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Hi everyone.
I read somewhere that some people with MC go through a constipation stage with this illness. I have this in spades!
What do you do to be able to have a BM without starting up the diarrhea again? I had a horrible attack of it last week, and it knocked me out for days.
My other big problem is electrolytes. I can't drink free water because my sodium drops to dangerous levels. Obviously not being able to drink enough water doesn't help the constipation. And my BP goes up when I don't drink water. So I am in a double bind (pun not intended, but left alone once I reread this!).
Any advice?
constipation stage
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Hi Leslie,
I'm one of those who had C most of my life, and I had alternating D and C, when my MC became active. Back then, I always considered the C to be normal, (since that was my normal pattern
). For me, the cycle phases were automatic. I would typically have C for 4 or 5 days, to maybe a week, (sometimes it would last longer), followed by bloating, aches and pains, inflamed joints, migraines, stiff neck, back pain, nausea, etc, and, of course, the D would start. After 2 or 3 days of that, the nausea would disappear, and after a few more days, the cramps and gut noises would max out, and suddenly the D would begin to slow down, and I would be able to pass gas, and all the bloating and aches and pains would disappear, and I would go into the C phase. Those cycles usually repeated over and over, again.
A few times the C phase lasted long enough for me to be concerned about it, and I tried prunes, with some degree of success, but usually, the cycle took care of itself. Unfortunately, I don't have much experience with controlling C, without transforming to D. Adding fiber to the diet should work, theoretically, and it worked for me, after I was in stable remission, but one has to be careful with fiber while in the healing phase.
Any form of laxative, (whether natural or otherwise), is likely to cause D, by definition. A stool softener, such as dulcolax, might work, if taken in the right dosage, but I never tried that while I was recovering.
Probiotics might be worth a try. Some of us have good luck with them, and some don't. The trick is finding the right one to suit your own gut bacterial balance. If I were going to try this, I would probably start with one of the Culturelle, (dairy-free), products.
Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.
Tex
I'm one of those who had C most of my life, and I had alternating D and C, when my MC became active. Back then, I always considered the C to be normal, (since that was my normal pattern
). For me, the cycle phases were automatic. I would typically have C for 4 or 5 days, to maybe a week, (sometimes it would last longer), followed by bloating, aches and pains, inflamed joints, migraines, stiff neck, back pain, nausea, etc, and, of course, the D would start. After 2 or 3 days of that, the nausea would disappear, and after a few more days, the cramps and gut noises would max out, and suddenly the D would begin to slow down, and I would be able to pass gas, and all the bloating and aches and pains would disappear, and I would go into the C phase. Those cycles usually repeated over and over, again.A few times the C phase lasted long enough for me to be concerned about it, and I tried prunes, with some degree of success, but usually, the cycle took care of itself. Unfortunately, I don't have much experience with controlling C, without transforming to D. Adding fiber to the diet should work, theoretically, and it worked for me, after I was in stable remission, but one has to be careful with fiber while in the healing phase.
Any form of laxative, (whether natural or otherwise), is likely to cause D, by definition. A stool softener, such as dulcolax, might work, if taken in the right dosage, but I never tried that while I was recovering.
Probiotics might be worth a try. Some of us have good luck with them, and some don't. The trick is finding the right one to suit your own gut bacterial balance. If I were going to try this, I would probably start with one of the Culturelle, (dairy-free), products.
Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.