In the autism community, many parents find great success (at last) with a product called Oxy-Powder. It can be ordered online.

Hard to tell for me, too, whether or not it's MS. I was diagnosed with colitis as a young teenager--misdiagnosed, I think, because I was much later diagnosed with IBS and that is probably what I've had all along.

The only thing that's worked "well" for me (in other words, without gruesome over-cure) is being careful to eat fruit, veggies, cereal with fiber, etc. and drink lots of water. And keep magazines in the bathroom.

i try to drink at least 8 glasses of water/day.
i also take 200mg (2 pills) of generic colace. you can buy docusate sodium much, much cheaper than the brand which is colace.

sometimes i add metamucil. my problem is also added to from meds i take, not just my MS.

Oxy-powder has a similar formula as Mag 07: magnesium with a molecular stracture that is too large to pass into the bloodstream from the gut, which is infused with an oxygen compound that dissolves in the presence of acid. The magnesium stimulates the colon peristalis (movement) and the oxygen creates an envioronment inhospitable to anaerobic microbes. The difference between the two products is that Oxypowder also contains germanium which can have some unwanted side effects for some individuals.

Both products seem to do the trick without irritating the colon like laxitives can though .

With love, Erika

Trish, I have had constipation problems since childhood. My Father
used to make a milk of mag milkshake for me...I loved em...lol.

Since I've change my diet to lean cousine dinners and taking a
Green coffee extract diet capsule every day, for the last 3+
months, I am no longer constipated.. As a matter of fact
my stools have softened. TMI!!

I have had chronic constipation for 20 years largely because of anti- depressants which then set the chronic problem in motion (no pun intended!).

What has worked for me is Magnesium every night (which gets my colon moving) and the Vitamin D (oil in capsules works like Colace as a stool softener). Ironically, it wasn't until I got diagnosed with MS 6 years ago and then started taking vitamin D and magnesium that the problem mostly went away! If i forget the Magnesium I notice!

Pre- MS I struggled and had to use enemas a lot. I found that Probiotics helped more than anything else besides laxative drugs which I worried about getting addicted to.

You all have some great ideas!

I forgot about canned pears. They always seem to work well for me but since my transit time has slowed it may take another day before I see the effects.

I used to have fast transit time. Omgoodness! But since my flare last September, that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. Also, my BM used to be loose quite a bit until my September flare. Something changed in that flare and now I am the opposite.

And, Sally, this is the "pooping" thread so generally nothing is TMI.

Probiotics help. I started drinking Kefir again which is loaded with probiotics. Since my transit time is slow, I don't drink it every day. I like it because it has vitamins and nutrients in it such as magnesium, calcium, and vitamin D but I can tolerate it better than milk and even some yogurts.

i take miralax daily, sometimes twice. i have a slow transit as others have said too. i believe its because i'm not very active? also i dont eat very much as i'm doing my best to lose weight since i got out of the nursing home...

Hi Clarkstar! How are you doing? How is your recovering going? It's good to see you posting as that says you are feeling well enough to do so.