I have anorexia & im trying to stop laxative abuse that has been on going for almost 2 years.
Im very worried about the damage i may have done so i want to get off them asap.
But im very worried about not being able to go the toilet when i stop taking them. I have a drs appointment which isnt until next month as that is the earliest i could be seen.
Is there a certain amount of days i should wait before getting concerned about not having a bowel movement?
Maybe you could try something that isnt a full on laxative but more like a herbal supplement? It might make taking a poo easier without abusing laxatives. Either that or try and have some fruit juices, they normally get things moving.
thankyou is there anything you suggest herbal wise?
i know that eating more would help but with my ED im kind of limited in things to do! i was wondering if things like prunes and such would help if i added those to my meal plans?
I used to have to take something called Senna, that was herbal based. And also movicol, that isnt herbal but isnt strong either. It comes in sachets so I guess you could just take half a sachet dissolved in water rather than whole ones. And yeah, prunes are meant to be good. Maybe if you drank prune juice you might feel less guilty about having lots of food as its effectively fluid? x
A stool softner might help out, there supposedly more mild than laxatives and don't make you HAVE to go, but make it easier for you to go. And make sure you drink TONS of water (when someone is dehydrate it can sometimes make it hard to go) and fiber helps a bunch too.
I'd say give it about a week maybe before being TOO concerned though, unless it gets like, really painful or something. Maybe less time, it depends on the person, and how much you can handle the discomfort it may cause you.
thankyou i will try all of those suggestions i think anything is better than what the lax is doing to my stomach im sure.
also, is it normal to expect to gain weight while not taking them? like alot of weight? Just because with trying to eat more to recover from my ed to!
With laxatives, I always noticed they made me RETAIN water, actually, so I'd be heavier when taking them then a few days after I stopped, so I'm not sure. It may depend on the individual, but it probably shouldn't make you gain too much weight, I wouldn't think. But I'm not really sure.
DON'T suddenly stop taking the laxative you have been which includes swapping onto another. Laxative abuse can cause a hell of a lot of damage to how your bowels work and swapping to a different sort may mean that that 1 also has no affect as now your bowels no longer work in the normal way and need the laxatives for you to go and need a specific type.
Really, we cannot give you advise on how much to reduce your laxatives by, only that your doctor has to do that as it depends how bad the situation has been and how long it's been going on. They may also want to perform tests beforehand to assess the function of your bowel and also other things like potentially getting you to see specialised physiotherapists which help with the bowel and also dieticians. This isn't something we can say out right you should do x and then you'll get better and it'll work out fine as that can be really damaging and the majority who have abused laxatives for a long period will end up with some degree of problems for the rest of their lives.
Really, you need to not take the advice of the other users in this thread as it isn't tailored to you and often will not work as it isn't a case of going off one and onto a 'weaker' one; these all work in different ways and affect the normal, healthy bowel. The same as you shouldn't cut down the useage without talking to a doctor first. Are you sure there are no appointments at your doctors until next month? Have you asked to see a specific one as if you have then this could be why. Also, a lot of doctors now open up a percentage of the appointments to the general public every morning for that day so it may be worth ringing first thing in the morning and see if you can see a doctor that day.
In terms of how is safe without going to the toilet; really, when it's getting to a few days you should seek help (if you can't see your ordinary doctor (which it can class as an urgent appointment in that situation) then you could see an out of hours one or even go to A&E) but also tell them that you have been abusing laxatives/ if it's in the future that you have done in the past.
Really, that is all I can say on the subject except for in this thread there is a BIG sense of "this laxative is safer than that one"... people should NOT look at it this way. In a laxative overuse/ abuse situation they are ALL dangerous and switching between them to try and help someone can be classed as tip-sharing in some circumstances, can also not help as the body won't react to them in the same way, and also it is giving out potentially dangerous advice so can EVERYONE please be careful.
Is there a certain amount of days i should wait before getting concerned about not having a bowel movement?
, not "what should I do to come off them or what have you tried" which is the question that appears to have been answered from the start. These two are very different questions and in the FAF you have to be careful of this.
thankyou for the advice.
i could try and get an earlier appointment tomorrow if possible, if its ot would you think the walk in center could offer advice?
Id hate to think this post could be seen as "tip sharing", im just very frightened at the thought of what have done to my body right now, especially that i may need tests etc & i just needed some advice asap.
With regards to coming off of laxatives, some walk-in centres do have GPs there and therefore those can give advice. However, others can't as they are run just by nurses. However, even those who have GPs there may not help with this as it is an ongoing problem and your GP is nearby and will need aftercare and a program of what needs to be done/ other doctors appointments and maybe even referrals which ar things that only your own GP can sort out.
Though, if you mean with regards to if you become constipated, yes, a walk-in centre will be able to give advice for this however, it may be the case that you have to seek more specialist attention due to your laxative abuse.
Don't worry, I didn't think of your post as tip sharing, it's just the way how some of the replies were leading to could be seen like that, hence why I cleared a few things up in my post. I've just read your posts and there's nothing in them asking for anything that is tipsharing and if there is it's not on purpose.
I have come off laxatives after abusing that before. I saw my GP about it and we worked out a method of slowly cutting down by reducing them by a percentage each week. To be honest seeing someone for advise may be the best way forward, coming offf them without medical assistance (esspecially suddenly) is seriously painful and can be dangerous
