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Posted 2/23/2008 11:26 AM (GMT 0)
Hi All


I was diagnosed with crohns about a year and a half ago - i had just started to take asacolon as my crohns at the time was quite mild - I then became regnant so had to come off the asacolon for the 9 months - the crohns seemed to subside during the pregnancy which was fantastic until the last month when i formed a perianal abcess which was the worst pain i had ever experienced - this had to be removed three weeks before giving birth to my gorgeous baby but i continue to have leeks from the abcess now and again when crohns flares up -

My questions really are does anyone else experience constipation with their crohns - i can go for two sometime three days without having a bowel movement and then i will be at least 1- 3 hours back and forth on the toilet starting wiht constipation and little drops coming out until it moves to diahorea adn then i know i am finished - does anyone else experience this ?? what have they done to try and help this problem - any foods to stay away from as any time i ask my doc i get told that crohns is not a food related problem ??? I have not gone back on the asacolon yet but think i will as my crohns is getting worse



Any comments would be greatly appreciated



Thanks

Bertie71

__________________________________________________________
I renamed your post in hopes of getting more responses...

Post Edited By Moderator (MMMNAVY) : 2/23/2008 8:06:27 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 2/23/2008 2:00 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome Bertie71,
Yes there are some on here that have constipation with their crohns, and let me assure you that what you are having is not unheard of problem. Well there is a big debate about food and crohns because this is such an individual disease, but for example I cannot eat spicy or greasy foods without at least giving me the acid poopies or I throw them back up. I would try the traditional constipation cures (anything from prune juice to the over the counter stuff) and go from there with working up perscription stuff.
I am sure others will come along and help you out more.
Take care,
Navy
Posted 2/23/2008 2:01 PM (GMT 0)
You should be following a diet.... Have you seen a GI?
Posted 2/23/2008 2:07 PM (GMT 0)

thank you for your post there -

I am not sure what a GI is - can you tell me - and no i have not been given any dietry help as when i asked the doc about it he ust said that food is not the issue ?? But there must be something that is triggering it off???

Posted 2/23/2008 2:10 PM (GMT 0)
Gastrointestinal doctor=GI

who is the doctor you see to treat your crohns?

This disease is so individual that food is really a trial and error process
eliminate the foods that cause you pain and constipation...
Can you still eat salad and not get sick?
Posted 2/23/2008 2:35 PM (GMT 0)
I have had chrohns for 20 plus years and had never been constipated, a few weeks ago i went fron diarhea 8=10 times a day to nothing MY doctor suggesyed miralax which is now over the counter, It didnt work the total best the first week so then he put me on it twice a day it is safe to use , so it may be worth a try. This disease can be so mentally exhausting you never know whats next some days.
Posted 2/23/2008 2:47 PM (GMT 0)
I have not seen my doctor now for a while - i can eat salads fine - i think its the nice stuff that causes me to be constipated - i was not sure if the constipation was one of the main symptoms of crohns - it is still all so new to me that i just wanted to see what others get and how they deal with it - i have tried laxatives and they really do not seem to work but maybe i will try some different ones

I could be a whole day running in and out of the bathroom with sudden pangs of crohns - it is just awful and i am sure mine is so mild compared to others !

Thanks again for your messages - i really do appreciate the feeback

Posted 2/23/2008 3:20 PM (GMT 0)
Hi,

My daughter has chronic constipation with her crohns. Laxatives don't work for her either. She is taking Miralax now. It really does not help much either. We know how you feel. It is very frustrating.

Angels Mom

Posted 2/23/2008 3:36 PM (GMT 0)
How long ago was your abscess drained? If it was longer than a few months ago, then it is a fistula. When you have an asbscess and you get it drained....which you have no other choice but get it drained, there is a 50% chance that it will fistulize. If you have never been to a gi dr., you need to make an apt. on Mon to see one. I tend towards constipation. I do not have D with my crohns. Make sure you are drinking lots of water. I can really tell when I haven't had enough fluid in a day.
Posted 2/23/2008 4:15 PM (GMT 0)

Miralax was mentioned, does it come in a tablet form or just a powder or crystals that must be mixed with juice.  My hubby has Crohn's and he has the C although originally he had years of D.  He also has a stricture which could be part of the cause of the C.

Thanks for any responses.  I appreciate them and Bertie, this group know more about this topic then any site I have ever visited so keep on posting.

