Can an MS'er have regular daily bowel movements naturally?

[adamt]

Hi all,

I am soon going to start a full-time office job but i have a concern.
Previously i was at University so was only there 3 days a week for 3-4 hours each time, so i didnt feel pressure to pass a bowel movement on a regular basis as i was at home quite often

I have had a few spells over the oast 2 years or so, thankfully when at home when i havent made it to the bathroom in time, needng to pass a bowel movement,
and when i do need to pass it normally feels quite urgent, like i have a minute to get to the bathroom

now i will soon be working 9-5 in an office environment i want to make sure i pass bowel movements once a day either in the morning before work or in the evening, so i dont have to worry about needing to go when stuck in the car in rush hour traffic

i have read ' psyllium husks' can help improve bowel movement frequency by bulking the stool, but can this be dosed so that i can somewhat pre-plan my movements to become as clockwork as possible?

over the last few months i have been taking Tolterodine (Detrusitol) to help calm my overactive bladder, and one of the side effects i have noticed is 'Constipation'. I used to pass once a day but now every 2 days on average.
I am going to ask my GP to prescibe me a newer generation anti-muscurinic as i notice little improvement with tolterodine.
I am going to suggest Trospium.


Would appreciate how other MS patients manage bowel constipation / incontinence when working full time?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

[foxz71]

One of my least favorite symptoms to be sure! I work an office job too. I found taking Miralax the night before dissolved in a glass of orange juice usually works for me by the next morning. Since everybody is different you will have to play with the timing and see what works best for you. I work in a small office and everyone knows I have MS, most have an idea of what that entails since they've all pretty much been through it with me from the start. (My boss was the one who took me to the ER the original time prior to being diagnosed-hows that for spending more time with your coworkers than your own family). Its a personal choice whether to disclose to your employer but it sure helps when I have restroom issues or need time off, if they didn't know why, I probably wouldn't still be working there.

[Wonderfulworld]

Hi
I don't work anymore but the only way I achieve regular bowel motions are by :
4 * acidophilous tablets taken at night
2 large mugs of strong coffee at breakfast
1pint of water with a soluble 1000mg vitamin C dissolved in it straight after breakfast.
This may not be practical for you if you have a long commute but it might help.

[lyndacarol]

adamt– I believe that most people eat a diet lacking the fiber necessary for regular bowel movements; I have read that women should have 25 g of fiber per day; men, 35 g of fiber per day. Psyllium is a good source of fiber. It is readily available in Metamucil. You might try taking several Metamucil capsules with each meal. It won't hurt you, unlike some laxatives; it might help.

You might make an effort to add more fiber to your diet with lots of fruits and vegetables (especially raw foods) and whole grains. Oatmeal is a soluble fiber, and a bowl for breakfast might help too.

A friend told me a few years ago that accommodation had been made in his office for a worker with MS by moving this worker to a desk closer to the restroom. Perhaps your supervisor would be able to make this accommodation for you also.

[munchkin]

If you are increasing your fiber you must make sure you have adequate fluid intake as well. Magnesium also helps regulate the bowel.

[jimmylegs]

afaik, psyllium husk regulates.
(aside: i used to cook with it when i was a vegan, as an egg replacer, for binding purposes in baking. if you put 1tbsp of psyllium husk in 1 tbsp of water then wait, you get jelly. i imagine it does the same in one's GI tract)

with magnesium it depends on form, but tends to the laxative in its less soluble forms such as oxide. if you have constipation issues, i'd advise magnesium oxide or citrate. as for incontinence, well, the only time i have had to run to the toilet in a big hurry, that was from taking high doses of the insoluble forms of magnesium.

psyllium husk i would think would help with diarrhea in a symptom-relief way, but to rule out any underlying nutritional problems, personallly i'd be looking at zinc status. ms patients tend to be low in zinc. diarrhea is a symptom/cause of zinc deficiency.

potentially relevant topic from '09:
Bowel Incontinence?
http://www.thisisms.com/forum/general-d ... c8170.html

for more details on optimizing zinc status in ms: http://www.thisisms.com/forum/regimens- ... tml#p15460

hth!

[adamt]

thanks for all the replies, sorry for the delayed reply.

as suggested an increase in fibre should help, so im thinking of taking these Psylimmum husk tablets with my evening meal:
http://www.zipvit.com/cgi-bin/popupprod ... terling711

if i take these Psyllium husk tablets in the evenining, will it then allow me to pass a movement in the morning, say at 7 am?


RE: Magnesium/Zinc,
I take 500mg magnesium oxide and zinc 50mg with my lunch and 100mg magnesium oxide and 1000mg vitamin c with dinner, daily

i also take a big range of other vitamins and minerals daily.


