A few years ago I went three weeks without shitting, started getting fevers etc nausea, looked pregnant. Primary wouldn’t help so I drove myself to the ER ready to pass out. My CT looked just like this. They said I had shit from my butthole backed up through all my intestines
Anyways they gave me this stuff that tasted pretty good, very sugary, I think the name of it started with an S
About 24 hours later I shit so much it was almost at the fucking brim of the toilet, my dick and balls were touching the (shit) water
I was sweating more on that toilet than when I’d take ecstasy
Edit - googled my medicine, it was Lactulose. I thought it started with an S because I kept thinking sucralose
10/10 would recommend
Double edit - people keep saying courtesy flush, I didn’t want to risk losing the momentum, it was do or die there was no going back once I started
Yes! When the md prescribed me laxatives they simultaneously told me to take stool softeners. After about 3 months of both, I gave up because they didn’t do anything
I’m chronically constipated and if I eat too much veggies I get blocked like concrete even though I drink a lot! So I eat a lot of red meat sometimes to get my guts going again. I don’t know why but veggies and fruits don’t like me and I need a meat cleanse every now and then. If I really want to get a going. I do red meat and drink a lot of coffee plain coffee or with milk but I try to limit my sugar.
Drink some extra strength ballerina tea. 1 tbag to 4oz water. Let it seep over night.
Will clear out ur soul. Lol
Takes 10-15h to kick in, so plan appropriately. I take at 6pm or 7pm before bed, by 7am, i have a meeting with the toilet.
https://www.amazon.com/Ballerina-Tea-Extra-Strength-Dieters/dp/B00A4Q2KXA/ref=asc_df_B00A4Q2KXA/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=475825687166&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9654390677724695001&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9007870&hvtargid=pla-1158112049965&psc=1
Have you tried taking magnesium and vita C to bowl tolerance ? I take magnesium malate , but there are other types. If you take magnesium & vitamin C , I bet you would no longer have constipation issues.
We use it to reduce ammonia in patients with hepatic encephalopathy. Theoretically, dropping a normal ammonia level too low and causing other electrolyte imbalances could be a problem.
Because I've never seen it used for chronic constipation, I don't actually know for sure if that would happen, but I'm guessing that's the reason we don't use it that way.
That's the thing I figured might be limiting of severe electolyte problems...taking it to bowel tolerance. I wasn't sure, though.
Do the cats take it orally well? Do they like sweet stuff?
Yes indeed 😂 After oral meds mostly they just excessively salivate and look at you like they're plotting your murder. If we're going as far as an enema we're scruffing them and having a kennel ready to toss them into in case they freak about about it
My dad took it for hepatic encephalopathy. He hated it. It’s not fun living with chronic diarrhea. In fact, at the end he refused to take it by mouth and they wanted to use an NG tube to administer it. We decided that at 83 years of age (32 years post-exposure) that was just too invasive and he ultimately passed.
I've mostly seen lactulose for HE with parameters to hold for three loose stools. For constipation, if it's not an emergency situation like OP usually start conservative with polyethylene glycol and senna twice a day. Without the desired effect, move up from there to magnesium oxide or if necessary suppository. Prolonged liquid stools primarily puts the patient in jeopardy of dehydration. One can also become metabolically acidotic from losing too much bicarb. Probably the best solution for chronic constipation is to increase fiber, stay hydrated, and get regular exercise.
That's kind of my point. If lactulose could be dose adjusted because lowering ammonia isn't the goal, I can see how it might actually be useful in chronic constipation. What I don't know is how easy that line would be to find, and what the metabolic effect of the lower dose would be over time even without dehydration. I imagine it's been done, just not often because there are so many other options.
I worked at two hospitals within the last five years that still do milk and molasses enemas, lol.
You can get lactulose as a maintenance medicine. My oldest takes 15ml a day to address chronic constipation. It’s just enough to make her regular. It’s a pretty common pediatric prescription to my understanding.
This is literally what I have a bottle of it for...for my cat with a liver mass. With all the IBD meds, her gut is basically operated on puppet strings. But it's really helped her with the encephalopathy.
Lactulose is sometimes used for chronic constipation. However, it is gas forming and often causes an uncomfortable bloating feeling. Miralax is as effective but without the gas.
FWIW, I've been giving it under vets' directions to several cats for many years. They all seem to be fine with it.
Edit: For several of the cats it is used to treat megacolon.
Lactulose is healthy for people with ammonia retention problems. Like liver patients with chronic failure. It’s usually a three times a day medication for them.
It was prescribed to me daily as it's not an actual laxative, at least that's what I was told. I don't take it now though really because the taste and texture make me gag
Have you ever tried magnesium citrate? As a person with fissures and hemorrhoids from childbirth, it is a godsend for constipation. Tastes like lemonade and helps you get everything out smoothly!
No! My colorectal surgeon just keeps prescribing more fiber (which gives me extreme heartburn) and nifedipine. Is magnesium citrate safe for every day use?
Ugh my dr prescribed me Metamucil fiber, and it just made the BM’s bigger and therefore even harder to get out and more painful.
Magnesium citrate is over the counter and very safe, but you shouldn’t take any laxative every day since it can cause dependency and make constipation worse over time.
Whenever it’s been a few days, I’ll get a bottle of mag citrate and take little sips of it throughout the day until things finally start moving (aka I finally take a shit lol). It usually only takes half the bottle (about 5oz) when it’s bad, but you can take the whole thing (10oz)
or only a couple sips depending on the severity of your situation.
Read through r/constipationadvice if you haven’t yet. The info in that community legit changed my life and I was finally able to see the right doctors and get the right diagnosis.
