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Do you struggle with constipation? If so, have you found any helpful tools or treatments to manage it?
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I started the B1 thiamine HCl high dose therapy about 6 weeks ago and have been regular ever since. Parkinson’s thiamine HCl on Facebook is a great resource. I take 3 grams twice a day and also take magnesium l-threonate, 2 capsules twice a day which gives 144 mg of elemental magnesium that is needed to help the B1 cross the blood brain barrier. I can do things I had not been able to do for quite a while like shuffling a deck of cards.
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After reading these posts my partner tried prunes and it worked! I had suggested a stool softener but he was concerned as the container warned about not taking if you have trouble swallowing which is common with PD.
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I’m glad! 👍🏻
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I drink a lot of water (sometimes tea and/or coffee) … at least six cups a day and two (one morning, one early eve) are with Metamucil. Recently I added a generic version of Colace that I take at bedtime. I use Kirkland (Costco) brand, which is the same dose and very inexpensive … about 400 capsules for $6.50 … I’m regular every morning.
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Believe it or not, I’ve found water to be the simplest, most effective treatment. And this was after one time where I had to rush to the ER and having treatment for impaction. Since then, I make it a point to drink lots of water every day and that works for me.
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I commented earlier but have an update. This is a very long post; I hope the reader finds it worth the time.
16 years post-diagnosis I have learned a few things. Constipation started long before I suspected I had PD. I used prunes, two a day, then three, then four… when I got to ten a day I was through with prunes and they were done with me. I switched to colace, 1 each night. That worked for a while, but after a year was ineffective. A year ago I was taking a dose of miralax every morning and a Dulcolax every night, sometimes adding a second Dulcolax during the day when I felt backed up. And feeling plugged up meant I had hardened stool backed up in my colon to the point that I had to use a suppository to bust up the plug that was holding it all back. I would have very hard stool at one end and diarrhea at the other end of a single poop. Fissures, angry hemorrhoids, and rectal bleeding are no fun and that was becoming too common an experience.
Sorry to be crude, but I don’t like shoving things up my butt. If enemas and suppositories work for you, great, but for me it’s the last step before a trip to the emergency room. My doctor suggested a probiotic–VSL#3, telling me not to bother trying anything else–they don’t work. But VSL worked great, until I couldn’t get it anymore. It seems, now that tempers have tempered, that the American manufacturer was violating a French patent and had gotten a cease and desist order, so all his product was pulled from the shelves. So I went back to my Dulcolax/fiber supplement/miralax routine and bouncing between diarrhea and constipation again. But my experience with colace was in the back of my mind, wondering what I would do if Dulcolax quit working.
Hey, colon, got anything in there?
Part of the problem we Parkies have with poop and pee in general is that the feedback mechanism from butt to brain is broken. I never feel the need to poop, and the need to pee comes on at the drop of a hat and I better get to a restroom quick. In combination these two things have made me a sit-down pee-er. That’s right, men, every time I go to the bathroom I am sitting on the toilet because I have to wear those pee pad things in my civvies or it could be very embarrassing. While I sit I tense up the abs a bit to give the colon the idea that it needs to go to work now. Sometimes I get something, sometimes not, but without that push I would never even know it was there. And the pee urgency thing sees to it that I have many opportunities during the day to produce some poop.
Doctors will tell you that pushing out poop that way will lead to a hernia and fissures. It can,but I am not suggesting you push that hard. Just push enough to get things going if you are not plugged up. If you have a big lump of poop that is going to shred your rectum, don’t push, reach for the enema. The whole reason behind what I am suggesting is to avoid ever getting to the point where you need the enema.
Modified diet:
There was a probiotics craze a few years ago. I got on the bandwagon with VSL#3 and shortly after starting it noticed I was feeling foggy brained most of the time. At the time I just thought it was more PD progression, but when VSL got pulled from the shelves and I couldn’t get it the fog cleared. But it was clear to me that probiotics worked, they just weren’t the right ones for my brain. So, I started trying natural probiotics beginning with Greek yogurt. I found that Chobani uses some of the same bacteria that was in VSL and that produces the smooth texture and great taste of Chobani. Now my routine includes 6 ounces of plain Chobani or our own homemade yogurt made with a starter of Chobani. To make your homemade yogurt Greek, just strain your yogurt through a fine wire strainer, cheesecloth, or even a bed sheet. You decide how tart your yogurt is by how much fluid you strain out. The fluid is the lactic acid produced by the bacteria. Bacteria pee, so to speak.
