CONSTIPATED!

I'm so sick and tired of this merry-go-round. Colitis flares for me mean wicked constipation. I'm so sore right now -my belly is huge and I feel and look terrible. None of my pants fit and luckily it's warm out and I'm off work so I can get away with some stretchy jogging shorts.
I've drank, stirred and eaten all types of anti-constipation stuff with no relief. For me it's all about reducing inflammation so that things get moving again. One time I even drank a 16oz bottle of Aloe Vera Juice with NO movement. I'm on all types of fibre, slippery elm, you name it but the colitis is more stubborn than that. Once the inflammation reduces then I'll be eliminating again. It's been almost 10 days with nothing more than maybe 5 very small bms once in awhile. This is insane

I'm not so sure slippery elm is the best thing to be taking when constipated. It should slow things down...

i was always constipated when i was dx......used to sit for hours and all that came out was goat droppings... Then i changed my diet.... i eat lots lots of salad...i get organic salad leaf box we get at Costco- and take a week to finish it. Every evening i add some fruits (strawberries, blueberries, tomatoes, apple, peach, pear - whatever fruit i can get in that season)...add little yogurt, pick of salt, pinch sugar... and mix well. Add sunflower seeds & walnuts on top...this is my dinner plus yogurt/fruit smoothie or 1 slice whole wheat bread. This helped me! Also i do not eat anything which is low in fiber- no pizza, white bread, cheese, big NO to italian food! I saw u r 'vegan' in your signature and i am guessing u must be already following something similar.

Hey q - I took two more Salofalk tablets (total of 4) and 5 hours later things started moving again! I'm still a little sore and bloated but I'm feeling SO much better. It'll take some time to get back on track. I think I was on the way to healing from the inflammation but the extra kick of S bumped it up a notch. No bleeding - formed stool. What a relief! tks for the advice.

Yes, enemas nightly for a couple of weeks now. Last month I was doing so well. I only needed the enemas every 3rd night. I'm going to stay on them for awhile now till I know things have settled down. I'm very thankful that salofalk works for me - i count my blessings.

tks again
U-girl

Hi folks - things were really looking up for me at my last posting on the 19th. I had one bm after days of constipation. I thought I was on the road to recovery but now I'm backed up ( constipated ) again. I did have a bm yesterday afternoon but there's still so much more elimination that needs to happen.

I've been eating salads, high fibre this and that, taking fibre supplements, including metagenics Herbulk. I've doubled my Salofalk to 4 tabs daily and have been using enemas every night. I've managed to keep up my exercising which today was 25 minutes on the rebounder ( mini-trampoline) and some yoga postures specifically for constipation. My abdominal area actually hurts and I'm uncomfortable again. This is so frustrating. I need to get my energy back! (Btw, I haven't been taking the high levels of Gluatmine I mentioned earlier so it's not a side effect of it) I think it's still all about inflammation and with my bowels that mean "shut down".

UniG

Thanks q, I was hoping you were around. I'm now on what I call my water therapy. I'm drinking a litre every 1-2 hours while I'm getting things done around the house.
Fibre supplements: Metamucil caps, Herbulk by Metagenics, high fibre foods like salad, beans. I take 1000 mg of Vit C daily. Perhaps I'll take another 1000 mg.

Good news was that when I did have a bm yesterday it looked perfectly normal.

thanks for the encouraging words - I am healing, it's just hard right now.

Beans don't bother me - never have and I like them so that's all good. I stopped coffee a couple of years ago but during another round of constipation resorted to drinking it - didn't seem to make a difference, i even smoked half a cigarette ( good ol days of when I smoked with coffee) and that didn't help either. I don't want to get hooked on caffeine again. Love having the freedom from caffeine...i digress.

It seems that until the inflammation is down my body will not respond to much of anything to get the bowels moving. I mentioned before that I once drank 16 oz of Aloe juice , IN ADDITION to fibre supplements and a menu based on solely high fibre foods, all to no avail. Even my natruopath was dumbfounded. Still tho I keep up the high fibre so that when my body is ready I'll have some healthy elimination happening...or so is the plan.

I just took another 2000 mg of Vit C. total of 3000 mg today.

just topped up with another 2000 mg Vit. c. = 5000mg today.
What kind of dosages have you taken, q ?

Have you seen the movie "Food Matters" - lots of Vit. C therapy mentioned.

I take maybe about 2500 mg at this point, but more with added fruit. If I get a cold, I increase it.

Yeah, you might have diarrhea or very loose stool maybe a few times in a day...which is OK because you'll know what it'll be from. Just don't add any more!

q

The vitamin c won't affect your colon immediately...but maybe tomorrow. Although, all the fibre might counter the effects....you'll find the balance.

There's a fine line between too much and not enough....as usual, I suggest to hang tough.

Keeping at the meds you're on is a good plan. I must add that lower rectal inflammation can be the longest to deal with.

q

It evolves for most that way....just not symptoms we recognise as a "flare".

Great you're improving...keep us updated because you've now "got it".

q