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Posted 8/12/2006 5:19 PM (GMT 0)
Hey everyone.

I'm not new to the site (I'm normally in the crohn's disease forum), but I thought I'd swing over here to see if you guys had any advice.

I have dead nerves in my bowels, so they don't function at all.  I have chronic obstipation (which is chronic constipation due to chronic obstruction/blockage).  I will go 4 weeks to months with out having a bowel movement.  It takes like 3 colonoscopy preps to clean me out and then I just go right back to never having a BM again.

Does anyone here have chonic obstipation or constipation?  What do you do to get relief?  Have any of you tried Zelnorm?  Did Zelnorm work for you?

I've tried everything, from colon preps, to milk of magnesia, fleets, magnesium citrate, etc, etc.  Zelnorm is my last hope.

Any advice about help with constipatinon would greatly be appreciated.

Thanks so much!

Kelly BElly

Posted 8/13/2006 5:24 AM (GMT 0)

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Post Edited By Moderator (7Lil) : 8/13/2006 12:02:04 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 8/13/2006 6:15 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Kelly,
Welcome to the IBS Forum. :-)
If you have an obstruction isn't there something medically / surgically your doc should be doing???
If obstruction isn't the issue, have you tried the more natural approach... prunes, aloe vera, fiber, lots of water and exercise?
Zelnorm is good too. The only problem is that maybe more than half the people on this board, that have tried it, didn't have a good reaction. I, on the other hand, was on if for over 6 months and loved it. It really did help regulate my system. Unfortunately Zelnorm seems to lose some of its affect after a little while. Even so I still stayed on it for months because it was still better than nothing.
Definitely talk to your doc about it if you are scraping the bottom of the barrel.
Posted 8/13/2006 3:04 PM (GMT 0)

Taking a "vacation" from Zelnorm helps to keep it's effectivness. Every so often I go a week or two without and and then start it up again and sometimes less is more...I respond better to 3mg. of Zelnorm in the morning verses the 6mgs 2x's a day that is usually prescribed and taking it on an empty stomache is vital.

Posted 8/14/2006 2:30 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Kelly- I sit here in disbelief!  Months w/o a BM?????  That's just plain insane.  I'm so sorry you have to go through this horrible ordeal.  Yuck.  Sorry I don't have good advice.  I tend to get pretty constipated but do not suffer from obstructions.  I don't know how you do it.  I agree with 7Lil- what are your MD's doing?  I once went 6 days and my PCP darn near had a stroke over it.  I do the old Fiber shake daily and if it's been a couple of days, I eat straight fiber.  I take it you've probably tried all of the products on the market.  I'll be curious to know how you are- please check in with us again sometime.  Good luck.

Posted 8/14/2006 2:38 AM (GMT 0)
I have been taking zelnorm for about 4 weeks now and it doesn't seem to have given me any change in the constipation department. I don't know if it is my nexium that is sabotaging the situation cause I have read that nexium causes constipation. Zelnorm certainly hasn't made things worse but I don't think it has helped all that much either. The only thing I have found helpful is using 2 fleet supositories if I haven't had a bm in a couple of days and I get bloated and that seems to cause shortness of breath. Within 20 I am fine once again for another couple of days. I'm sure this is not a great way to live but it's the best I can do for the moment.

Posted 8/14/2006 2:40 AM (GMT 0)
Kelly, I have never heard of anything like that. I had a friend that went once a week like clockwork. It took a long time when she did go. How can you eat with all that in you. My Dr. recommends Zelnorm once a day in AM not twice. It did not agree with me but it is certainly worth a try. If you go to website I think you can get a free trial with Dr. signature. What about a suppository although if you have dead nerves maybe that would not help. I don't disbelieve you but I just can't imagine that. 4 days and I am ready to freak out.
Posted 8/14/2006 11:49 PM (GMT 0)
I appologize to all for signing my name. I never knew we weren't allowed to do that. I didn't think my name would be a form of advertisement or whatever. Didn't mean to offend anyone.