Kefir is the next thing I added to my diet. Kefir is another fermented milk product. Like yogurt, you can make your own. It is full of probiotics and has a not unpleasant sour taste similar to yogurt. I drink 6 ounces a day.
Sauerkraut, kim chi, and other fermented foods also contain probiotics _if_ they are not pasteurized or canned. Canning and pasteurizing kills off the bacteria, and that is the part we need. And, if you’re thinking this is a great reason to have a beer, forget it. Nearly all beer sold in the US is pasteurized, which kills the yeast. And more yeast is probably not what you need, anyway.
Learn to read your poop
Google “Bristol Stool Scale” and learn about poop types. Once you learn to read your poop, you will know when a small dose of miralax is needed to keep things moving. Currently I take 1/2 dose of miralax every 3 to 4 days. That is so much better than what I had been doing. I keep my poop between 3 and 5 on the Bristol scale. When the poop starts looking lumpy, rather than smooth, it’s time for a half dose of miralax.
Stay hydrated
The colon serves two purposes: it’s a place to store poop until it is convenient to get rid of it; and it’s the part of the body that reclaims most of the water we use in digestion. That’s right, the colon pulls water out of the poop and recycles it. You didn’t know your cells were drinking recycled poop-water, did you? Yes, bodies are gross. The longer poop sits in your colon, the dryer and harder it becomes. If you mind the hydration, your colon won’t have to work so hard to pull water out of your poop and you won’t constipate so easily.
Use a spreadsheet
I’m not kidding. My brain is packed to the brim with useless information. I can’t make room to remember when my last poop was and what it looked like, so I keep a spreadsheet on my phone. I track a lot of PD symptoms, but the important ones for constipation management are the Bristol scale number, when my last poop was, how well I hydrate, and when I last dosed with miralax. I find the ideal time to update the sheet is while I’m sitting there, on the throne, waiting for the poop to arrive.
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I know that my mother is very aware of her condition and tries to improve it in all possible ways. She even found Canadian Pharmacy B2B Partner https://www.canadapharmacy.com/pharmacy-partner for information about different healthy supplements. This way she always knows that everything she needs is in one place.
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“FORTUNATELY” this is an issue for which a lot of information can be found on the ‘net, but constipation is something I was spared for most of my time with PD until relatively (10 year history of PD), but fortunately Dr Google will show it’s only part of the problem — diarrhoea being also quite common (I’ve had it for many years now, perhaps even before PD was diagnosed!), but overall both are just different aspects of gastrointestinal system disorder — evident at times with “tarry” (like tar) feces stuck on the toilet, as well as delayed gastric emptying, and consequent interference with effective medication outcomes. Have only been struggling with constipation over the last few months, mixed in with periods of diarrhoea, and most disturbingly pains in the GI Tract (like “romper stomper — feeling kicked in various parts of the tract, so still much to learn.
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After RBD , constipation was one of the earliest and worst symptoms I have had. I started working with an Ayurvedic practioner about 6 months ago and it has done a world of good. Parkinson’s symptoms and how to treat them have been in the Ayurvedic literature for at least 2000 years.
Ayurvedic medicine is a holistic approach but it focuses largely on diet and herbs/spices as medicine, though also including breathing exercises, meditating, etc., as well. I’ve been following (and we’ve been tweaking) the protocol and would say my issues are at least 80% improved. You may have local practitioners. I work remotely via zoom with my practitioner. Feel free to contact me directly if you’d like a referral.
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Plenty of water, about six to eight cups a day (coffee or tea are fine). At least two large glasses with Metamucil, one in the morning, the second around dinner time … Over the counter stool softener (Kirkland band version of Colace, 400 capsules for $6.50) … Also, high-fiber diet with almost no cheese and no red meat or processed or fried food … With rare exception, this keeps me regular …
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Along with lots of water and lots of exercise, when I have problems I have several cups of Postum during the day. It sometimes takes several cups over a couple of days but it usually does the job. If the constipation is consistent then I consistently take Postum. Plenty of fiber and little sugar also helps but I find that sometimes it hits Constipation hits anyway. I found the Postum secret when I was having my children. Recovering from childbirth always causes problems and that seemed to do the trick.