Kitt

Posted 2/23/2008 7:25 PM (GMT 0)
welcome, you are in a great place. I always have constipation troubles. I take glycolax (a stool softener) IN my coffee (yes, i am lucky and can drink coffee) I also take a fiber suppliment like metamucil. all that helps a lot.
my GI always said food isn't an issue and I finally went to a naturopath, have stopped eating gluten, and am 10000% better. food doesn't cause this disease, but many people have found relief from symptoms by changing their diet.
keep asking questions.
Posted 2/25/2008 2:06 AM (GMT 0)
I have had C all my life and eating more dietary fiber doesn't help that much and sometimes makes it worse.  I tried Mirilax  this week for the first time and it seems promising.  You stir a capfull into any liquid and drink as usual.  It doesnt change the flavor of your beverage at all so its easy to take.  It takes a couple of days to work just like a stool softener but it didnt give me gas and bloating like stool softener of some other fiber laxatives.  I think I will keep using it, it seems to work good once it kicks in.  It produces a normal BM not D and no cramps.  yeah What a relief!
Posted 3/17/2008 12:42 AM (GMT 0)

Hi!  Welcome!  I was diagnosed with Crohn's this August and had the same problem until a month ago when I started taking Miralax on a regular basis.  At first I just took it when I got constipated but I was soo miserable.  A nurse at my work said that I need to regulate myself so I started drinking 1 capful of miralax, sometimes that isn't enough so the next day I'll do a cap and a half and that seems to do the trick.  So that is what I have been doing and it seems to be working great.

Hope you find your happy medium. 

Take care

Posted 3/17/2008 3:57 AM (GMT 0)
Just food for thought (no pun intended),

I have Constipation and Diarrhea with my Crohn's. My constipation starts similar to yours. I go back and forth continually. The source of my constipation is a bit different though and this is worth a trip to a colon surgeon or worth a colonoscopy to check out. My disease is primarily located in my rectum and lower large intestines. It's often mistaken for Ulcerative Colitis (UC), but I have abscesses, fistulas, fissures, etc. all of which are symptomatic of Crohn's and NOT typical of UC.

Anyway, with all of my rectal issues, the doctors are finding that my rectum gets SO inflamed and swollen that it is causing what *seems* to be constipation. It is not really constipation, what has happened is my rectum swells up to a point where getting a bowel movement through is difficult, so I often feel constipated when in reality I just have a MUCH narrower pathway for a BM.

GL and diet DOES help, but only to keep the Crohn's at bay. When I start flaring, I start doing this all over again. They just recently discovered that I now have internal hemorrhoids, Fabulous!
Posted 3/17/2008 9:42 PM (GMT 0)
I have only had constipation, no D. I drink glycolax every day in coffee and that helps a lot. it mixes into hot beverages easier than cold, I have found.
Posted 3/26/2008 10:57 PM (GMT 0)
I've had many different tests to confirm my diagnosis of Crohn's Disease, and I also experience constipation problems.  I have a B.M. daily, but many times it requires quite a bit of effort to go.  My gastro. recommended I use an OTC stool softener as needed, and it works fairly well.  While you generally hear about diarrhea being a symptom of Crohn's, my gastro. assured me that constipation is not that uncommon with Crohn's.

Good luck! 

Posted 3/27/2008 12:46 AM (GMT 0)
Try something high in fiber but easy to digest. I eat some oatmeal in the morning when I am feeling backed up. I find it doesn't upset my gut, but it seems to stimulate my digestive tract. Good luck!
Posted 5/13/2008 7:46 AM (GMT 0)
I have to wonder what your intestines are like if you are taking Miralax or other forms of laxitives on a regular basis. It can be more harmful for your intestines than to find other methods of expelling what goes through your system.

I agree with mark some oatmeal in the morning. Also don't over due to fiber it will make you even worse. If you are going to introduce fiber to your system after some withdrawl you need to do it slowly. If you add it to quickly then you can become more bound.

I had a resection doen so constipation was my main complaint and I have had CD for 34 years. Now I am regular but they are so loose that there is the opposite now except for a few days that I didn't go and when I did it was soft and watery. To be truly constipated you must be only going once a week. Because a person that goes twice week is not considered constipated.

Good luck.
Posted 5/13/2008 8:45 AM (GMT 0)
Actually, constipation = going less often or with more difficulty due to harder/drier stools than normal for that person. So while only going twice a week may be normal for some, it is NOT normal for others who are used to going more often.

I use magnesium, calcium, & Burdock Root supplements, and make sure to drink enough water and it helps to do some activity regularly that gets things moving (such as basketball, rapid walking, etc.).

Also, I found Miralax to be more constipating than helpful...I think it absorbs too much water, and if a person cannot drink that much water fast enough, then it binds a person up even more than before taking it. Milk of Magnesia seems to work better for me when I'm in dire need...

