Seeking Relief from Constipation with a Colostomy

Help

I eat a good diet well balanced diet fruit and vegetables, chicken ,fish. All foods which are healthy. I also drink lots of water and decaffinated Tea. But still I suffer from constipation. I have been taking 2 MOVICOL a day for about year. It does not work. Can people tell me what works for them ?? Preferably a food suppliment or herbal. Someone mentioned unprocessed wheat bran but I cannot find it in the shops. The constipation can cause me excruciating pain like my bowel has twisted. I think the food just gets backed up and it is so painful. I also feel sick when this happens. If I could stop it happening I would be over the moon.

Thank you

Maureen

and a Light Beer helps with that, so I have been drinking one light beer a day and no problems since I did what my medical said.  I dont eat many vegies and I am on no diet.  I just eat mostly fish and deserts and stuff most people probably wont eat, but my beer and wine are always in my diet, I only had constipation once and my husband found where light beer helps with that and its never happened again.  Plus I do use Cobroxin spray which is really a homeopathic thing and it is really cobra venom, but they did use this in world war two and have no real side affects, wont be prescription for awile has to go through the DEA.  I buy it at Overstock.com or CVS and the spray helps with this as everyone says, but I was using the rub for my arm for awhile now so I could sleep from a bad fall.  I hope you dont have to go through being constipated for long as I remember that.  If you dont like beer then I would talk to my doctor.  God Bless you and wishing you the best of health, JG or Jenny

Hey,



If I was you, I would try and and do more exercise for example;



Swimming,

Walking,

Cycling,



Anything, even walking to the shops instead of driving.



Tim

Thanks Jenny and Timbo Tim for your advice. I think I will visit a herbalist Jenny so they can do an assessment. I hate alcohol so having a beer is not something I would do. Timbo Tim I actually do a lot of exercise including jogging and never travel by car if I can walk. I should have mentioned that in my post.

Thanks

Maureen x

Yes your Doctor can and will help you with any questions you have, but also I had a Ostomy Nurse help me.  I wasnt to crazy about beer either, but my girlfriend had me try Bud Light Lime and I add lime to it also.  First real beer I liked the taste of, I have never been a drinkier either,a glass of wine on Holliday etc.  But I dont know why it worked for me but it has and I havent had any more problems.  Myhusband was doing all the cooking when this happned and I had red meat in my diet at the time and Ialso gave up any red meat.  Well Unless it is chicken or turkey.  I mean the cow.  For some reason that bothered me.  I guess we are all going to react different, but I hope you found a healhy answer.  Take care of you Miss Scarlet and God Bless, Love Jenny

Staying Hydrated with an Ostomy with LeeAnne Hayden | Hollister

Try stopping all the veggies.  If your constipation is "idopathic"  this will probably help.

I take it you are are only having a movement 1 to 2 times a week. The movement themselves are very large and hard.  If this is the case let me know,



Also what is your intestinal history?



If your constipation is caused by lack of "colonic interia"  Which means your intestine does not perform the parastollic movements well.  That will lead to toxic mega colon.



Hopefully it is something simple that maybe cleared  up with prune juice.



Although water intake is good.  It has never been proven high water intake helps intestinal transit of material.  It's kind of an old wives tale.  As a course of fact the intestine removes water from the stool as it passes along.



Sleep well.



Rick.....

I did not know you were a doctor Rick. Thanks for your medical point of view. I think it is more helpful however to hear from other people with colostomies and what works for them. Having a colostomy is not the same as having an normal bowel so old remedies like prune juice to not work - for me anyway.

Maureen

Hi, it's a very rare occurrence since I had my colostomy that I get 'bunged up' but it happened the other day, and I ate a chicken and mushroom pastie and it shifted me within hours, I think it's the mushroom that did it as normally I have to avoid them as practically every fruit and veg to slow my bowel down

Thanks Rhiann

I eat chicken and mushroom most weeks and it does not have that effect on me. I think I have a very slow dijestive system compared with a lot of people.I feel sometimes even a bomb would not make me go.

Take care

Maureen

I can hardly believe it. But I decided to try prune juice and it is just what my bowel needed. Last night was the first night I have not taken movicol for 2 years. I started off taking the prune juice in the morning and still taking movicol at night. But last night did not take movicol. I really am relieved. Maybe now I will not have any more blockages. I feel so much better.

Thankyou Rick. Even though I felt your reply was over the top and too medical a simple solution like prune juice actually worked for me.

with years of suffering with constipation I have finally found what works for me, of corse a diet with alot of bulk and water helps, but my God send was Senna, health food stores have it in generics but Senecot is one form the dollar store carries it just as Senna. Its all natural and approved by my surgeon and GI specialist. Start with 1 a day and work up to the dose you need.  3 at night works for me when nothing else would and its safe not like the problems you can get from Xlax or other laxative when used daily.  Hope this helps.



   Just a side note, I have found really cute maternity pants have been a blessing to me.  With constipation sometime pants put too much pressure on the bag and make things worse for me.

God bless.

Thanks Faith4today. It is good to hear what other people use. Unfortunately the prune juice only had an effect for a few days. I am back on Movical and drinking loads of fluid. I was taking senna for a while but it did not work for me. I am going to find out about irrigation when I visit my surgeon. Hopefully this will be an and to my blockages.

Keep well

Maureen

I had heard of blockages but being a guy never do much more than enjoy my 'see food diet'!  Last winter, while returning from my family gathering, with lots of good food, I had a blockage.  The pressure was amazing and new to me.  I called the nurse's number on my phone cause was several hundred miles from home and traveling alone.  The nurse convinced me to head for a hospital which I did.  But enroute, I decided to stop at Walgreen's for some $5 laxative cause the hospital would want to keep me overnight and might not do more than this $5 would do.  The relief was immediate.



I still enjoy my see food diet!  And would like to avoid blockage in the future.  Loren

Hi Loren

Thanks for your reply. My blockages occur due to adhesions caused my 3 operations in 3 years. It seems the more operations the more chance of these blockages.It is not food related in my case. I am glad you manage to get unblocked.

Maureen

I'm hoping by now you have resolved your problem but for anyone else searching the topic:



you can take 3 sachets a day of Movicol which may be the extra you need.  For faecal impaction you can have 8 made up in a big jug of water and or juice drinking it over the day then go to 3 sachets until you find the balance that works.  Senna used to work for me but the Movicol means I drink more so I'm on that long term now to prevent stoma retracting again.