

My Np said interferon can cause digestive problems.

Like Pooh said, eating right and drinking lots of water will help.
I ate a ton of fruit during tx, and had no problems.
I would definitely avoid cheese and probably wheat, but absolutely no cheese.
And yes, big veggie salads.

Taking pro-biotics certainly couldn't hurt and could help.

Good luck.

[rivll]

Hi,
Pooh pretty much covered what you can do...I have had the same problem and once took an herbal laxative but my Dr. said to stay away from the herbs and particularly senna (an herbal lax) on treatment. The psyllium products don't work well for me either-I think you are required to drink even more water than we already drink for it to be effective. It did work once for me but I had drunk nearly a gallon more water and I just can't keep that up.
The other thing that works if fiber and fluids don't do it, is an enema. I only do those if it has been a few days. Two weeks must have been monstrous!
Good luck to you.

[pooh55811]

Sorry you are having these problems. I know how uncomfortable it can be.

My first suggestion would be to drink more water. Maybe you are already doing that and, if you are, sorry for suggesting that you do something you are already doing. I drink about a gallon a day which is actually a lot of water when you try to drink it. I measure it so I know how much I am drinking. If I was not measuring it, I would never drink that much water.

Stool softeners will probably help eventually but they have to get through the system in order to work so they are not going to work very well if you are already constipated. (I mean, they won't work on the current constipation, just whatever is being eaten after taking the stool softeners, and then they should help keep the stool soft.)

Technically fiber is supposed to help but I never found commercial fiber (drug store) helpful. If you do take commercial fiber, you have to drink a lot of water or it balls up inside and does not help.

I have found that eating a lot of raw fruits and vegetables and/or slightly cooked vegetables (so they are still quite firm), add natural fiber and will get the bowels moving regularly if one eats a lot of fresh fruits and lightly cooked vegetables every day.I know that is a long term fix and won't help right now.(When I say a lot of fruits and veg., I mean 2 servings of fruit at breakfast, at least a serving of fruit or veg. for lunch, and 2 servings veg. and at least one serving fruit for dinner. So banana and a peach for breakfast, orange or apple for lunch and some salad of lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and 2 veggies for dinner such as carrots, broccolli, peas, asparagus, beets, turnips, parsnips, salad, etc. and another serving of fruit for desert or later in the eve as a snack.)

I am not sure which laxatives a person can take on these meds. If I were you, I would call my pharmacist and ask him/her which laxative is okay to take while on these meds. I would also let my doc know what I am taking.

One thing that might help, and I think it is okay to use (check with the pharmacist and doctor), is glycerine suppositories. They are not laxatives, but they do help the stool pass through the anus more easily because they lubricate the anal opening and the area just inside the opening. Instead of getting stuck from being so hard and dry, the stools will slide out more easily.

Sorry for being so descriptive but there is no way to talk about constipation and its remedies without getting a bit detailed.

Hope this helps.