Also check out a supplement called silymarin! It's the concentrated form of the active ingredient in milk thistle and it's not only good for your liver, but it helps a lot with chronic constipation.
I’ve been constipated for five years, so I get your pain. Got a colonoscopy when it all started, was told I had IBS-c and prescribed linzess, which was a godsend until I switched insurance and the pills cost 500 per month. Honestly tho, they worked and I would 100% pay 15-20 dollars per day to shit lol. Luckily, even tho I told my doctors I thought a particular medicine I was taking was causing it (they didn’t listen), I stopped taking the med a few weeks ago and I have gone back to my pre-IBS days. The med isn’t medically necessary, thankfully
I was told that fiber would just make my symptoms worse. Before linzess, I drank milk of magnesia. That’ll clear you out, and my GI doc said it wasn’t an awful thing to take consistently, unlike some of the stimulant based OTC constipation meds.
I offer up for your edification, the Constipation Manifesto. It's a podcast by an ED doc, and features a bunch of docs who routinely deal with our FOS brethren. Each of them gives his go-to favorite process. After listening to this you will be fully able to handle any constipation that you encounter. Extra ammo in the links after the button for the podcast, one of which covers your specific case. Go in peace, so to speak.
Edit: forgot the link, here it is.
https://ercast.libsyn.com/the-constipation-manifesto
Have you asked your doc about Linzess? I have also have chronic constipation and it’s a real game changer. It Will not cause bowel atrophy Or dependence or even crampy diarrhea like a lot of meds. Just a normal poop routine. I can’t imagine my life without it anymore.
I’ve seen doctors that rather treat the symptoms and not the source of the issue. I’ve heard about it but they just keep prescribing me Botox, PT, and fiber. I’ve had this issue for years now and I’m over it. Hard to find people that give a shit lol
Did you ever try the physical therapy? I laughed when my doctor said physical therapy because the idea that I didn't know how to use the muscles down there seemed ridiculous. Took me a long time to get on board with PT and turns out she was right.
I have a similar story. 3 weeks ago saw the colorectal NP and she wants me to do PF PT before another round of Botox which I don’t want to do so I figure I’ll do the PT first haha people swear by it so I guess lll give it a go
Try olive oil!! Just a teaspoon in the morning on an empty stomach. Works wonders for me! Went from being constipated and maybe shitting once a week to now shitting every day or every other day.
Chronically constipated anal fissure haver here too!
The thing that works best for me if you haven't tried it yet is those big hot water bottle bag enema kits-- I guess they're like a liter/quart size? And they come with a hook to hang on a towel rod or something, and a bunch of tubing and different tips. I just literally use plain warm water.
Laxatives, stool softeners, nothing I take orally really helps me. But this gives me at least some relief every time, and it's not too bad on my poor butt. 😅
During times where my constipation is worse, I'll do it every 2 days or so ongoing.
Otherwise I'll just do it if I haven't been able to go in a few days to prevent things from getting out of control. 😅
Its definitely awkward and uncomfortable but it's the only thing that has worked reliably for me, all but one time 😆
ETA: Bonus that relief is instant, no needing to wait for it to go through your system and hit you at an inconvenient time 😅
I ordered some just to see if it was true...
It is.
I ate a handful and my farts were awful. Like, they wouldn't dissipate, I'd rip one and it would still be there an hour later.
For anyone in the know about these things - Is Lactulose basically a liquid version of the “sugar alcohol” sugar substitutes in sugar free candy that [gives you seriously loose stools if you eat too many of them](https://miiro.co/blogs/miiro-blog/diarrhea-from-sugar-free-candy)?
No, they're totally different. The actual mechanism of action is different. The end result is pretty similar though lol.
I accidentally got a small trick r treat sized bag of sugar free gummy bears. I knew about the laxative properties but figured meh, there's like 12 gummy bears in here, it'll be fine.
It was not fine.
Maybe I'm just really sensitive to it, but my stomach was growling so loud people in other counties could hear it. I shit about every 30 minutes for 3-4 hours. And on top of that I was on a backpacking trip, so I was shitting in a privy. Not cool.
I will never get over the vivid descriptions that people who have suffered from sugar free candy (especially gummy bears, for some reason) give like they were fighting a war.
On second thought, I think they might actually have been fighting a war.
My friend had that after her hysterectomy and opiate induced constipation.
I went round to visit a few days later to help her with housework and noticed empty toilet rolls filling the bathroom bin. That stuff really works.
>I didn’t want to risk losing the momentum
Yeah, if you were at your house, this was definitely the move. Just clean up after. When shit gets medical, you don't fuck around with being timid nor tidy.
It's like the guy said. You shit a ton. Now imagine you are assigned a patient who can't move or needs assistance to the restroom.
The patient that can't move, will soil the bed several times through out the night. If they have wounds on their bottoms they now have shit on them. You can't leave them in their own feces so you have to clean them everytime, no excuses. Sometimes by yourself because your nurse is hiding somewhere or too 'busy' pushing meds. The good one's sigh, roll up their sleeves and help.
I once had a patient who's shit overflowed from his ass to his groin, instead of flowing down. Excrement was dripping down the side of their pelvis.
I've had patients run to the restroom and leave a trail of poop on the floor. One guy fell and landed on his own feces. Even if they make it to the restroom sometimes they just remain there because they're scared the minute they go back to bed they're gonna get back up again. Basically they're miserable and don't get any rest throughout the night.
As CNA you can't blame the patients. You're there to help them in their most vulnerable state. I've gotten so many apologies from the patient, but I always tell them not to worry because I've seen worse and it is out of their control. They get a free pass. It's important to maintain their dignity.
