Please help.I have to do a transit study test but will need to come off laxatives 2 days before and 5 days during the test.The problem is that I am so dependent on very high doses of irritant laxatives like senna and cascara, that when I stop taking them I become very ill and am in excruciating, debilitating pain. I am also unable to eat, move or function. I have problems with nausea and pass out a lot. When I tried to do this test in the past and explained the problem to my doc, his response was "just do it" ... well, I took his advice and landed up in the ER!!The second time I tried I tried to gradually taper off the amount of laxatives, but this too caused so much problems and I became very ill. Its taken me nearly 3 years to decrease the amount by 1/3 and am still struggling.Am I the only one in this situation? Surely there must be some way of doing this test and being able to survive?Ihope someone can help, I am really desperate and dont know what to do.
Desperately Need help to cope with transit study test
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One question you may want to ask is "just how necessary for my treatment is this test?" and "will the results of this test in any way change the way you are treating me?"If the HAVE to do this test before they will change how they treat you, it may be worth toughing it out. If it is just to verify that when you stop taking laxatives the colon completely and totally shuts down and you you have to have emergancy treatment for intestinal blockages....it may not be worth it.Now if they will be able to do something different for you based on the results of the test, it may be worth it. But that is the sort of thing you should know before going in, especially since it caused problems last time.Breaking the addiction to laxatives is typically uncomfortable and lengthy process. So I sympathize with how hard the going has been for you.K.
The test is necessary to know what your problem is and you will probably need multiple tests to determine the problem's extent.I'm not sure why you are in pain from not taking the laxatives, though.It's not clear what test you are getting or how you are getting it. One option is to be admitted and be fed intravenously during the time of the period of the test.You are not terribly far from Seattle and I would suggest following up with this doctorMichael D. Schuffler M.D.PacMed Clinics1101 MadisonBox 358260Seattle, WA 98104P: 206-505-1230
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