RE: gluen free,
I done a 3 month period of avoiding gluten * diary but didnt notice ay changes

thanks everyone

[lyndacarol]

As a regular viewer of The Dr. Oz Show, I remember that the product PGx fiber has been mentioned in at least two episodes; as I recall it is from a Japanese root and seaweed. I'm sure it is available in health food stores.

Dr. Oz has also mentioned Konjac root. You might research that as well.

The timing for 7 AM would seem possible; it may take a few days to train your body. I have heard that if a person drinks a cup of hot water at breakfast, the bowels will move about one half hour later – it wakes things up.

[jimmylegs]

heya,
mag oxide, bingo.
drop the mag oxide from your regimen, and i expect you'll see the urgency and potential for incontinence clear up.

the amount you have in your regimen is good, just not the form - being insoluble it goes right through you like that, and you're quite literally flushing your magnesium dollars down the toilet.

weren't you on citrate and oil forms for a while a couple of years back? those should have been better (more the oil than the citrate) for dealing with incontinence.
if you went back to mag oxide 2 yrs ago because of the high elemental magnesium content, i suspect that is precisely why you've been having incontinence issues over roughly the same time period.

see if you can find magnesium glycinate in future. i've been using this one which delivers 100mg elemental mag in a 546mg pill. highly absorbable, no emergency trips to the toilet.
http://kirkmanlabs.com/ProductKirkman/1 ... ergenic/#g

also, consider the good old epsom salts bath for part of your daily magnesium intake. do not exceed package directions though.

hth.

[adamt]

thanks JL,
i believe i had the bowel incontinence when taking oral antibiotics, however i seldom have these problems now,
It's just i do feel a urgency in getting to the bathroom, and driving in rush hour do not want to risk it

i will stop the mag oxide, as i currently take this calcium with magnesium tablet twice daily:
http://www.zipvit.co.uk/cgi-bin/popuppr ... 20Sterling

so if i start taking this magnesium glycinate : http://www.iherb.com/Source-Naturals-Ma ... 20846?at=0

but only contains 200mg per daily serving, is this sufficient? would i then need double this amount in cal;cium, so 400mg calcium daily?
i would also need a calcium supplement too, could you recommend a specific type of calcium from iherb please?

Ideally the cheapest supplements as money is quite hard at the moment
hopefully changing from mag oxide to mag glycinate will prevent the urgency.

what are your thoughts on using a glycerine suppository every morning so i dont have to worry about needing to go when driving or in the office in a meeting environment.

i am just trying to take precautions so i dont have a bowel incontinence, i probably wouldnt but cant afford to take the risk.


- - -i did used to use mag oil, but this far too impractical to use daily or even infrequently. this applies to the epsom salt baths, showers are easier for me. i still take 100mg mag mag citrate alongside the mag oxide/calc tablet

thanks JL

[jimmylegs]

heya, you can probably handle 200mg mag and only 200mg calcium. don't get hung up on 2:1 calcium to magnesium. i bought a calcium supplement once and when i took it my arms went spastic as if my magnesium were low. so now what calcium i get is from food and my multi, and i'm happy (so far).

no idea re glycerine suppository - sorry i can't be of assisstance there :S

good luck!

JL

[adamt]

thanks JL,

taking 200mg calcium would be preferred cost wise.

this is BIS-glycinate, is that okay?: http://www.iherb.com/Source-Naturals-Ma ... 20846?at=0

also is Calcium CARBONATE the preferred form?

[jimmylegs]

heya, yes bisglycinate should be okay. i had side effects from it but maybe that was just me. i wouldn't advise taking it on an empty stomach or before lying down - it gave me serious but odd reflux issues.
i'm not a huge calcium supplementer, but the product i chose and then discontinued was this one:
http://www.progressivenutritional.com/e ... women.html
which contains 350mg Elemental Calcium per capsule (as Citrate, Malate, Glutarate, Fumarate, Succinate, Ascorbate, Carbonate)

[adamt]

final thing please JL,

What are your thoughts on these calcium and magnesium supplements:

magnesium will take twice daily:
http://www.iherb.com/Doctor-s-Best-High ... ts/15?at=0

calcium once daily
http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/ ... id=8&sid=0

[jimmylegs]

hey there, consider the ratios. 600mg calcium (1 pill) to 200mg magnesium (2 pills) is 3:1. haven't seen that recommended anywhere. i think you'd be looking at 4 to 6 of those mag pills daily to get the ratio right (depending what you're going for and how you feel).