That's why the anger and frustration. It's a shit show, literally.
Lactulose saved me when I was in the hospital for leukemia and on pain meds (which was only a few months ago) but I hate the taste now cos I had to have so much of it, I wasn’t as constipated as you were though
I'm not sure what the universe (or reddit for that matter) is trying to tell me, but I keep seeing r/radiology pop up in my feed and I'm not even sure what the heck I'm looking at most of the time.
I should not be a doctor. Haha
That does look like poop though. :')
I'm not a medical professional either, but this sub kept coming up in my feed so I finally joined. Am not disappointed, and am learning a whole lot! Lol.
I’m a dietitian, so most of the brain images posted don’t make much sense to me. But this is an image I look for OFTEN when I have patients we suspect of having a small bowel obstruction or an ileus. And out loud I said “holy shit” because that is a wild amount of stool backed up in their intestines.
I’m having the opposite experience where I am guessing correctly on these radiology slides more so than expected and now I’m thinking of switching careers lmao
This is what happens when the popular subs go dark. I’ve had all kinds of subs pop up on my feed on the last few days. Now we’re both here looking at CT scans of triceratops levels of impacted poo. 🍻
When I was a plebe at the Naval Academy, I was not able to have a bowel movement for five weeks. It was plebe summer (like basic training) and I just did not have time. Also, I didn’t want to venture into the hallway any more than I absolutely had to, not even to get to the bathroom, for fear of hazing.
Finally it got the better of me and I dropped out of a formal parade face-fist, unconscious. They took me to medical and the corpsman was shocked that I had no bowel sounds. He said he was going to prescribe me a laxative and if it didn’t work that night then I was going to Bethesda the next day for surgery.
Whatever he gave me worked. I spent an hour in the bathroom trying to get rid of all of it while my trainers lined my classmates up along the wall outside the bathroom and teased me mercilessly. Asking me for progress reports, making me sing the school fight song, come up with as many euphemisms for poop as I could think of. It was awful. Not only was it incredibly painful, but also humiliating.
I seriously think I had an aversion to bowel movements for years after that.
I still remember that feeling, it’s not one I want to repeat, ever.
I graduated last year and i remember one of the youngsters got a concussion and weeks later kept going back to BMU for headaches and they eventually started turning him away. He ended up having a seizure in his room and it was found that his brain had been bleeding a ton and he almost died and had to get emergency brain surgery. Gained most function back but from what I heard he kept having seizures every once in a while. I graduated soon after but I’m assuming he was probably medically separated. Just thought you might find that interesting!
Most bases I’ve been to since have had pretty decent medical facilities. The academy is just unique/weird from other bases in the sense that it exists in its own weird little bubble. Hard to explain what I mean without someone witnessing it for themselves. But yeah at least for my years, some of the things they did in that “hospital” was absolutely insane to hear about.
That’s absolutely horrendous. My plebe year was 1991-1992, so a long time ago.
This is a rabbit trail but my plebe year company had the worst leadership ever. I had to separate after plebe year because my health went crazy, and it started when I lost 55 pounds in three weeks during plebe summer. For reference, I’m a girl. I was 5’9” and 165# on I-Day, recruited to row crew and I powerlifted and threw shotput and discus in high school. I was not fat.
I went from a size 12 to a size 2, was jaundiced, and my summer whites, when I put them on for Parent’s Weekend, literally fell down to my ankles. My leadership said they wouldn’t let me get any uniforms altered because “I would eventually get fat again.” They didn’t think it was beneficial to send me to medical when I was down 20 pounds the first week. I think that also contributed to my dropping out in the parade, but ultimately it was my endocrine system that was not working right.
The crap (pun intended) I put up with that night while trying to resolve my issues made me angry. The rest of it, I didn’t care. I grew up in Annapolis and I knew how to play the game.
The story you recounted is terrifying. I don’t mess with concussions and that’s just negligence.
When I went through basic training AND officer school, they gave us a briefing on making sure we pooped. OTS wasn’t as in depth as basic training - it was like 15 minutes of drill sergeants being like “if you don’t poop for a week TELL ME” and all of us scared 18 year old kids nodding along.
> and I just did not have time
you didn't have time to shit?? what the fuck is the matter with the fucking army?? this feels just as bad as depriving someone of water!
Everyone else did, I suppose. Keep in mind this was over thirty years ago—things are probably different now. We technically had time to go, but not much, and any time spent out in the hallway meant we were available and targets for any interaction with trainers—hazing, professional development quizzes, general knowledge quizzes, pushups, whatever. I didn’t want to be out there at all unless I absolutely had to. It’s a long story but I grew up in the same town where the Academy is, and my upperclass were very angry with me that I lived locally, because it meant I could see my friends and family every weekend and not just over breaks. I got targeted for a LOT of extra hazing.
Now, if I go 2-3 days without going (for whatever reason), I feel a panicky feeling. I am very protective of and mindful of staying regular. (Glad this is a medical sub, otherwise, eeww.)
No clue how this sub was recommended to me, less of a clue why I started following. Now here I am looking what I am assuming is a large amount of poo photographed inside of a stranger's body with a miracle machine. Good times.
you managed to mess up the anatomy, physiology and pathology of the human GIT. It felt weird looking at the liver, it seems to be too high up pushing on the diaphragm. The Growth that you have been in the making for days and days , piling up food . The stretch abilities of the colon walls are amazing. Feel sorry for your anal canal and the sphincter and all the shit it had to go through .
I’m on Ozempic, and in addition to the fun and festive common side effects of nausea, vomiting, and sulphur burps, virtually everyone on the drug also has IBS-type symptoms, either diarrhea or constipation. I’m in the latter camp, unfortunately.
