Constipation
Yup, you read right, I’ve been suffering with chronic constipation for over a year. Yes I poop. But not without ‘assistance’. Over time I’ve had to take larger and larger amounts of lactulose in order to have a movement. Lactulose is a product that is a stool softener and brings water into the bowels. It’s not technically a chemical laxative which means it doesn’t cause dependence. No I can’t fix it with diet… tried that, I can eat beets for breakfast, 2 cups of berries for a snack, a giant raw high fiber salad for lunch, a pear or apple for a snack, a dinner that is low in constipating protein and full of fiber filled veggies, and have 2 cups of cooked spinach, oodles of fluids all day… and no go. I’ve tried numerous dietary options, raw foods, low protein, high fiber, etc. I’ve tried a strict elimination diet to see if I have any food allergies or sensitivities.. no.
I’ve had a diagnosis of Irritable Bowel Syndrome, IBS, years ago, but when I was diagnosed I wasn’t dealing with constipation, I just had horrible intense spasms with cramping pains. But what the Dr. believes is that I have IBS of the chronically constipated variety.
I asked for a referral to see a Gastroenterologist because it seems insanity to me that my body will not have a bowel movement on it’s own.
That over the last year and a bit, things have gotten increasingly worse, not better. I have to drink a cup of disgusting syrupy lactulose in order to have a bowel movement. So wondering where the future of this is going to go… will I end up having to drink 2 cups a year from now? or have I maxed out now. The stuff is expensive too, I have to pay x amount of money just to poo.. this seems to be insane to me.
My body is nonfunctional in many ways with my fibromyalgia, etc, and chronic pain is hard to deal with. For some reason the chronic constipation almost has me more emotional than the pain.
So today was my appointment with the gastroenterologist. He was an older sophisticated looking gentleman. He got all my information, said it was likely IBS chronic constipation, but since I do have a sister with Crohn’s disease, we need to rule that out. After getting my history, poking my stomach, and sticking a gloved finger up my bottom, he prescribed me an alternative to lactulose, peglyte, which he says often people with my condition find more helpful. I will have to drink a cup of that a day instead… which is fine by me, it has to be an improvement over lactulose, which is like drinking a cup of corn-syrup. I also get to go for a colonoscopy, which is scheduled for June, but I’m on a waiting list for cancellations, so who knows, may get in even earlier. Over-all, not a bad wait these days for that type of procedure.
Well, there, you go, or don’t go as the case may be.
Why write about my constipation, because it fricken drives me batty, because lots of people suffer with various bowel and gut ailments and we don’t generally talk about it or share it, but it’s central to our lives.
Damn it my sluggish dysfunctional bowels are pissing me the hell off, and writing about stuff is how I process it.
You might be wondering by now, if there is a part of me left that is ‘functional’… I’m not sure, but I think the liver might doing fine, for now.