Constipation and Bloating

Some people will say yes, go ahead and get the colonoscopy. But unless you suspect that you have inflammation or ulceration of the intestinal tract (IBD), I, personally, don't think it's worth your while. It doesn't show how anything works, so it can't diganose you with a motility problem. Now there are some tests which can discover motility problems--I think a camera pill is one of them--but you're probably better off starting off with trying to control your constipation and gas on your own before moving to expensive tests. As far as I know, even if they discover that yes, your guts are definitely working too slowly, all they can give you to hope to make things work better is Zelnorm, and a lot of doctors will try you out on that without the tests.

Unless you are having very serious issues with constipation (never having a bowel movement, only having a bowel movement after using a lot of laxative aid, having to go to the ER due to impactions and/or intolerable gas pains), you can probably work something out for yourself. After all, that's what people used to do 20 years or more ago before we got all doctor/pill happy.

First, have you tried probiotics? These are good bacteria found in yogurt, acidophillus milk, and in pill form, such as Culturelle and Digestive Advantage (there are a lot more out there, especially in health food stores, but Culturelle and DA can be found in any chain pharmacy). Activia is the new yogurt out on the market which boasts extra bacteria for gut health. But, if money's a little tight, cheaper yogurt will also work (although it may take longer). From what I have read, though, yogurt is one of those few things where you get what you pay for; the more expensive yogurts tend to have more bacteria and/or more different strains. If you don't like yogurt or can't do dairy, then there are the pills. Simple acidophillus can be found in most any store's vitamin section, or there are the other products that I mentioned which have a bunch of different strains and a lot of bacteria. In fact, the pill forms of probiotics have so much bacteria that they can cause gas and/or mild gas cramping when you first start taking them. Most people adjust after a week or two and that goes away, but some people just don't seem to manage to adjust to certain products; if that happens, rather than giving up on probiotics all together, switch to a different brand and see if you tolerate that better. Most people I recommed to start out on the yogurt though (2 cups a day), then work your way up to the pills if you find the yogurt helps some, but not enough.

Probitotics can take a little while to build up in your system, so give them at least three weeks of daily use before you give up on them. You may find that they help both your constipation and gas, they may help your reflux, or they may only help your gas. If constipation is still a problem three weeks into the probiotics, then you can try a few things. You can add prune juice to your diet daily (shouldn't be that acidic), or you can add prunes. You can always find some Sun-Maid prunes in with the other dried fruits (find raisins and you'll find prunes). You can try taking an aloe vera capsule a day (also in the vitamin section) and adjust up or down as necessary. And finally you can tinker with that old standby, the fiber supplement. Some people eat the Kashi cereal, but most do a drink or a pill. Like probiotics, there can be some initial gas problems, but you should get use to it. Some people have intolerable gas pains, or even develop diarrhea with certain products; if that happens, stop taking the fiber immediately and give your system a couple of days to return to normal (rather, its version of normal). Then, switch to another product. Fiber itself is not the problem; its just the combination of fiber types (soluable and insoluable), delivery method, or fillers that caused you to have an extreme reaction. You just have to experiment to see which fiber supplement is the one that helps keep you regular without any side effects. (I suggest the prunes and aloe vera first because they're not so hard to figure out as which fiber supplement is right for you; if one of them will do the trick, then don't worry about the fiber unless you start getting constipated again; some people do need a combination of things in order to stay regular, though).

Bowel movements change throughout our lives, so there's no telling what your bowels may end up doing in a few years, or even next week. Some people are constipated for years and years, only to suddenly have diarrhea for years and years. People who are perfectly normal all their lives frequently develop constipation in old age (thus all the jokes about old people and prune juice). So no, you may not need to use fiber, probiotics, or prune juice forever, but you may need to use them for a long time.

The probiotics are a good place to start, because sometimes they can cure problems and you don't need to stay on them permanently (although regular "booster" doses of them never hurts). When I had my last round of antibiotics, I had to eat the Activia yogurt once a day for three weeks before I got straightened out. I saw an almost immediate improvement in my symptoms when I ate it, but if I missed a day, I went back to having problems. After three weeks, though, I stayed regular, and could stop eating it daily. I still get acidophillus in my milk breakfast 5 days a week, though, as my booster. Oddly enough, despite the stomach flu and a cold going around the office at the same time, I have so-far (knock on wood) managed to get neither. Which is really odd; before I always seemed to catch every little thing. I'm beginning to wonder if the probiotics in the yogurt, plus the continued small dose in milk regularly hasn't given me some immunity. After all, your intestines are the biggest part of your immune system. So, even if 3-4 weeks of probiotics cures you completely, you shouldn't be too quick to throw them off and never do them again; they may give you other benefits besides just fixing your guts. They're no more onerous to take than vitamins, and most people are happy to take those long-term if they think they will make them feel better, make some disease better, or prevent some disease.

