major laxative problem help!!! anyone else with this problem???

No,you are definately not alone!!!!!Your story sounds just like me.I was laxative addictive for years and now i am on disability for severe IBS-c and depression.It's not easy to live with.I have been taking rhubarb capsules,but i get such bad pain,i'm looking for a better alternative too.How is the epsom salt working for you?I wondered if it was safe for daily use and have not tried it yet.Have you tried magnesium supplemets?For some people,magnesium oxide helps a lot.So far it has not worked to well for me,but i keep trying to up the dose.The rhubarb that i take is from a website called viable herbal solutions.I think it's causing a lot of pain though,so i really don't recommend it,but it's the only thing that gets me "going".Well,all i can say is welcome to my world!I hope things get better eventually for both of us,but i have been off laxatives for almost 3 years now,and i still don't feel better.I think that i am an extreme case though,so you might still have hope Take care sweetie!!!!! -Wendi-

Tim you are not alone. I am IBS C and D (leaning more to C) and havent gone at all for 3 days and I am freaking out. I get so panicked that I feel like I will never go again which is only making it worse. What antidepressant are you on? I am on elavil which has a slight constipating effect which I can usually deal with. I'm not in so much pain and discomfort but rather am very anxious cause i want to go and need to go very badly. It seems like all I do is try and go, go till I cant stop sometimes but no matter what I do I am so mad!!!! this totally sucks!!!!I'm probably not helping you much by my venting but please know that you are certainly NOT alone. I'm seeing my GI the last week in June but I'm not a candidate for zelnorm (I have adhesions from a c-sec and another abdominal surgery, gallstones and a history of D which are all contraindications for it). I'm thinking about asking my GI for the name of a therapist who works with IBS patients. I hope you can get some relief, I do know what this is like, especially the anxious panicky feeling. Hope this helps

It's hard to see so many people with this problem too. I've abused laxatives (herbal). Zelnorm didn't really work well for me and made my back sore for some reason. It got so that the laxatives worked too well and gave me spasms that were just awful, just a vicious cycle. Seems things worked for a while and then stopped. I am right now drinking noni juice and it is working - I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will keep working and not stop in a month or so cause I don't know what I'll do then. My bloating has gone way done - my daughter asked me if I had lost weight on my stomach area!!! It's so hard, noni juice is expensive but I'm thinking if I can throw away all the other stuff that I was taking it'll cheaper in the long run. Zelnorm was terribley expensive. Hope you can find something that works soon.

Hi, thanks for your info and you are right, but noni juice isn't just sold as a herbal laxative. It will also help diarrhea so I'm told by the guy I bought it from. It makes me feel normal, go normal and be normal, nothing else has made me that way including magnesium. Believe me I've tried it all. I am wondering just what kinds of roots the people of Africa are eating when we're told they never have digestion problems, probably roots containing anthraquinones? Maybe turkey rhubarb root, who knows. I'm drinking a fruit juice, a crappy tasting one, but it's not like senna on my system and doesn't cramp me up. Like I said it just makes me normal and it's so good to feel normal with this problem. I am to the point where, what's worse not ever going on my own or find something that works and is not hard on my body. Triphala also has these anthraquinone properties in it but is said to be the great for the digestive system. Who knows about all this stuff, I am tired of trying to figure it all out. I have been coping with IBS for 30 years now and yes, I'm tired of trying this trying that. Don't mean to sound fed up but some days I am. Take care.

I've been coping with constipation for at least 70 years. Can relate to many of your messages. I do find that Fleet mineral oil enemas using knee chest position while taking it in helps without stirring things up too much. That is part of my trouble, all or nothing. As a teenager went back and forth between something called blackberry balsam to stop a very painful diarrhea type episode: formed stools at intervals all day long, very painful. Then to start again, enemas, various harsh laxatives, mineral oil by mouth for a time. At college, student health put me on Zymenol, a mineral oil, b vitamin product not available any more and with good reason, mineral oil stops absorption of many vitamins. The warm water enemas help me, too. Things are complicated now because of Gerd . I am currently taking Milk of Mag. and Magnesium tabs. 1 a.m and the other p.m. Also use the colace type stuff,. Am hoping to get tested for celiac disease this summer. May eventually try Mark's Provex CV. Have used Zelnorm with limited help. This board has certainly opened up many more options to try. Thanks all of you. Walking Lady

I posted this on another screen with a number correction. I have not posted much but have a lot to say on the subject. I have been struggling with IBS C for almost 30 years (I am 45 now).I have spent over $30,000+ in my search for answers, seeing doctors, therapists, hypnotists, new age specialists, psychics, acupuncturists etc., and experimenting with every product, and approach under the sun to help my body get well. Everything was a quick fix. I was like a junkie trying to find a new hit. I had originally concluded that I would just be addicted to laxatives and or/colonics to clean my system out and avoid the pain etc. and just accept that my body was screwed up forever. I know the agony that many of you go through day to day. Believe me I do.In the last few months, after being a patient of Dr. David Dahlman, my constipation does not exist. He has worked independently with me to tailor a program (diet and supplements) that meets my unique situation. The big change for me was saying goodbye to ALL dairy. Being the nacho queen that I am, this was not easy at all until I started feeling the payoff of his plan. Over the years, I I had so many colonics and relied heavily on laxatives, my body forgot how to work on its own. Progress was slow initially, I was like a junkie going clean but I must say life is looking absolutely wonderful right now. Lazarus has risen. I have now dropped 30 lbs., I am off antidepressants in the last few months since February 2004 . My self assessment of my health of my body on a scale of 1 to 10 was a 1 in January of this year. It is now a 6+. I am still working on killing some bad bacteria that are residing in me which causes some issues, but I am well on my way to being free of the prison I have been in for so many years. Believe me, I am grateful and am now experiencing freedom. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------