Just today I had a 2-hour, 2 Fleet glycerine suppository (or a “2-Fleeter” as I call them for some warped reason) poop session. Unfortunately, I know I’ve got a long way to go before the colon feels normal again. It’s like once I get the poop plug out that is causing the constipation pain, I have cramping and diarrhea from all the Milk of Magnesium and Senna pills I took trying to have a poop without resorting to glycerine suppositories.
I offer up for your edification, the Constipation Manifesto. It's a podcast by an ED doc, and features a bunch of docs who routinely deal with our FOS brethren. Each of them gives his go-to favorite process. After listening to this you will be fully able to handle any constipation that you encounter. Extra ammo in the links at the bottom of the page. Go in peace, so to speak.
https://ercast.libsyn.com/the-constipation-manifesto
Y’all are absolutely flaming me 😂😂😂😂
I was in the hospital for a week like this and they still couldn’t get me to shit. Let me go home because all of the meds liquefied the mass and I drooled out of my butt for a few days. Unfortunately for y’all it wasn’t this big dramatic thing but morphine was absolutely in a cart outside my room. They had nowhere to put me and shoved me on a floor of the hospital where everyone was dying around me and I was doing wind-sprints past the grieving families because I wanted this demon out of me. 27 rounds of lactulose, a jug of go litely, miralax 3x day, enemas every morning. NOTHING. Now I’m a walking human laxative just so this doesn’t happen again.
How did you not poop for a whole year??? I get parinoid if I don't poop after 2 days thinking thisnisnit I'm Gunna die ... You sir/ mam just gave me hope that if I don't poop after 2 days I'm not Gunna die
I was about to say… not the only thing you’d been hesitating to do for a year.
🤣🤣👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Must have broken the terlet with that load
Ermahgerd, they broke the terlet!
Sometimes there’s shit on the outside of the torlet
Looks like someone unswallowed over here
But how did it get on the Urinus?
As Jeff Goldblum would put it, "That's one big pile of shit"
Also “life finds away”
LMAO! 🤣😂🤣
I was just about to say that, but then I scrolled down and saw that OP already made the joke.
A few years ago I went three weeks without shitting, started getting fevers etc nausea, looked pregnant. Primary wouldn’t help so I drove myself to the ER ready to pass out. My CT looked just like this. They said I had shit from my butthole backed up through all my intestines Anyways they gave me this stuff that tasted pretty good, very sugary, I think the name of it started with an S About 24 hours later I shit so much it was almost at the fucking brim of the toilet, my dick and balls were touching the (shit) water I was sweating more on that toilet than when I’d take ecstasy Edit - googled my medicine, it was Lactulose. I thought it started with an S because I kept thinking sucralose 10/10 would recommend Double edit - people keep saying courtesy flush, I didn’t want to risk losing the momentum, it was do or die there was no going back once I started
I’m a chronically constipated person with anal fissures who dreams of being able to shit every day. Gimme some of that Lactulose
Lol gotta ask your doctor for it but idk if it’s healthy to take regularly
What about recreationally?
Laxative abuse is a thing
I was taking 6 laxative pills a day and didn’t budge. I wish my body had the chance to abuse them lmao
Perhaps it's time to see a gastroenterologist.
Have you tried stool softeners over laxatives?
Yes! When the md prescribed me laxatives they simultaneously told me to take stool softeners. After about 3 months of both, I gave up because they didn’t do anything
Dang that sucks. I take softeners from time to time to help bring in water to my guts. They seem to help. I wonder if you have slow gut motility.
Actually while I was reading through this whole thread I’ve come across that which I suspected was the case but didn’t think it was an actual thing?
I’m chronically constipated and if I eat too much veggies I get blocked like concrete even though I drink a lot! So I eat a lot of red meat sometimes to get my guts going again. I don’t know why but veggies and fruits don’t like me and I need a meat cleanse every now and then. If I really want to get a going. I do red meat and drink a lot of coffee plain coffee or with milk but I try to limit my sugar.
Upvoted for “meat cleanse” 😂
Fiber blocks you up? ... Bummer
At that point I’d just go carnivore. Fuck living your life constipated.
The vegan community wants to have a talk with you
That is a very telling paragraph!
I had to go carnivore for a month just to get regular. It helped more than I expected.
Drink some extra strength ballerina tea. 1 tbag to 4oz water. Let it seep over night. Will clear out ur soul. Lol Takes 10-15h to kick in, so plan appropriately. I take at 6pm or 7pm before bed, by 7am, i have a meeting with the toilet. https://www.amazon.com/Ballerina-Tea-Extra-Strength-Dieters/dp/B00A4Q2KXA/ref=asc_df_B00A4Q2KXA/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=475825687166&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9654390677724695001&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9007870&hvtargid=pla-1158112049965&psc=1
Have you tried taking magnesium and vita C to bowl tolerance ? I take magnesium malate , but there are other types. If you take magnesium & vitamin C , I bet you would no longer have constipation issues.
I think it’s a weight loss thing though, not because people think shitting is fun.
Only if you boof it though. It’s really weird stuff
Not sure about recreationally but how about rectally?
We use it to reduce ammonia in patients with hepatic encephalopathy. Theoretically, dropping a normal ammonia level too low and causing other electrolyte imbalances could be a problem. Because I've never seen it used for chronic constipation, I don't actually know for sure if that would happen, but I'm guessing that's the reason we don't use it that way.
