Do any of you know of a good natural med to get from the health food store for constipation.

I am not on any meds for pain so that's not causing my problem. I am on Mitformin and Nexium for my stomach. The Mitformin helps most of the time but I go through spells where it doesn't. I end up with nausea from the constipation.

My Dr. wanted me to start back on Merilax but it didn't do a thing for me and my Gastro Dr. says it would most likely make me worse anyway. The same with Metamucial. I have tried it and sure enough it does make things worse.

I have Metabolic Syndrome and Motility related Dyspepsia so my stomach doesn't work right.

I want to go to a health food store and see what they have. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks,
Ada

I am so sorry you are having somes troubles...I know that I am not going to be much help and noothing earth shattering..but I was thinking of good ole' Raisin Bran amd some Prune juice with a few shakes of Mother natures wand.. oh and toss an apple in there for kicks...

Feeling nausea due to the constipation says how serious this is and time to do the trick..

Hugz..K

Magnesium based laxatives often work. They bring water into the bowel and soften things up some. They may also be absorbed a bit as well. Magnesium citrate is the most common one used. Read your labels carefully.

Metformin lowers B12 levels in about 40% of people using it.
And Nexium blocks the absorption of these nutrients:

B12
folate
iron
calcium
magnesium
zinc

That we know of so far.
So you may be low in B12 and that is hampering things. Many people on metformin have the opposite problem (diarrhea), so you seem to have missed that side effect!

Chronic use of cascara products (which contain Senna) is also not recommended. It is implicated in bowel cancer. Occasional use is okay, but not everyday, or many times a month.

Hi Ada,

Sorry about your stomach problems...

I take Fiber Capsules once in a while - they are available in the vitamin section of the drugstore - a nurse friend recommended them and they do the trick. I'll take as few as 2-3 or as many as 5-6 at a time, depending on how I feel, and I always make sure I drink plenty of fluids.

BTW - I haven't checked the label of the bottle against mrsD's list in the above message, but I would think that "Fiber" should be fairly benign compared to some of the stronger laxatives out there....

The best of luck to you - feel better soon - XOXOX Sandy

For someone with delayed movement, a transit slow down, using fiber can be problematic. It may impact there.

Fiber in general is not recommended for people using opiates for pain control, for example.

I have all 3 things in my house. I eat apples everyday. I have prunes in the fridge. My Dad use to eat them a lot for constipation and I have bran flakes. You sound like my PCP. He pretty much tells me what to eat. I have eaten apples everyday for years. I buy them by the bushel in the summertime.

Mrs. D. you are right about the fiber. That's why Metamucil doesn't work for me. I just started the Nexium a couple of months ago so I am wondering if thats not causing some of my problems. I have to be on a stomach med though and a lot of them don't work for my GERD.

i am not on any pain meds. I only take them when I need to.

My nurse was just telling me she is trying the Magnesium and she is getting awlful joint pain from it.

I just took a walk and sometimes that helps me. The weather won't cooperate enough for me to walk as much as I like.

Thanks for the advice. I might try the Magnesium

Ada

Thanks mrsD - I had no clue!!! I've learned a lot from these boards....

Good luck Ada,

XOXOX Sandy

My gastroenterologist explained this to me after I had problems also. I told him I upped my fiber on top of an already fiber-rich diet. He said when you're on opiates, it slows down all that fiber and it sits there making the whole "traffic-jam" worse. Fluids, hydration, stool softener +/or laxatives what what he suggested.

A good natural laxative from the health food store is cascara sagrada. I have also been on Amitiza which is for chronic constipation but you need a script from your Dr. Always double check with your Dr. 1st to make sure there is no health issue/medication interference that it could occur when taking something over the counter or from health food store. Even though they are natural the Dr needs to know what your are taking. I use cascara as i need it. Plenty of water! Good luck momof4

Just make sure to drink enough water because otherwise the stool will be hard and not easy to pass. I would also look at your diet in a whole see if you have any foods that could also be backing you up. My old nutritionist said think of things that start with F. Like fruit,fiber,fats these assist in bowl movement.