Take care,
Posted 5/13/2008 4:48 PM (GMT 0)
One thing you will learn for sure is that everyone with Crohn's is a little bit different, and you have to experiment to see what works for you. Your description of constipation followed by diarrhea, makes me worry that you have a stricture. you definitely need a gatroenterologist to investigate what is going on. I alternate betwen C and D, but I'm more often constipated. I do not agree with Shoshanna that you are only constipated if you only go once a week.....I would be in horrendous pain if I only had a bowel movement once a week. What works best for me is metamucil daily, and colace (stool softener) when I need it. When I feel really bad I take Senokot, which is a laxative. For some reason, Miralax made me extremely nauseated, and didn't help, but many people on this site have found it helpful. I can't eat much fiber without feeling sick, but the metamucil doesn't bother me as much. this also isn't true for everyone. My suggestion is that you see the doctor first to rule out strictures or partial obstructions, and then try to figure out what works. Diet is a weird thing....what works for one person doesn't for another, but I definitely believe that diet affects our symptoms. Keep reading and posting on the sites....you will learn a lot! Good luck
Posted 5/14/2008 12:47 AM (GMT 0)

I also have the constipation, sometimes followed by D just like you described.  I have been scoped repeatedly, no strictures or other mechanical problems. 

I use magnesium when I even think I'm getting backed up.  It's much cheaper than other OTC's.  There are many forms of magnesium so you'd need to experiment with the dosage.  Always check with your doctor before adding something new to make sure there's no conflict with other meds.

I've found that 4 prunes every night for a snack help also.  Every once in a while, I'll make a large batch of chocolate covered prunes and savor a few every night.  Anything covered with chocolate tastes better!  If you don't like prunes, try the lemon or orange essence types.  They aren't as pruny.

Posted 1/20/2012 1:46 PM (GMT 0)
Dear Berti' :-)       This is all new to me too, but since I started with crohn's I've had constipation too. I started drinking pure, organic, cold pressed, inner gel, aloe vera juice everyday." Fruit of the Earth" brand I get at Walmart. The big jug is the one you want as it is inner gel. I mix it with cranberry or blueberry juice and add stevia sweetener because it tastes bitter. I haven't had any real problems since I started drinking this. It is good for your whole intestinal tract and has a long chain of amino acids and lots of b vitamins too. Try It. Terri723 tongue
Posted 1/20/2012 2:22 PM (GMT 0)
Wow that sounds exactly what happens with my daughter (14 yrs old Down syndrome, moyamoya disease celaic disease crohns disease and strokes) She ahs been constipated all ehr life. She will have no BM for 4-5 days by the 3-4th day the pain starts and gets worse by 4th or 5th day she will start to have BMs for 3 days sometimes accidents. She's had 2 colonoscopies in wich the prep didn't even clean ehr out. She takes miralax daily and as of Wednesday ExLax 3 times a week. She took it wednesday and it she ahd a small BM this morning. Definatly not enough since she hasn't gone since Tuesday, when she had her colonoscopy and the Dr. said she still had lots of stool left. She has an appointment with the GI doc Thursday so I'm getting all my questions in order before that. Any experience or input is welcome!
Mary G
Posted 1/21/2012 2:29 AM (GMT 0)
Hey Bertie!
I know how you feel and a lot of other people on here do too! People on this forum have given me great advice on dealing with constipation(whether the causes be from pain medication-colon thickening!). Like so many have stated above, everyone is different and it really depends on the cause of your constipation.

I've always had stomah issues my whole life(mainly constipation) and no matter how much fiber my parents forced me to eat or how much fruits & veggiges I ate I still got constipated & the extra fiber just made me feel miserable and nauseated. What works for me, in general, is taking miralax every day. Probably about 2-3 doses a day. It's tasteless when dissolved in your bevarage of choice. I also sip a dose of mineral oil about twice a week. When worse comes to worse and I haven't been in a week I use a plain suppository and just start chugging on water. When you don't drink enough fluids you can of course get constipated easily.

By the way the above mentioned remedies you can get OTC. My constipation is caused by a multitude of things(rectal inflammation/colon thickening) & my GI is still thinking I may have a partial obstrution/gastroparesis. Like always, consult the GI :)
Posted 4/7/2012 9:45 AM (GMT 0)
I too have constipation with the occasional runs.. The thing I find best is Epsom salts.. a teaspoon or two dissolved in liquid will have you cleaned out :-D then go down to however much of a teaspoon keeps you regular.. the good thing with this is that it's not addictive for your bowel. I also find a pear a day helps better than apples or prunes. For me (like others) too much fibre makes me WORSE and increases the pain :-(
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