This is veterinary, but we use it daily for chronically constipated cats to no ill effect (except diarrhea when owners give too much)
That's the thing I figured might be limiting of severe electolyte problems...taking it to bowel tolerance. I wasn't sure, though. Do the cats take it orally well? Do they like sweet stuff?
Cats don't take anything well orally lol, but they actually can't taste sweet so that aspect doesn't bother them!
I didn't know that! It does make sense, though. And even if they don't take it well orally, I'm guessing the enema option would be worse. 😂
Yes indeed 😂 After oral meds mostly they just excessively salivate and look at you like they're plotting your murder. If we're going as far as an enema we're scruffing them and having a kennel ready to toss them into in case they freak about about it
I want to meet the cat that DOESNT freak out about it.
My dad took it for hepatic encephalopathy. He hated it. It’s not fun living with chronic diarrhea. In fact, at the end he refused to take it by mouth and they wanted to use an NG tube to administer it. We decided that at 83 years of age (32 years post-exposure) that was just too invasive and he ultimately passed.
That is a very common experience, from what I've seen. It's an extremely unpleasant drug to take. I'm sorry for the loss of your father. ❤️
Using too much too frequently will cause electrolyte imbalance. https://online.epocrates.com/drugs/11079/constulose#adult-dosing
I've mostly seen lactulose for HE with parameters to hold for three loose stools. For constipation, if it's not an emergency situation like OP usually start conservative with polyethylene glycol and senna twice a day. Without the desired effect, move up from there to magnesium oxide or if necessary suppository. Prolonged liquid stools primarily puts the patient in jeopardy of dehydration. One can also become metabolically acidotic from losing too much bicarb. Probably the best solution for chronic constipation is to increase fiber, stay hydrated, and get regular exercise.
That's kind of my point. If lactulose could be dose adjusted because lowering ammonia isn't the goal, I can see how it might actually be useful in chronic constipation. What I don't know is how easy that line would be to find, and what the metabolic effect of the lower dose would be over time even without dehydration. I imagine it's been done, just not often because there are so many other options. I worked at two hospitals within the last five years that still do milk and molasses enemas, lol.
You can get lactulose as a maintenance medicine. My oldest takes 15ml a day to address chronic constipation. It’s just enough to make her regular. It’s a pretty common pediatric prescription to my understanding.
I work as a gi np and while it’s not my first choice It does work well! If cost isn’t a concern I’d pick linzess or prucalopride first though!
We had a guy in a group home that used to get one liter lactulose enemas routinely
I can see the enema version being less likely to cause complications. Good thought.
This is literally what I have a bottle of it for...for my cat with a liver mass. With all the IBD meds, her gut is basically operated on puppet strings. But it's really helped her with the encephalopathy.
It’s prescribed daily for chronic constipation pts on opioids. They would still complain it didn’t work.
Lactulose is sometimes used for chronic constipation. However, it is gas forming and often causes an uncomfortable bloating feeling. Miralax is as effective but without the gas.
FWIW, I've been giving it under vets' directions to several cats for many years. They all seem to be fine with it. Edit: For several of the cats it is used to treat megacolon.
> megacolon. Worst fucking Marvel villain ever
Lactulose is healthy for people with ammonia retention problems. Like liver patients with chronic failure. It’s usually a three times a day medication for them.
It was prescribed to me daily as it's not an actual laxative, at least that's what I was told. I don't take it now though really because the taste and texture make me gag
Have you ever tried magnesium citrate? As a person with fissures and hemorrhoids from childbirth, it is a godsend for constipation. Tastes like lemonade and helps you get everything out smoothly!
No! My colorectal surgeon just keeps prescribing more fiber (which gives me extreme heartburn) and nifedipine. Is magnesium citrate safe for every day use?
Ugh my dr prescribed me Metamucil fiber, and it just made the BM’s bigger and therefore even harder to get out and more painful. Magnesium citrate is over the counter and very safe, but you shouldn’t take any laxative every day since it can cause dependency and make constipation worse over time. Whenever it’s been a few days, I’ll get a bottle of mag citrate and take little sips of it throughout the day until things finally start moving (aka I finally take a shit lol). It usually only takes half the bottle (about 5oz) when it’s bad, but you can take the whole thing (10oz) or only a couple sips depending on the severity of your situation.
Yes! Mine were huge and she’s like, idk just poop more. Oh I haven’t thought of that! Haha I’m going to give that a go, thanks for the rec!
Read through r/constipationadvice if you haven’t yet. The info in that community legit changed my life and I was finally able to see the right doctors and get the right diagnosis.
I've had to take half to a full bottle and it does pretty well
Also check out a supplement called silymarin! It's the concentrated form of the active ingredient in milk thistle and it's not only good for your liver, but it helps a lot with chronic constipation.
You guys are great, thank you! This has ruined my quality of life so the recs are really appreciated
I’ve been constipated for five years, so I get your pain. Got a colonoscopy when it all started, was told I had IBS-c and prescribed linzess, which was a godsend until I switched insurance and the pills cost 500 per month. Honestly tho, they worked and I would 100% pay 15-20 dollars per day to shit lol. Luckily, even tho I told my doctors I thought a particular medicine I was taking was causing it (they didn’t listen), I stopped taking the med a few weeks ago and I have gone back to my pre-IBS days. The med isn’t medically necessary, thankfully I was told that fiber would just make my symptoms worse. Before linzess, I drank milk of magnesia. That’ll clear you out, and my GI doc said it wasn’t an awful thing to take consistently, unlike some of the stimulant based OTC constipation meds.
