accidental laxative abuse. help!

I've recently developed a bit of a dependency on laxatives, It started with regular use for constipation but i think I over used them and just made the situation worse...now i cant get off them! I dont have a regular doctor at the moment because my old doctor stopped his practice...and I dont really feel comfortable going to some walk in clinic for this problem... I was wondering if anyone had ever had a problem like this and what steps I could take to get off them naturally. If I just wait it out will it get better? or is there an herbal alternative I could ween myself off with? any advice would be appreciated. I dont exceed the recommended dose but I've started to need them everyday. help please!

Wed. Dec 21, 12:52am

also...

I thought I should also mention I've been on them for about a month now.

Wednesday, December 21, 2005, 12:53 AM

You NEED to find yourself a new doctor. You should get one anyway because it's not safe for you to not have a regular doctor. Obviously you already know that doing this is not healthy for you, so you don't need us to tell you that. You're just looking for help getting off of them. With other bad habits like smoking or drugs, the best course of action is just to STOP. Your body just needs a few days to get it out of its system and then it's just training your brain to get off the habit. But with something like this that affects your digestive system, I honestly don't know if that would be safe or would do more harm. You have to talk to a doctor ASAP.

In the meantime, here are some links I looked up for you. You have to kind of read all the way through to find the parts that specifically talk about alternatives to using laxatives:

http://health.yahoo.com/ate/drdonnica/allqa/diseasesconditions/00026987
http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Atoz/ency/constipation.jsp
http://ibsgroup.org/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f/73310261/m/161105181

Wednesday, December 21, 2005, 2:01 AM

Speaking as one who has an extensive family history of digestive problems I would NOT just STOP - the digestive system rarely responds well to sudden, abrupt change (at least not in my family). I would find a doctor who has experiece with digestive problems and consult with one as soon as possible! You could end up with permanent disfuntion so please take steps to address this asap!!!

Remeber that although we mean well here and amongst us we have a great amount of experience with various issues we do not know you and are not trained to assess what could potentially be a serious medical issue.

You needed to start taking laxatives in the first place- it is also possible that there are other issues that need addressing besides getting off them. What if the orginal issue is still there?

Wednesday, December 21, 2005, 11:27 AM

I second finding a dr... though this close to Christmas it is going to be difficult. Just off the top of my head... inhale water... make sure you drink enough and then some more... eat lots of grapes - prunes...figs... raisins, peaches get me going...
One thing that works for my son is get a tomato... boil some water, drop it in for a few seconds, enough for the skin to split and want to come off.. take the tomato out and peel the skin off, squeezing the tomato through a sieve or some cheese cloth and drink that juice that came out of it...

Wednesday, December 21, 2005, 4:35 PM

Well, the fact that you haven't increased the dosage is very good. Typically laxative abusers, keep increasing their dose, as a sort of tolerance to the laxative effect seems fo occur. The fact that you are only taking one a day, is actually a relatively small dose (i'm assuming that you are taking some form of bisacodyl 5mg tablets..the most common stimulant laxative available over-the-counter). If you were on a very high dose, I would definitely suggest tapering down the dose gradually, but because you are only taking 1 a day or so, that is probably less necessary. Still....you could try limiting to 1 every 2 days for a week or so, then 1 every 3 days...etc.
Physical activity is very important to getting the gastrointestinal tract moving, so I would definitely try to maintain daily activity, along with plenty of water, and fiberous foods/or even a supplement.
I am also going to be the echo of several other posters and to suggest seeing a physician. Chronic constipation could be a sign of other problems that could be as simple as dietary issues or as complicated as nerve damage.
-Lisa

Wednesday, December 21, 2005, 6:17 PM

Here are some foods that might help....

When I get constipated, It seems that the following foods help quite a bit to add more fiber to the diet and to "get things moving":

High fiber cereal, such as "Kashi" GoLean (the one that's made with the whole grains actually tastes good.). Make sure to chew it very thoroughly, or it could give you gas....
Apples - 1 or 2 a day
Bananas
Of course, the old stand-by, Prunes or Prune Juice....
Shredded Wheat Cereals
Triscuits (low fat ones are helpful)....

In the meantime, I would definitely suggest trying to get to a doctor to see if they help you....

Thursday, December 22, 2005, 1:10 AM

one other thing I forgot to mention earlier that would be an notable exception to the laxative problem would be if you were on prescription pain medication (such as a oxycodone, hydrocodone, or many other products). These medications inhibit that GI tract movement, making it necessary to use both a stimulant laxative and a stool softner regularly in order to prevent complications. Daily use of these products in this case is actually very important.
Probably not your problem, but worth a mention I hope!

Thursday, December 22, 2005, 8:23 AM

I too was addicted to laxatives- I had become very constipated when I increased my fiber intake but had little to no fat in my diet.
When I added fat and water back into my diet I was able to go naturally.
I found that I also became addicted to the "empty" feeling that comes with taking laxatives. In your mind you feel lighter- I had to work that issue out in therapy.
I had seen a Gastro Dr. and he said I needed more fat in my diet- that can be scary for someone trying to lose weight but I actually lost more weight when I did have fat in my diet.
Pls see a Dr as soon as possible- you should not suffer- it will cost you more in the long run if you don't see a Dr.
Good luck to you!

Thursday, December 22, 2005, 10:56 AM

I want to congratulate you on being smart enough to realize you have a problem and strong enough to want to get yourself off of them. I would suggest though that you DO find a doctor to help you get off of them since stopping abruptly might upset your body a bit.

Just a thought (and I'm not implying here that you have an eating disorder), you might be able to get some help from eating disorder clinics or therapy groups since laxative abuse is considered a part of bulimia. Even if it's not really your way of purging yourself so much as your body needs laxatives to "go" now since you used them a bit too much, they might have a better understanding of the situation and more experience helping people get off laxatives compared to a doctor at a walk in clinic.

Again, I'm really happy to see that you are being proactive about your dependency. I wish you the best of luck!!

Saturday, December 24, 2005, 11:25 AM

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