Alan: liquid Colace mixed in orange juice;
small cup of prune juice (mixed with clear soda for taste) every morning;
daily vegetables, avoiding heavy meat, plenty of water Fleet Enema when needed
Jonathan: Miralax
Pat (info from a physical therapist): pear juice with high fiber content;
prune juice, Metamucil or other psyllium products
David: colostomy
Joe: Metamucil (2 tablespoons) and Milk of Magnesia (two spoonfuls) every night
Doug: I take 17 grams of Miralax before bed. I also eat 30 grapes at around PM. It helps me get rid of gas and keeps me going once a day. Red grapes make me go the most. Drinking water helps too.
Cody: I used to battle with constipation and impaction. I have a g-tube, and feed continuously by pump, so, I get food in the day and water while in bed. Water is the key here. Now I take 2 tsp of colace every morning, and I alternate 2 tbsp of Lactulose every other day. and for dinner I have pureed broccoli, green beans, and various other greens cooked with butter of course. This I believe is giving me fiber and greatly helps keep me flowing. Now, I will point out, my stool is loose. If isn't loose, I'm in trouble. I only about once a day or every other day. Lactulose is basically what makes me go, I can't go without it.
I personally believe to find the right bowel routine for yourself, you must be totally cleaned out, enema, disimpaction, whatever it takes. A bottle Magnesium Citrate, then couple hours later, follow up with a enema, and disimpact till your "all clear." You also may see better results with a enema containing a type of hydrogen peroxide, which hospitals call "Super Enema or The Bomb." Then start a routine like I outlined above with colace & lactulose, and some type of fiber "natural is best" or supplement. Stay away from any fiber therapy that contains sugar; this causes bloating. So, get sugar free.. And oh ya, the best thing for bad bloating, take extra strength Gas-X or Phyzme. This helps me a lot...
Anyway, to the whole big picture, have the bowel totally clear before trying any new regime! Trust me you don't want to find out the hard way!
Jeff M.: Of course, water is the biggest help. Also, many of the things you have tried actually work best when getting plenty of fluids.
For about nine years I used two stool softeners (Colace) once every day and it worked all the time. However, while in college I rarely took them (probably because of partying on weekends and some really greasy food).
Then they stopped working, even with taking them two or three times daily. I began using enimas more frequently (sometimes two or three times a week) and was completely miserable. I ended up staying in bed two or three days a week. This caused me to have absolutely no appetite.
Then last summer, I spoke to my regular physician (not my MDA neurologist) because all my other doctors said to just do what was necessary with no guidance. She thought it was ridiculous that I was dealing with this and immediately prescribed lactulose. It took about a week or two of changing dosages, but finally we found something that worked. I now take 15 ml, twice daily with some orange juice. It's easy for me to remember to drink water, because I start getting a headache because lactulose takes all of the water and puts it into the colon. My doctor also prescribed daily doses of potassium, because my potassium level was already low and lactulose actually depletes potassium levels.
To me this prescription is a godsend, I feel comfortable all day long and have actually regained my appetite. I am eating much better than I have in years.
As for gas, Phazyme works real well. However, with everything working better I rarely have to use it.
Mark: Some [mainly a few uninvolved docs and nurses] might argue that my method is not good for the bowels, but I have yet to discover what they're talking about for 13 years, lol. Every other day I get a tapwater-type "cleansing enema" minus the soap and it's just one sitting, usually. The night before I take mineral oil orally (yikes) and it helps.
Kathy (for her son): Finally we got a nurse at the MDA clinic who recommended that we try the Theravec mini-enema. I'm not sure they make those anymore but they make a similar product called Enemeez that has the exact same ingredients, only the shape of the mini-enema is different. He usually does the enema in the morning and he uses one every morning. He also has added Miralax in addition to using the mini-enema. So far both are working well for him. Prior to Miralax he took two Senekot tablets and a tablespoon of mineral oil every morning. They seemed to not be working so then he tried the Miralax. He has used the mini-enema for probably 4 years now.