friendlygal, poor thing I fell for you. when I was a teenager I had desintery all the time . when I turned 18 I went the other way and its no fun eighther
all what keriamon said was so right. allso force yourself to drink lots of water bottled kind is best unless your water is good where you live.
I know fiber & citrucil made me worse I dont know about you thou. we are all so differant. I wish I could tel you all the right stuff but its all just trial and era.
we are all going to pull through this together.

Keriamon, I know what you mean about people needing to take medicine when they get older.  However, I finally had a bowel movement today and I was not taking my GERD meds today.  Therefore, for me I believe that it could be that the medication I am supposed to take for GERD is part of the cause of the constipation!  Sometimes medications are not good to take.

My Doctor took me off the PPI's and said that the Tagamet(generic) I was using may be better in the long run. He said jury is still out on PPI;s but it was not lookinggood for them. They are overused and overprescribed. A couple years ago when they out with all the advertising practically everyone had them prescribed to them if they mentioned stomach problems. They were never meant to be taken forever though Prilosec the first one has been around for over 10 years.

PPI's do have their place. DH takes aciphex because his GERD finally got bad enough for him to see the gastro doc. Turns out he has Barrett's Esophogus, which simply put, is a precancerous condition due to all the acids constantly burning the tissues. Ladies, you can relate that to having a "bad" pap test for instance. For DH, the PPIs have saved his life. It's either that, or a Nissen's fundoplication surgery, and the stories we've heard about post-op problems with that convinced us it wasn't worth it unless the PPIs no longer work. I do agree that they are WAY over-prescribed though - like pretty much any medication these days. Everyone wants the magic pill. OOPs! Sorry, didn't mean to hijack the original poster.

Back to topic: if you start adding natural fiber to your diet to fight this long-term, it really isn't that big of deal. Even a glass of prune juice a day, or a couple of prunes will help. But you gotta do it slooooow or yes, you will experience some pretty bad gas and indigestion. How long have you had C problems?

One quick note about Barrett's: the PPIs just keep it from getting worse. Once the cells mutate after a life-time of damage, they won't ever change back. His case is about as severe as it gets without having outright cancer, so he probably will be on them for the rest of his life. Whaddaya do? LOL!

Today my PCP told me that I might have gastroparesis, a conditon where contents from the stomach take a long time to eliminate.  It is a nerve problem and it might be the cause of my bloating, constipation, and reflux!

Anyone else heard of it or been diagnosed with it??

friendlygal

Canyon - Wow! Are you ever lucky with your Barretts! My DH has it really bad - pretty much involves his entire esophogus, so he really has to keep an eye on it. Oddly, the one benefit of having so much damage is that he can't feel the "burn" any longer. On the "con" side, since he can't feel the pain of reflux, he has to have it checked annually with endoscopy. Bummer, but not much else to do at this point. You're so lucky tagamet works well for you. At least it's cheaper than aciphex!

Friendly, did your doctor recommend Reglin for your stomach? My mother was put on that years ago because I think she was having a similar problem. I know she had a test where she ate radioactive scrambled eggs and they tracked them through at least part of her system. I've taken it on occasion when I have a meal that just sets in my stomach and doesn't feel like it's going anywhere. That happens on occasion to everyone, but it was worse back when my gall bladder wasn't functioning properly. The Reglin really makes me feel better because it's supposed to make your stomach empty out. The two side effects I know about are increased appetite (because now your stomach is all empty!) and sleepiness. The sleepiness might go away if you took it regularly, though.

MSN just had an article today about high sodium in our fast and processed food lives, and some inital research found a connection between reducing salt and reducing stomach cancers. That would seem to indicate, logically, that a higher salt diet might increase your chances for stomach cancers. I wonder if a lower salt diet might help you guys with the bad esophaguses? Wouldn't hurt you any to try. They also mentioned that we now get much more of our salt from pre-prepared foods than from us just using the salt shaker.

Keriamon, thanks for your info.  Did you/your mom take Reglan at a low mg?  Because I heard that reglan can cause neurological problems otherwise (like seizures).  But it's ok to take it at a lower dose...

keriamon, i don't have a "rapid transit time."  it's the opposite, i am constantly bloated and my stomach is not emptying at all.  i do not produce bowel...