Bowel Movement Help page

[Primal Toad]

I have been eMailing someone back and forth who has a very unique problem. He wants you to answer this question:

I have an extreme laxative dependency an lost my normal peristalsis along with bowel function(natural).Food sits too long in my stomach.What can i do to improve the situation?


Let me know if you need more information. Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

[strom]

try mirolax combined with water, long walking, magnesium citrate, magensium spray, vitamin c at high levels.

[Saoirse]

i don't think that more laxatives would correct peristalsis.

[loafingcactus]

I think this is a "see a doctor". Recovery from laxative abuse is complicated. If the muscle laxity is severe, major medical centers have a biofeedback system available to retrain the muscles. But this really needs a physician involved.

[periquin]

Roto-rooter or a plunger???

[DFH]

Use some Sugar Free Metamucil and start out slowly. That stuff can be a big help.

I'm skeptical that someone would completely lose their natural peristalsis. They may have done some damage with laxative dependency, but it's not like the small bowel is going to stop completely and never move again. If that were true, they would need to be in an emergency room in 24 hrs.

I would suspect excess use of laxatives has done some damage or caused inflammation to both the small and large bowel linings too. Eating Primal and adding food using trial and error would be a good idea. They may be low on vitamin B and minerals as well.

If you are in the hospital for bowel surgery, you get fed through an IV and peristalsis stops in a couple of days. This is "shutting down the bowel." Once you eat again, it starts back up. I have done this 4-5 times.

[brahnamin]

A good primal friend would have gone over to help him push.

[strom]

mirolax is not a laxative, its a stool softener which would help with a slow colon.

[DFH]

mirolax is not a laxative, its a stool softener which would help with a slow colon.

Yeah, but it won't promote a healthy bowel long term. It's just a temporary fix to move something that is sitting in there too long.

[Digby]

Fast for 3-4 days, water or green tea only, or second best, green juices; let the system heal, then eat & drink properly. Plus, get over the idea that every person should have a daily bm. You body will eliminate as it needs to, but carby junk is the worst thing for a happy lower GI tract.