[ocelotito]

I recently had an extreme constipation episode that not even enemas relieved, the doctor ended up giving me one of those yucky cleanses that they use for colonoscopies. I was wondering if this situation happens again (hopefully not), if some oxy-powder kind of thing could do the trick. I mean, not doing the 7 day poop all day thing, just get things moving. Does this thing really work? thanks

 

[Kathleen M.]

The oxy cleaners all have high doses of magnesium.Not sure they work any better than Milk of Magnesia or Magnesium Citrate you might get as a bowel prep. The dose of magensium I've seen on some of these oxy cleaners is certainly high enough to pretty much do a nearly complete bowel prep.I don't think they do anything magic in there that any other magnesium compound can't do and if a colonoscopy prep cured people for good we wouldn't have any people left to talk on the board. People with kidney trouble need to avoid high dose magnesium products (more than 1000 mgs a day or maybe less depending on how bad your kidneys are) as you can't clear it out and you can unbalance the minerals in your body enough to upset the heart rhythm if you do too much for too long.Lots of people here find the really cheap Magnesium Oxide or Milk of Magnesia used every day at fairly low doses will keep the stool moving. Sometimes flushing too much stuff out in a short period of time just sets people up for the next round of constipation so a lower dose that just keeps things moving may be better than flushing everything out every so often.

 

[ocelotito]

Thanks for your reply. I usually take lactulose to keep things moving. Actually, before this crisis, some psyllium every day was enough. The problem was that, at a certain point things weren't moving, not even with enemas. I would prefer not to do the cleaning ever again. RIght now I'm OK, doing tons of stuff, (olive oil, flaxseed, psyllium, lactulose, prune juice, no starches, no dairy, very little meat, Align, plus the lactulose), and things are getting better. My question is, if things get as bad as they did last week, if oxy-cleanse would help, as I'd prefer not to do the golytely thing ever again, just for constipation. (OR if I should try something else, like another kind of enema or something, as I used one of these tiny ones last time). THanks

 

[Kathleen M.]

I'd compare the cost of the oxycleanse vs magnesium oxide supplements from the pharmacy. (or Milk of Magnesia)Mostly I find the oxycleanse sites, IMO, look like something with a lot of hype to get you to pay a lot more for something because it sounds much better than the cheap stuff. Unless you really need it to say cleanse on the label it really doesn't seem to matter which way you take the magnesium.

 

[ocelotito]

Is it OK to use milk of magnesia every day? does it create dependency or something? Would it be better than the lactulose, in terms of the gas/bloating it produces?

 

[Kathleen M.]

It is an osmotic laxative so isn't likely to cause dependency. It does tend to have less gas and bloating than lactulose. If you need a lot of it (like several thousand milligrams of magnesium a day) I would think about switching to Miralax as it also doesn't have a lot of gas issues like lactulose and has fewer restrictions on maximum dose. It is also an osmotic laxative so not really any dependency issue.Even the "you'll get hooked and ruin your colon" warnings on stimulatory laxatives are way over blown. Mostly all of that is to keep you, IMO, from using them to avoid going to the doctor when you have chronic constipation. As long as the doctor has checked you out you can do what you need to do (within limits) to keep things moving. There were some concerns about some laxatives no longer on the market, but I doubt the data was good (if it existed) and the modern data on what you can buy in the store now generally indicates that within reason any worsening of constipation would have happened anyway.Some people that abuse stimulatory laxatives as part of an eating disorder do seem a bit prone to long term issues but so are people with eating disorders that didn't abuse laxatives. Severely disordered eating seems to be a problem all on its own.

 

[kinglouie]

Oxypowder works very well, i take 4 pills at bedtime, next morning.....BIG MOVEMENT!!it's safe and is my lifesaver!