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My Robert has suffered most of his life, and tried all things mentioned here, but what works best is a daily dose of prebiotic/probiotic/postbiotic pills. Currently, I strongly recommend at least one pill daily of Dr. Gundry’s BioComplete 3. Gundry sells this formula on his website for a different reason altogether, and I used it for weight loss, then started giving Robert just one a day! He does his business daily, and isn’t constipated at all.
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Sorry if this has already been mentioned but Hospice put my husband on senna tablets. We used to do miralax, magnesium citrate and other things. The tablets are really easy and work great. Plus we always know he got them down, unlike miralax which sometimes he never gets all the way down.
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I only had a few months of constipation, self induced due to my stopping my magnesium when trying to cut back on supplements (big mistake). I take daily B1, magnesium theronate (sp?), 1 stool softener and as many yummy prunes as I like after a bowl of cereal or oatmeal.
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My husband did struggle with constipation. Now does fine on 3 Psyllium Husk capsules and a stool softener daily.
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I got constipated for the first time 18 months before my PD diagnosis. It was my first symptom and it hurt. I tried many different remedies like fiber and stool softener.
The only thing that gives me relief is generic Miralax (polyethylene glycol 3350). I put it in my morning hot tea which renders it tasteless and I think the hot water wakes up my bowels.
I also tried probiotic prunes Mariani brand which helped more with the Murilax and taste like candy.
Like everyone else, I’m concerned with extended use. I called the manufacturer but they were no help. So far it’s doing what I want.
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Look for a post I made a few days ago giving information about CENTRO DE MEDICINA NEUROREGENERATIVA of Valencia, Spain. I took my wife there for an special treatment of permanent acupuncture.
Now, among some other benefits she has got, her constipation is gone almost completely. I do really recommend everybody to look for this Center on INTERNET. You will be surprise about the results this treatment can provide not only for Parkinson’s patients, but also to those suffering from Azheimer and some other neurologial diseases.
You wont regreat spending some time reading and evaluating the information. And if any of you would like to talk to me regarding our personal experience you can call me at 786 510 0234.
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I’ve managed to help my husband stay regular by adding Garden of Life Organic Fiber (Detox Blend) to his oatmeal as I cook it every morning, along with organic probiotic yogurt as a topping. Plus BIOptimizers Magnesium capsule (has 7 Forms of Magnesium). We also avoid artificial ingredients, extra sugars, fried and highly processed foods.
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try flax seed in yogurt, activia yogurt, probiotic, stay active… all daily.
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My wife had early PD and struggled with constipation before her diagnosis. With PD it got worse. After trying g everything we found a great Gastrologist who ran tests.. balloon test, Sibo test, lactose test and others. What has helped is magnesium Cytrate (400 mg per day) but recently the gastro sent her to a Pelvic Physical Therapist which we never knew existed. The PT session is 1 hour per week for 8 weeks. There are specific exercises and techniques which seem to have worked for now. In addition she takes 2 dulcolax stool softeners per day and one capful of Miralax per day look up an exercise called ILU (aka I love you) which she does 2 x per day. It sounds like lots of work but it’s just a daily routine which has worked for her now she may have a bad day and may take 2 Senokot a night before but rarely occasional suppository but like 1x per month vs nearly 3x per week
This is the ILU massage which seems to work well
https://www.womenscollegehospital.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/ILU_AbdominalMassgae.pdf
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In addition to anything else you may be taking, I found that Vitamin B1 makes a huge difference in stool softness, consistency and ease of elimination. Your mileage may vary..
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Yes! I eat lots of fruit. Blueberries in the morning, an apple midmorning, an orange at lunch, strawberries for dessert at supper, a grapefruit before bed, not always in that order. Also, dates and prunes. I don’t usually eat an other source of sugar since the fruit provides plenty of it. But it certainly works, and its natural and delicious.
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