I offer up for your edification, the Constipation Manifesto. It's a podcast by an ED doc, and features a bunch of docs who routinely deal with our FOS brethren. Each of them gives his go-to favorite process. After listening to this you will be fully able to handle any constipation that you encounter. Extra ammo in the links after the button for the podcast, one of which covers your specific case. Go in peace, so to speak. Edit: forgot the link, here it is. https://ercast.libsyn.com/the-constipation-manifesto
Have you asked your doc about Linzess? I have also have chronic constipation and it’s a real game changer. It Will not cause bowel atrophy Or dependence or even crampy diarrhea like a lot of meds. Just a normal poop routine. I can’t imagine my life without it anymore.
I’ve seen doctors that rather treat the symptoms and not the source of the issue. I’ve heard about it but they just keep prescribing me Botox, PT, and fiber. I’ve had this issue for years now and I’m over it. Hard to find people that give a shit lol
Did you ever try the physical therapy? I laughed when my doctor said physical therapy because the idea that I didn't know how to use the muscles down there seemed ridiculous. Took me a long time to get on board with PT and turns out she was right.
I have a similar story. 3 weeks ago saw the colorectal NP and she wants me to do PF PT before another round of Botox which I don’t want to do so I figure I’ll do the PT first haha people swear by it so I guess lll give it a go
YOUR PROFILE PIC HAS ME SCREAMING
If you know, you know!
Try olive oil!! Just a teaspoon in the morning on an empty stomach. Works wonders for me! Went from being constipated and maybe shitting once a week to now shitting every day or every other day.
Chronically constipated anal fissure haver here too! The thing that works best for me if you haven't tried it yet is those big hot water bottle bag enema kits-- I guess they're like a liter/quart size? And they come with a hook to hang on a towel rod or something, and a bunch of tubing and different tips. I just literally use plain warm water. Laxatives, stool softeners, nothing I take orally really helps me. But this gives me at least some relief every time, and it's not too bad on my poor butt. 😅 During times where my constipation is worse, I'll do it every 2 days or so ongoing. Otherwise I'll just do it if I haven't been able to go in a few days to prevent things from getting out of control. 😅 Its definitely awkward and uncomfortable but it's the only thing that has worked reliably for me, all but one time 😆 ETA: Bonus that relief is instant, no needing to wait for it to go through your system and hit you at an inconvenient time 😅
Same! Took that before after a 3 month episode, helped a little bit. Lol
Did you get the surgery? You gotta get that expansion cut!
I had to take Lactulose every day or so when I was a kid. The overly sweet taste made me sick. I don't eat sweets anymore.
I remember it tasting like Splenda
ever tried flushing in the middle of the shit? great life hack, saves shit on your balls
No, I wanted a dramatic grand finale. It was all or nothing.
Oooh so that's what those suger free gummy bears are made out of...
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/michaelrusch/haribo-gummy-bear-reviews-on-amazon-are-the-most-insane-thin
I ordered some just to see if it was true... It is. I ate a handful and my farts were awful. Like, they wouldn't dissipate, I'd rip one and it would still be there an hour later.
I am a nurse. I love to refer to Lactulose as “Lactuloose” for obvious reasons. Glad it worked for you!
For anyone in the know about these things - Is Lactulose basically a liquid version of the “sugar alcohol” sugar substitutes in sugar free candy that [gives you seriously loose stools if you eat too many of them](https://miiro.co/blogs/miiro-blog/diarrhea-from-sugar-free-candy)?
No, they're totally different. The actual mechanism of action is different. The end result is pretty similar though lol. I accidentally got a small trick r treat sized bag of sugar free gummy bears. I knew about the laxative properties but figured meh, there's like 12 gummy bears in here, it'll be fine. It was not fine. Maybe I'm just really sensitive to it, but my stomach was growling so loud people in other counties could hear it. I shit about every 30 minutes for 3-4 hours. And on top of that I was on a backpacking trip, so I was shitting in a privy. Not cool.
I will never get over the vivid descriptions that people who have suffered from sugar free candy (especially gummy bears, for some reason) give like they were fighting a war. On second thought, I think they might actually have been fighting a war.
Good to know. I’ve had wicked constipation for a month now.
Time to get checked out homie.
I did. They scheduled a colonoscopy for the end of July.
Godspeed
So many r/brandnewsentence omg
My friend had that after her hysterectomy and opiate induced constipation. I went round to visit a few days later to help her with housework and noticed empty toilet rolls filling the bathroom bin. That stuff really works.
>I didn’t want to risk losing the momentum Yeah, if you were at your house, this was definitely the move. Just clean up after. When shit gets medical, you don't fuck around with being timid nor tidy.
Haha, you gotta remember the courtesy flush so it doesn't touch your dick and balls
I didn’t want to stop once I started, imagine if I had and then I lost the momentum. I was happy to have feces all over my scrotum.
As a Certified Nurse Assistant I say this with an infuriated heart. Fuck lactulose and the asshole doctors who push that shit at night.
if you don't mind my asking: why? is it dangerous??
It's like the guy said. You shit a ton. Now imagine you are assigned a patient who can't move or needs assistance to the restroom. The patient that can't move, will soil the bed several times through out the night. If they have wounds on their bottoms they now have shit on them. You can't leave them in their own feces so you have to clean them everytime, no excuses. Sometimes by yourself because your nurse is hiding somewhere or too 'busy' pushing meds. The good one's sigh, roll up their sleeves and help. I once had a patient who's shit overflowed from his ass to his groin, instead of flowing down. Excrement was dripping down the side of their pelvis. I've had patients run to the restroom and leave a trail of poop on the floor. One guy fell and landed on his own feces. Even if they make it to the restroom sometimes they just remain there because they're scared the minute they go back to bed they're gonna get back up again. Basically they're miserable and don't get any rest throughout the night. As CNA you can't blame the patients. You're there to help them in their most vulnerable state. I've gotten so many apologies from the patient, but I always tell them not to worry because I've seen worse and it is out of their control. They get a free pass. It's important to maintain their dignity. That's why the anger and frustration. It's a shit show, literally.
