Constipation Makes Me Feel Like Crap!

By gutsalmighty

1 min read

Constipation makes me feel like crap! And it annoys the hell out of me, what with the bloating and literally feeling like you know what. Why does it have to be like this?

It works until it doesn't

I took some docusate the other week, it had been working ok, but this time caused severe cramping that has literally gone on for weeks and ended me having to take antibiotics!

If I take fruit to help, sometimes it helps. But prunes, which I love, are now on the banned list, because they aggravate the bowel. I give up. It really does put one off eating, and food in general.

Impacts the appetite (too discouraged to eat and don’t feel any appetite anyway). When I do start to eat, it’s bland stuff like rice cakes with a smear of peanut butter (adventurous!), small amount of rice pudding, or chicken soup.

Takes ages to get back to normal, whatever that means.

This is my story.

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Karina Moderator & Contributor
<inline-mention username="gutsalmighty" user-id="2307735"/> I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. I have IBS-D, so the opposite problem, but I feel the exact same way when it comes to eating. How can we even enjoy food when we'll never know what symptoms it can cause? It has definitely gotten better for me since I cut out gluten and started working on my anxiety (which is my main IBS trigger), but the fear of food is still in the back of my mind most of the time. We even had this discussion about eating during flares lately: <a href='https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/forums/appetite-1' target='_blank'>https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/forums/appetite-1</a>, I thought I'd share it with you. We also have this new thread about IBS-C: <a href='https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/forums/ibs-c-forum-discussion' target='_blank'>https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/forums/ibs-c-forum-discussion</a>, so feel free to comment there if you'd like to further engage with other community members who are going through the same thing. I really hope that you've been feeling well today. All the best, Karina (team member)
gutsalmighty Member
Hi Karina, Thank you for your reply, I already read the articles you mentioned. This is driving me crazy, I cannot get out of a flare. It’s been going on for weeks and weeks now. The doctor seems powerless to do anything apart from give me a blood test which comes back normal, antibiotics which haven’t done anything. I haven’t been tested for gluten or intolerance of anything else. I have post polio syndrome which keeps me in bed most of the time and it’s getting worse. This IBS weakens me even more and each contributes to the other. My anxiety is really getting the better of me now. I’m trying to follow FODMAP but without much success. I find it both bewildering and restrictive, and I can’t pin down what’s upsetting me. I did pay for a dietician to help with the FODMAP, but she got fed up with me because I didn’t respond to it, and said I’d have to go back to my doctor. My gastroenterologist signed me off when he couldn’t find anything more than a mild gastritis to account for severe pain in the lower gut. The trouble is they blame everything on the polio, which has contributed without doubt as I know. Have you heard of the AIRE Marble device? Has anyone used it? I mean that sounds a right faff as well as being very expensive, and I’m reluctant to pay out for something which I can’t use, or which isn’t appropriate. The US seems a much more varied approach, unless I’m just unlucky with my health centre. Thanks again for your reply, Karina.
1. Karina Moderator & Contributor
 <inline-mention username="gutsalmighty" user-id="2307735"/> That sounds terrible, I'm so, so sorry. I'm wondering if you might benefit from a different approach to IBS by seeing a naturopathic doctor? I don't have any personal experience with it, but I've heard great things from other community members and it sounds like they have a more holistic approach, instead of treating symptoms one by one: <a href='https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/living/naturopathic-medicine' target='_blank'>https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/living/naturopathic-medicine</a>, <a href='https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/living/naturopath-experience' target='_blank'>https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/living/naturopath-experience</a>. Maybe this could be worth a try for you, to get help for both the polio and IBS? FODMAP doesn't help everyone unfortunately. We have an article about that here: <a href='https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/living/when-fodmaps-doesnt-help' target='_blank'>https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/living/when-fodmaps-doesnt-help</a>. Gluten is definitely a common trigger, even if you test negative for Celiac disease (that's the case for me). Diary and coffee seem to be common triggers as well. I haven't personally heard of the AIRE Marble device, but you could post a forum about it here to get some input from other community members if you like: <a href='https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/forums' target='_blank'>https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/forums</a>. I really hope you'll get some relief soon. Wishing you all the best, Karina (team member)
gutsalmighty Member
Hi Karina Thank you so much for your reply. Unfortunately, I don’t live in the US, and I’m very limited regarding travel, plus as a wheelchair user, it constantly amazes me how inaccessible most premises are - up a flight of stairs, or a totally inaccessible in small, cramped surroundings. Anyway, I’ll have a look, see if I can find one. Whether they have the excellent training described by your article I really don’t know. I would think they are more likely to be the online variety. Thank you very much and all the best Judith
1. Karina Moderator & Contributor
 <inline-mention username="gutsalmighty" user-id="2307735"/> Hi Judith, I feel you, I don't live in the US either and I've also wondered if the training would be the same as the one described in the articles. I have looked up naturopaths in my area though (I live in a small town in France) and there are a couple with great reviews, so I really want to try that if I can afford it at one point. That must be so hard to struggle with accessibility all the time. 🙁 It's the same where I live, I always struggle so much to get anywhere with a stroller and I've often wondered how much harder is must be for wheelchair users. Sending hugs, Karina (team member)
Kim Dolce Moderator & Contributor
<inline-mention username="gutsalmighty" user-id="2307735"/> Welp, we live in "interesting times." While it is very interesting to learn what kinds of healthcare are available in countries other than our own, and illuminating to learn about tests and treatments from our fellow sufferers, we are still often left "in the cold" about our own situation. Karina mentioned naturopathic medicine, and I was going to suggest something along those lines. Functional medicine treats the cause of an illness rather than the symptoms. It uses both naturopathy and Western medicine to do this. But, on the naturopath side of things: A friend of mine had his severe food allergies treated by a naturopath and it saved his life. They ran blood tests and told him to use certain vitamins and supplements. It turned him around. The takeaway for you? I don't know if they could help you, but it might be worth exploring. But, also consider this: Aside from going in for the initial bloodwork, I would think that you could do video visits to follow up. I have mutliple sclerosis and walk with a cane. I have no access to public transit, and I don't have a car. So I do video visits with several of my doctors. It is a lot less stressful this way! Weirdly though, I do not get my IBS treated by any doctor. Years ago a gastroenterologist diagnosed me with IBS-C, but she was useless beyond that. I figured out how to treat myself. To complicate things, my IBS changed to IBS-D, then IBS-M, and now back to IBS-C. I think it returned to constipation because I became a vegetarian and lost 40 lbs. this year. My poop is dry little rocks. But look, rabbits are vegetarian, and their poop is dry little pellets. Therefore, my poop is normal because of what I eat. A healthcare professional might disagree with my logic though, ha-ha. I take a laxative and stool softeners every day before bedtime. They gently clean me out the next day. How are you feeling today?