This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

http://ms.about.com/od/signssymptoms/a/constipation.htm
just a brutal symptom like all the rest, some good info here

This is a daily trial for me. I exist on a healthy diet of fresh fruits and vegs, what goes in does not come out.
I heard a very strange comment from the ms nurse that works in my neuro's office. She said not to add supplementary fiber to our diets, just rely on roughage from foods.
I'll be seeing her next week and have her explain further.
I tried lactulose, but the cramping was intense.
I guess it's better than the opposite problem.

msmt i can't remember if i have already sent comment on this to you in another thread, if so pls forgive repetition.

you might want to try magnesium, msmt. do you get plenty of high magnesium and potassium foods in your diet? for a very short term solution, a good shot of insoluble magnesium should push things through. suppose you took something like 4x250mg magnesium oxide with each meal and at bedtime, just for one day, that should get things moving - but don't stray too far from the toilet!! when it kicks in you don't get a lot of notice.

do you think it's sluggish peristaltic action in the GI tract? you might be able to look into nutrition for muscular function - it will probably just be more magnesium but in the long run you want to try to eat lots and lots of magnesium-rich foods paired with potassium, and supplement if needed. in the scenario of wanting the magnesium to absorb rather than to clean you out, you'd probably want to go for a chelated magnesium citrate blend of some description, as opposed to the magnesium oxide which has the greatest laxative effect but is poorly absorbed.
hope that is useful!

If you want a "laxative" type of effect, I have yet to find or hear of anything as effective as Homozone. The following is an advertisement, but gives some background to it.

This product is Magnesium Oxide in powder form. I use it as a "cleanse" system every now and then. I take a single 4-6 spoonfuls dose (I read somewhere cancer patients take up to 20) at 6pm and by 2pm the next day, I'm done. Taking it every day means ensuring you plan for the unexpected. It even comes with a warning as such on the container!

http://www.falconblanco.com/health/supp ... mozone.htm

Neurological Damage: As mentioned, stool must keep moving. In people with MS, lesions may prevent the brain from accurately receiving or transmitting signals that control conscious attempts to have a bowel movement. In other words, you may not be receiving the signal that you “have to go,” or you are unable to effectively relax and push as needed to have a bowel movement. The involuntary movements that keep the stool moving through the lower parts of the digestive tract may also be impaired. Again, these problems are compounded by the stool being too hard to pass easily, due to prolonged time in the colon.

Limited Physical Activity: An important component of intestinal motility (the movement of digested food through the intestines) is physical activity, such as walking. Many of us are unable to move around and walk much, due to weakness, spasticity, sensory ataxia or fatigue

when these things are the cause it dosen't matter what vitamins you take or how much roughage you eat. i take some fiber so when i do decide to go it's a little softer and dosen't hurt as much.

sounds bang on, cure. magnesium oxide is a sure fire cleanout if you take enough, regardless of crappy muscular function.
at one point i could tell i had issues with those muscle signals, because my food wasn't getting down my esophagus as fast as it should have after i swallowed, and my throat was so bad. plus my brain was dodgy. but fortunately, it seems that some of these issues can heal.
i think a lot of random symptoms get blamed on lesions and hence there's no point in trying to fix them. if i believed that i would still be living with dead slabs of meat hanging off my wrists, and paying the salon to wash my hair for me, instead of playing guitar and firing off these posts.
i'd still by lying on my couch choking around a giant tennis ball in my throat.
i'd probably have lost my drivers' license by now, because i would still be unable to process the visual information around me as i drove.
it has taken a long time, but i think i'm right at the end of the throat problem now. whatever connections were screwed up before, seem to have been pretty much restored. i have no cognitive issues any more. i'm not symptom-free in the hands, but i definitely credit determined application of nutritive measures, to getting to where i am now!
i suggest that any constipated ms patient on this forum take 1200mg per day of magnesium oxide. i would be very interested to learn how many days would be needed to effect a cleanout even in the most sluggish GI tract. i would be frankly amazed if it did not work, and would be most interested to hear of such a circumstance.

do u think jimmy that there is a difference in how some things can help such as vitamins or what u eat depending on how bad your ms is or will these things help no matter how bad you are. ?

robbie,

Look up recipes for flaxseed muffins and have your wife make some for you. If you eat two a day, it should help with constipation. Adding a handful of nuts daily will also help.

The easiest way to use the flaxseed is to buy them already ground. If you get whole ones, just throw them in a coffee grinder and grind them yourself.