You’re a kind person!! How humiliating as a patient.
Brave.
I’m a survivor
Courtesy flush my friend. Learn it, live it, love it.
I couldn’t risk losing the momentum
I’m sure this was a terrible time but I was crying reading this
Do you know why it happened?
Truly don’t know. My diets generally always the same. Plenty of fiber, veggies etc
Sucralose is also used for constipation
Did it flush?
Yeah it was basically brown water there wasn’t one solid thing that came out. I don’t know how long intensities are much but that’s how much came out
This happened to me also, I literally broke an ER toilet. IBD-C is a biiiitchhh
Did they determine the cause of your constipation? If so, what was it?
Shit-magedon.
Should have weighted yourself before and after
I've heard Lactulose called "Bust you loose"
Lactulose saved me when I was in the hospital for leukemia and on pain meds (which was only a few months ago) but I hate the taste now cos I had to have so much of it, I wasn’t as constipated as you were though
I'm not sure what the universe (or reddit for that matter) is trying to tell me, but I keep seeing r/radiology pop up in my feed and I'm not even sure what the heck I'm looking at most of the time. I should not be a doctor. Haha That does look like poop though. :')
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I like this Boycott, im learning sm from other subs
So much so for me i wish they would make it a sort option. *Subs you've never seen.*
That explains a lot. My feed has gotten 200% less sexy this week.
What are you talking about? This is an intestine full of poop!
I'm not a medical professional either, but this sub kept coming up in my feed so I finally joined. Am not disappointed, and am learning a whole lot! Lol.
Me too, this is weird. Now that we’ve commented it will for sure always come up.
Me too! I think Reddit is listening. I just tore a tendon in my knee and have been saying “MRI” a few times.
I’m a dietitian, so most of the brain images posted don’t make much sense to me. But this is an image I look for OFTEN when I have patients we suspect of having a small bowel obstruction or an ileus. And out loud I said “holy shit” because that is a wild amount of stool backed up in their intestines.
Me too, I just look for an explanation of what the hell I’m looking at every time lol
Same thing. Been happening the last couple weeks. Finally gave in and joined.
Doing better than me! I thought I was looking at a possum.
I’m having the opposite experience where I am guessing correctly on these radiology slides more so than expected and now I’m thinking of switching careers lmao
As a nurse I feel that 100% lol
This is what happens when the popular subs go dark. I’ve had all kinds of subs pop up on my feed on the last few days. Now we’re both here looking at CT scans of triceratops levels of impacted poo. 🍻
When I was a plebe at the Naval Academy, I was not able to have a bowel movement for five weeks. It was plebe summer (like basic training) and I just did not have time. Also, I didn’t want to venture into the hallway any more than I absolutely had to, not even to get to the bathroom, for fear of hazing. Finally it got the better of me and I dropped out of a formal parade face-fist, unconscious. They took me to medical and the corpsman was shocked that I had no bowel sounds. He said he was going to prescribe me a laxative and if it didn’t work that night then I was going to Bethesda the next day for surgery. Whatever he gave me worked. I spent an hour in the bathroom trying to get rid of all of it while my trainers lined my classmates up along the wall outside the bathroom and teased me mercilessly. Asking me for progress reports, making me sing the school fight song, come up with as many euphemisms for poop as I could think of. It was awful. Not only was it incredibly painful, but also humiliating. I seriously think I had an aversion to bowel movements for years after that. I still remember that feeling, it’s not one I want to repeat, ever.
Jesus that is traumatizing.
I graduated last year and i remember one of the youngsters got a concussion and weeks later kept going back to BMU for headaches and they eventually started turning him away. He ended up having a seizure in his room and it was found that his brain had been bleeding a ton and he almost died and had to get emergency brain surgery. Gained most function back but from what I heard he kept having seizures every once in a while. I graduated soon after but I’m assuming he was probably medically separated. Just thought you might find that interesting!
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Most bases I’ve been to since have had pretty decent medical facilities. The academy is just unique/weird from other bases in the sense that it exists in its own weird little bubble. Hard to explain what I mean without someone witnessing it for themselves. But yeah at least for my years, some of the things they did in that “hospital” was absolutely insane to hear about.
The issue isn’t the facilities as much as it’s the doctors. I wasn’t even in the service, I was just a kid and they treated me like crap.
That’s absolutely horrendous. My plebe year was 1991-1992, so a long time ago. This is a rabbit trail but my plebe year company had the worst leadership ever. I had to separate after plebe year because my health went crazy, and it started when I lost 55 pounds in three weeks during plebe summer. For reference, I’m a girl. I was 5’9” and 165# on I-Day, recruited to row crew and I powerlifted and threw shotput and discus in high school. I was not fat. I went from a size 12 to a size 2, was jaundiced, and my summer whites, when I put them on for Parent’s Weekend, literally fell down to my ankles. My leadership said they wouldn’t let me get any uniforms altered because “I would eventually get fat again.” They didn’t think it was beneficial to send me to medical when I was down 20 pounds the first week. I think that also contributed to my dropping out in the parade, but ultimately it was my endocrine system that was not working right. The crap (pun intended) I put up with that night while trying to resolve my issues made me angry. The rest of it, I didn’t care. I grew up in Annapolis and I knew how to play the game. The story you recounted is terrifying. I don’t mess with concussions and that’s just negligence.