Thank you all for the replies. I have been on zelnorm a few days now. It hasn't done anything yet, but makes me a little gassy (maybe that is a sign that it is slowly beginning to work). I really appreciate all of your responses. :o)
Posted 8/15/2006 12:58 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Kelly- what are you apologizing for?  It seens that a lot of people sign their names.  I don't know if I will look like a fool here but that posting underneath was not meant for you  (I don't think)- I'm pretty sure that that was meant for the person trying to post some advertisement.  That's not allowed.  But, otherwise, no worries.  Were you talking about something else besides that posting beneath yours?  By the way, hope you are feeling good today.

Posted 8/15/2006 2:22 AM (GMT 0)
Kelly,
Carell is correct... I edited the post by sparkarizona due to our advertising rule being broken.  You did not break any rules.  Sorry if that was unclear.  You may continue to sign your name.  tongue

Lilian

Posted 8/15/2006 1:55 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Kelly,

I am normally in the Lupus forum and never check in here but today I did. I can tell you of a product I know that is proven to work for people with dead nerves in their bowels, called intestinal cleanse by Dr. Schulze. If you google him, you will find his information/ but look for his website. They have tested this on dead colon's of cadavers and it works on them too. I would definitely check into it. It has worked.

Good Luck,
Leta
Posted 8/16/2006 11:27 PM (GMT 0)
Hi KellyBelly,

I can relate. I think I have colonic inertia (dead nerves), too. I don't have the obstruction, though - what does your doctor say about that?

I did try Zelnorm, as did a friend of mine, but unfortunately it didn't help either of us. I've also tried all the magnesiums, Miralax, Amitiza (the newest med for chronic constip.), herbal laxatives, and many over-the-counters, but none of those worked well, either. All they do is make everything get liquidy inside me, and I have trapped gas and my bm's don't come out easily, and when they do, it's only a little at a time. I always have stuff 'sloshing around' inside me. Sorry to be gross, but that's the way it is.

As for Dr Schultze's formula, I must be dead, because I've even tried that, and it didn't help!!! Right now I'm trying a natural supplement that is known to help with nerve damage, so as a last hope I'm trying that. It can take 3-6 months for longer for it to work, so I'm going to try it for that or even longer. If you want to know what I'm trying, you can email me, since I can't list product names here. I'm honestly not really expecting it to work, but like I said, I am trying whatever I can in hopes that I won't have to have surgery.

If nothing ultimately helps me, I'm seriously considering having a subtotal colectomy (see all the posts on this on this forum, under 'Ostomies' -- "Subtotal Colectomy" Parts 1-11.) The people on that board were a lot like you and me, with dead nerves, and have had this surgery (no bag - the doctor hooks the end of the small intestine to the rectum), and their quality of life is much better now. I know it's a really scary thought to have a surgery like this, but I'm miserable as I am, and I'll do whatever I can to have a life again. The constipation makes me have extreme fatigue and weakness.

Anyway, I feel for you and hope you'll be able to try the Zelnorm and/or anything else that might help you. You never know!!
Take care!
Posted 8/17/2006 12:16 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you so much for your information. I can't wait to feel better. Zelnorm isn't working. I actually think it has been causing bleeding. I have never bleed before from my bottom until I started taking this. I think I am going to email my doctor and stop taking zelnorm.
Posted 8/18/2006 1:22 AM (GMT 0)

Kelly, that's not right... You must stop Zelnorm and contact your doc right away.

Please keep us posted and let us know if the bleeding stops.

FYI....

(http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=32350)

Summary: The FDA has added new warning information to the label of the drug Zelnorm. Patients are warned to stop taking Zelnorm immediately if they develop rectal bleeding, bloody diarrhea, or new or worsening abdominal pain. These are symptoms of intestinal ischemia in which the supply of blood and oxygen to the intestines are compromised. Zelnorm rarely causes severe diarrhea that can result in dehydration and a need for intravenous fluids.  Therefore, Zelnorm also should be stopped if diarrhea occurs.

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