Some good news

[Dolphin2]

I want to share my story as I know there is not often much hope for those of us who suffer from chronic constipation. I first realised I had a serious problem about 3 years ago. Looking back on it now, there were signs well before then, but as nothing impacted too much on daily life I just ignored it. Anyway at that point 3 years ago I had a bladder infection and had to take antibiotics which caused serious constipation. I was prescribed Movicol, which I took for a week as I remember. Then I decided to increase my fibre( although I was already on a healthy diet). There followed months of misery. The fibre alone was not enough to help. Prunes gave unpredictable results.I went back on Movicol, but just could not get the dose right to enable me to empty my bowels predictably. I had every test conceivable done on me which showed I don't have anything life threatening, but I do have slow transit constipation, and as a result of straining on the loo I have a Grade 3 prolapse,a rectocele a large rectum,incomplete emptying of the bowel. The only help that could be offered me was a bowel irrigation system, which helped me greatly for a few months. Right from the start though I had difficulty getting the water to stay in my bowel - there seemed to be some obstruction. Eventually it got painful, so although the system gave me great freedom, I had to stop. There may be many others though who would benefit from this system- it gives you back the ability to go out again like a normal person.
So I had to rely on the Movicol. I had lost my ability to squeeze or push on the loo, so I know my BMs would have to be very soft. So I started on a very high dose and decreased gradually. At first I was going umpteen times a day and could hardly go out, but as I decreased the dose things became more manageable. I had the idea that I could keep gradually decreasing the dose till I went just once a day. However that was not to be. As I got down to near that level, my bowel wasn't emptying completely and I was back to square one. So I had to increase the dose again. Then I began to notice that on some days if I was taking enough Movicol that most of my bowel movements were happening first thing in the morning-in the space of a couple of hours just as when I had been using the bowel irrigation system. Too much was uncontrollable, and too little meant bowel movements later in the day as well. So the challenge was to find the right dose. I invested in some electronic scales(cheap) and started making a written record of how much I was taking, and the resulting BMs and times. It soon became apparent that the reason I found it so difficult to get the dose right is that for me the dose needs to increase slightly every day. So I am OK for the moment - heading up towards 3 Movicol a day. When I get the dose exactly right, and increasingly I have had lots of good days- no bowel movements later in the day, and no bloating, or feelings that there is something in there still. I am of course extremely anxious about what the future holds for me, because I clearly can't keep increasing the dose for ever. So I will have to visit the doctor again- have stayed away for a couple of years now and tried to manage on my own, but I need some advice as to what could be happening. I don't think it is the Movicol that is to blame- rather I think something in my bowel is gradually failing. I haven't tried other sorts of laxative and hope that eventually something else might help me. For the moment I am reluctant to try anything else in case it disrupts the delicate balance I have found at the moment.
So, my message to others would be- try an irrigation system if you are offered one. Movicol is effective and safe if you can find the right dose- experiment and make notes. Things are not perfect for me- I have to be right next to a loo for a couple of hours every morning- holidays are impossible unless we have self-catering with 2 loos, but I feel almost normal again for the rest of the day.

[B&BF]

Hello

Thank you for sharing your personal story.

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