You can also put a spoonful of flaxseed in your cereal, yogurt and salad. It is frequently used for nursing home patients to keep them regular since they don't get a lot of exercise. Don't eat more than 3 large tablespoons daily or you may get stools that are too loose.

gwa

thanks gwa the fiber i take helps, to be honest the less i'm in the bathroom the better cause it's such a pain in the ass to get there.(excuse the pun )

robbie i would seriously expect magnesium oxide to help anyone with constipation regardless of poor muscle function. what gwa cautions about flax and looseness certainly applies to magnesium also. if you take enough, you might as well be taking a brown pee. how can that kind of consistency NOT come out?
of course it is not good to fire things through your system that quickly in the long term. you need to keep things inside long enough to absorb the nutrition.
magnesium supplements are pretty difficult to absorb anyway, so they are less likely to get absorbed in the lower intestine where the body can put it to work on muscle function.
it is better absorbed in food. lots of things like bran, various seeds (such as flax). if you drink pop or coffee or alcohol, it could take away more minerals than dietary intake can provide, so that's when you can get into a magnesium problem. i'm not a cereal or bran muffin eater, or a nut or seed eater, by and large, so i think this is partly where my own magnesium issues came into play.
i have heard of people getting magnesium injections to circumvent the GI absorption problems, but i don't know much about that option yet.
in any case, i'm getting two issues mixed up together.
1) enough magnesium oxide in the short term, should make poo loose enough for sheer gravity to let it out.
2) getting magnesium to absorb for muscle function in the long term is better done in food. we may consume other things which make it less likely that food sources are sufficient.
i know you're having a much worse time of it than i robbie, but i can't help being optimistic when i've seen all the lesions in my brain and spine, and still the nutrients make a major improvement. probably the longer you let it slide, the more intense and broad-spectrum the therapy has to be, and i'd expect it to take it a bit longer for things to repair somewhat. personally, i love seeing the dramatic improvement when i hit on a new fix. i was basically malnourished for 15 years before i got diagnosed so i am expecting it could take as long to get back to something approaching "normal". i don't really think i'll ever get to a point where i can't tell that my spinal cord has been compromised, but i think i'll get close.
i wish i had more experience, so i could give you a more assured answer regarding level of illness and utility of supplements

Mr Legs, I do think it's a function of poor motility throughout the digestive tract, swallowing on down.
No jokes here about me being a lazy ass, but that's what my colon is being.
Ah the indigity!!
Besides eating right, i also pay attention to the flora in my gut.
I eat plain greek yogurt pretty much daily, it has lots of active cultures. The reason I mention this is that I took a supplement called Florastor for about a week sometime ago and was as regular as clockwork. Florastor is available online, it's got an active culture of sacchamyces boulardi? I know that's spelled wrong.
At the hospital I work at it is given to patients that are on antibiotics to restore flora balance in the gut.
Anyway, I get me some but I'm just squeeking by this month, this 10 bucks in pocket has to go til next payday.
I'm also putting some hope into getting back to swimming at the local Y a few times a week. But that's still in the 'I should' phase. (following I should is I think I'm gonna, I'm definitely gonna, and finally I'm gonna today)
Depending on what the task is, those phases can last a LOOONG time.

I'll give the magnesium a try though. perhaps if I start out with a "clean slate" so to speak, my body will remember what to do

hiya, yep the flora are important. i'm glad to hear a hospital is addressing this issue for patients receiving antibiotics. it's about time. i still have yet to hear this recommendation from a doc who's prescribing antibiotics to me. (had to take some in the run-up to my wisdom tooth removal it think??)

i LOVE swimming at the Y. i sort of had an abortive start, just two weeks of guest status and i've been stalling too long on buying the membership. the first time i felt all weird getting back out into gravity, but it didn't seem as bad the second time.

anyway. hope you get some relief. if the mag ox fails to clean you out i will be incredulous!

hope it works out for ya
ps i am a ms not a mr - jimmylegs = seinfeld joke

Thanks for the reply jimmy, it is frustrating to know that years ago I did all the right things, diet; exercise, everything and I too really thought that I had the answer. This ms thing is nothing, I am in control here but then the ms took over and yes I have giving up. It sad but oh well. I think that we all need to do everything we can but there is a point where you say enough is enough that is why I come across as being a quitter and one who is pessimistic about things but believe me I am or was the opposite back in the day so I applaud everyone here who is getting the results they are looking for.

it's too bad robbie. did you ever get your nutrient levels tested to ensure that you were doing "enough" of all the right things? i'd be curious to hear about your b-complex, d3, E, calcium, magnesium, zinc, and uric acid status for starters.

is there any truth to the thinking that if u eat healthy you don't need supplements. when i said i did all the right things i just meant that i ate right and didn't abuse myself with drugs and alcohol. my wife has diabeties so we have and still do eat healthy. next time i get to the doctor i will ask him about what you say. what tests should i have, do i ask for those specific things it will be interesting to see the results.