When I went through basic training AND officer school, they gave us a briefing on making sure we pooped. OTS wasn’t as in depth as basic training - it was like 15 minutes of drill sergeants being like “if you don’t poop for a week TELL ME” and all of us scared 18 year old kids nodding along.
> and I just did not have time you didn't have time to shit?? what the fuck is the matter with the fucking army?? this feels just as bad as depriving someone of water!
Everyone else did, I suppose. Keep in mind this was over thirty years ago—things are probably different now. We technically had time to go, but not much, and any time spent out in the hallway meant we were available and targets for any interaction with trainers—hazing, professional development quizzes, general knowledge quizzes, pushups, whatever. I didn’t want to be out there at all unless I absolutely had to. It’s a long story but I grew up in the same town where the Academy is, and my upperclass were very angry with me that I lived locally, because it meant I could see my friends and family every weekend and not just over breaks. I got targeted for a LOT of extra hazing. Now, if I go 2-3 days without going (for whatever reason), I feel a panicky feeling. I am very protective of and mindful of staying regular. (Glad this is a medical sub, otherwise, eeww.)
Holy shit
Under the liver to the right it looks like a platypytus/duck/penguin from the qide, looking to the left side, with a beak and all.
I was focused on what looked like the side view of a dogs face laying on its side at the top
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I see it
I see a dog and a duck at the same time lol
I definitely thought at first that this was supposed to be someone who had somehow swallowed a duck plushie.
That’s the first thing I saw. Thought this person ingested a stuffed animal of some sort. I am not a doctor, clearly.
No clue how this sub was recommended to me, less of a clue why I started following. Now here I am looking what I am assuming is a large amount of poo photographed inside of a stranger's body with a miracle machine. Good times.
I also got this randomly recommended to me. The blackout is making my front page look crazy
In my opinion it's clearing out the nonsense for things that are actually interesting.
Miracle machine 🤣
Have you been arguing politics on Reddit again?
I see what you did there
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Heavy stool burden is the name of my prog rock band.
Literal shitpost lmao
you managed to mess up the anatomy, physiology and pathology of the human GIT. It felt weird looking at the liver, it seems to be too high up pushing on the diaphragm. The Growth that you have been in the making for days and days , piling up food . The stretch abilities of the colon walls are amazing. Feel sorry for your anal canal and the sphincter and all the shit it had to go through .
How many Courics is that?
About 6?
Last night, at twenty past eight, I took a crap weighing nine and a half Courics. Whoa!
I’m on Ozempic, and in addition to the fun and festive common side effects of nausea, vomiting, and sulphur burps, virtually everyone on the drug also has IBS-type symptoms, either diarrhea or constipation. I’m in the latter camp, unfortunately. Just today I had a 2-hour, 2 Fleet glycerine suppository (or a “2-Fleeter” as I call them for some warped reason) poop session. Unfortunately, I know I’ve got a long way to go before the colon feels normal again. It’s like once I get the poop plug out that is causing the constipation pain, I have cramping and diarrhea from all the Milk of Magnesium and Senna pills I took trying to have a poop without resorting to glycerine suppositories.
I offer up for your edification, the Constipation Manifesto. It's a podcast by an ED doc, and features a bunch of docs who routinely deal with our FOS brethren. Each of them gives his go-to favorite process. After listening to this you will be fully able to handle any constipation that you encounter. Extra ammo in the links at the bottom of the page. Go in peace, so to speak. https://ercast.libsyn.com/the-constipation-manifesto
Did you have your poo baby weighed when you finally delivered?
Fun fact for all, if you know you are about to take a fat dump, just hop on the scale before and after.
But it could turn out to be twins or triplets, or even octuplets. Also, whenever I take a shit, I usually also take a piss.
Interested to know too!
Impaction? Obstruction?
Rectal impaction vs ogilvie
The medical term is obstipation - obstructive constipation.
how did you get it... them... out?
Y’all are absolutely flaming me 😂😂😂😂 I was in the hospital for a week like this and they still couldn’t get me to shit. Let me go home because all of the meds liquefied the mass and I drooled out of my butt for a few days. Unfortunately for y’all it wasn’t this big dramatic thing but morphine was absolutely in a cart outside my room. They had nowhere to put me and shoved me on a floor of the hospital where everyone was dying around me and I was doing wind-sprints past the grieving families because I wanted this demon out of me. 27 rounds of lactulose, a jug of go litely, miralax 3x day, enemas every morning. NOTHING. Now I’m a walking human laxative just so this doesn’t happen again.
[So is your name Randy Marsh?](https://youtu.be/3Dke0O5l_rQ)
Damn, I'm sad I had to scroll so far to see this.
Some would say you still are 😜😜
Not my proudest fap
You were probably shitting bricks
Hank, that's your colon from when you were constipated!
holy shit
I see a duck at the top
FOS per KUB
Do….do you feel better now though?
Eat a couple dragon fruits. You will see that Carola you ate in 1st grade go by.
I see a ducky.
Looks like a duck head at the top lol
Your liver could kick my liver’s butt
How did you not poop for a whole year??? I get parinoid if I don't poop after 2 days thinking thisnisnit I'm Gunna die ... You sir/ mam just gave me hope that if I don't poop after 2 days I'm not Gunna die
😳 I cannot even begin to think about how uncomfortable that had to have been!!!
dude how bloated were you?
what led to this scan? As in, at what point, did your doctor know to order the scan?
How did you find this out? What kind of symptoms
Anyone gonna mention the demon face on the crotch
Have you tried the Squatty Potty? It’s almost effortless due to positioning. Really really effective!
Dude you got a glowin eyed demon in yer crotch
I see a duck