IBS-C? Advice?

Hi, I'm Juliana and I am 16 years old. I have been dealing with chronic constipation/impaction since I was in second grade. When I was 15 I developed horrific abdominal cramps and really bad reflux. This lead to many doctors visits (you know the drill) many X-rays that showed I was severely constipated. 6 clean outs later no luck, off the the er. Blah blah blah. After a colonoscopy and endoscopy all they could find was acid reflux. They just told me I have IBS-C. Fast forward to this year I just recently went back to the doctor for a consult for my pain, he did the usual listening to the stomach gurgles and then pressing on my stomach. He decided to do an X-ray. He comes back in and (in short) tells me my colon is double its normal size in diameter, and my small intestine was triple in diameter, oddly enough he wasn't that concerned about it. He did ask if my family has any history of Crohn's (we don't). I had to do a serious bowel clean out colonoscopy style. He perscribed me reglan which I refuse to take because of the horrific side effects and possible movement disorder. So we are pumping me full of prunes, mineral oil, and a little bit of fiber. We are more doing natural laxatives instead of adding fiber just in case I'm still backed up. We are going to the doctor for an X-ray in 2 weeks to make sure I'm not still constipated. I'm looking for advice, what do y'all like to eat to manage a cleaned out colon because literally nothing works. My mom suggested a colonic but I am extremely hesitant because last year they perscriped me to do 2 fleet enemas (which I did) but it didn't do a dang thing but make my butt burn to the point of severe nausea. I've been doing a diet lately to help, little to no dairy, low sugar, no processed crap or fast food. I just need advice what are somethings you guys do to prevent your stubborn constipation? What foods do you really stay away from. I'm desperate for any help. Thank you!! :)

Hi Juliana,

I do not personally have experience with constipation. I have family members though that do and have found Miralax helpful. Milk of Magnesia has helped them also. The active ingredient in Milk of Magnesia is the mineral magnesium. I know some people take magnesium citrate tablets twice a day, morning and evening to find constipation relief.

With an IBD condition such as Crohn's I'm more familiar with personally. If concerned your condition could be heading in that direction, the diet most commonly followed for those with an IBD condition is called the SCD - which stands for Specific Carbohydrate Diet. There are a few web sights that can be found on it. The SCD diet helps some with IBD conditions, both C and D, but not all.

Hello-

Have you tried taking a fiber supplement like Citrucell, Metamucil or Miralax 1x per day? You also need to drink lots of water, eat lots of fiber, and get some exercise each day.

No doubt is it a frustrating situation. have you seen a gastroenterologist yet for this?