Sorry TMI - Difficulty flushing the toilet?

I am really frustrated lately. I know we suffer from malabsorbtion and this is probably part of the reason but for some reason it has gotten so much worse lately.  My BM's are always loose which is fine with me since I have a history of constipation that got me into big trouble last year.  It seems lately that it is almost as if I am dumping (with no symptoms) no matter what I eat - doesn't have to be sugar or fat, can be protein, bread, anything.  My doctor put me on pancreatic enzymes to try to help with this and it has to some degree.  Once in awhile when I forget to take the pills, the profound BM's show there face.  Tonight I went out and forgot to bring them with me.  When I got home, I went 7 times over the next 6 hours and enourmous amounts.  The other thing I dont' understand is that when I flush the toilet, it doesnt' all go down.  Sometimes I have to flush 2 times and sometimes up 4 times.  This even happens if I go a small amount.  I know that when we malabsorb our stools float, but should that stop it from being able to be flushed? It is a good thing I don't pay for water!!!!

Somewhere I read that poop floats if you have too much fat in your diet??? Have no idea if it is true.

Are they too big?  I have that issue...the toilet always has to be plunged.  It is so frustrating.  But I am always constipated, so by the time I am able to go, I have to flush many times.  What do you mean you  got into trouble last year because of your constipation.  This week alone I have had 2 enemas and took laxative last night.  I find the constipation is becoming worse for me.   Stool softeners no long work.

Dasie,

Have you tried magnesium oxide?  Since I started taking Vitalady's calcium with D and magnesium oxide and magnesium citrate I'm not having to use anything for constipation.  I go usually every morning now.

You may want to try the oxide, start with one a day then add as needed.  If it becomes diarrhea everyday then back off one per day to see how you react.

Thank you for the info.  When I was newly post op I tried some kind of magnesium...I'm not sure which one.  I know there were huge, and I was having difficulty with the basics.  I am going to the store and buy some.  The citrate...is that the liquid bowel prep.  Do you recommend that?

Magnesium citrate in the green bottle will definitely clear you out.  Yes, that one is a bowel prep, don't use this often.

Magnesium oxide is good for constipation.  I know for me it's the oxide that is working not the citrate since I was taking that prior to the current calcium I'm taking from vitalady.

How much mag oxide did you take?

Sorry just got the notification on my phone.  I'm taking 500 mg per day.  You might try less initially.  When your stool becomes loose back off a little.

Miralax will help.  It can be used daily until you get relief.  I use it at least once/weekly.  If
I use it more often than that, my BMs are much too loose.

I also agree about the magnesium citrate.  That definitely helps.  Use it daily and you
may find you don't need the Miralax.

Good luck.

It started last October. All was fine and I had been moving my bowels like clockwork daily - actually after every protein shake, I went.  Then all of a sudden things change.  I dont' remember alot of it - some of this is from what I am told happened.  After about 3 days of not going, I was in alot pain I took some Milk of magnesia since this was in my plans literature for when you get constipated and that didn't work after 2 days, then were to proceed to dulcolax suppositories - tried that and nothing. Then I went and got a fleet enema and still nothing.  By now it was Sunday night and figured I would just wait until Monday and call my gastro doctor - didnt' think anything of it and never thought it could be that much of an emergency. So, monday morning came and  I called my GI doctor and he had me come in right away.  He sent me for CT scan right away and before I got I had  a  message on my answering machine that I needed to get into New York City to my surgeons hospital - 30 miles away for emergency surgery - I had a bowel obstruction and internal hernia.  I had a hard time getting a ride, no ambullettes or ambulances from area would take me into NYC - I finally found a friend that was a nurse but she was really afraid to take me in the car with how sick I was.  But I got there okay.

I had surgery that night and after a week I went to rehab to recover.  Well, this is where it really gets fuzzy.  In about 5-7 days, I went downhill really fast.  A friend of mine came to see me and she thought I was asleep.  She came back a few hours later and I was still in the same position. She tried to wake me up and couldn't. She got a nurse and they discovered I was unconscious.  Thank goodness for her, no one on staff even noticed.  I was rushed to the local hospital for lots of tests and they found out I was septic and had a perforated colon.  They wouldn't touch me there as they felt I would survive surgery so they rushed me back into New  York City to my surgeons hospital where I underwent more surgery.  I was so unstable that they only did partial surgery - they cleaned out the infection but couldn't complete the surgery.  They left my belly open (packed it) and sent me to ICU for 3 days unconscious until I was stable enough to continue the surgery.  When I went back into surgery 3 days later, they removed part of my colon, inserted an illiostomy, a GTube and again left my incision open - had to heal from the inside out.  Would have gotten infected if they would have closed it. I was a mess.  I was in ICU for a week and a step down ICU for 3 weeks.  In that time, I had to learn to move my extremities and relearn to walk.  I just wanted to die.  I pulled through but was in the hospital for 2 months and living with an illiostomy was the worst experience of my life.  I had a wound vac to try to help the incision heal faster.  I was home for 2 months and then went back in for a 4th and final surgery to reverse the illiostomy.  Thank goodness.  That surgery went fine and recovery was much easier = I was in the hospital for one week.  Unfortunately, my bowels haven't been normal since - have had loose stools since and all the time.  I know it is better than being constipated again but still annoying.  I am also still in pain a large majority of time.  They think I may either have a hernia or alot of scar tissue but there is no way  I am going in for more surgery.

So, please control your constipatiion.  I have heard magnesium oxide works.  My surgeon recommends taking 2 colace and 1-3 sennas per day.  Others take miralax.  There are alot of options out there. Goodluck