sjhenderson
Senior Member
My son has Angelman Syndrome and with that comes most often times severe constipation. I need some home remedies as over 34 years the doctors have not helped it. Thanks in advance.
Thanks. That is pretty much his diet now as we keep him in Ketosis for seizures. We gave used Lactulose but that dries him out too much, castor oil helps some but can't be given much.My daughter has chronic constipation, from a combination of things -- she's autistic, has celiac disease and lupus (and several other auto-immune conditions), and she has spina bifida occulta and neurogenic bladder. Whether because of one or more of these, or alongside them, she has suffered from severe constipation most of her life. (When she wasn't constipated, she was the opposite.) For a long time, she had to take a prescription stool softener every day. But she hasn't needed one of those for several years now. What made the difference was limiting dairy, severely limiting sugar, and cutting out almost all the grains, even the gluten-free ones. Our diet is primarily vegetables, fruit, and meat, with a little yogurt or kefir or small amounts of aged cheese once in a while. (I count eggs in with meat, along with fish -- basically, if it's an animal protein source that's not dairy, I count it as meat.) Once in a while, we'll have a little bit of rice or cornmeal, but otherwise, no grains at all. And that's not even every week. Maybe once or twice a month at most.
I don't know if you can make the same changes to your son's diet. Some people strenuously resist changes in what they eat. Thankfully, my daughter loves any and all foods, and -- while she would happily eat anything if it was set in front of her -- doesn't fuss about what I give her. And, thankfully, she's not been constipated in a long time.
Kathleen
These work, but you have to be careful... the body can become dependent on them and you won't be able to poop without them.Cascara Sagrada, Senna
"GoLytely". It's used for colonoscopy prep, to clean the entire GI tract. Drink that and nothing shall remain.
No more than 4 tbs or you'll be doing a Kramer. 1 to 2 dissolved in warm water on an empty stomach.Epsom salts.
Use with caution
I have the same problem. I've had colon problems for years. It's nearly killed me a few times. The last surgeon I had said that I should never get constipated because it could cause serious problems. He recommended Magnesium. I don't recommend that you use it excessively (like I do sometimes). Overdose levels are very high. It can cause severe diarrhea. With constipation it may also cause cramping until it works. I've taken up to 4 grams over a period of hours. I don't know that I can recommend that you do that. Research before you do anything. Taking it to the point of severe diarrhea can also cause malnutrition. I fight that battle every day. Many constipation relief products on the market have magnesium as their active ingredient.Magnesium might help. Mag citrate in the bottle if it's severe (it will cause diarrhea), or ionic mag glycinate (IIRC) in the form of CALM powder. He could take the CALM daily.
Miralax used to be prescription, but has been over the counter for some time. Nothing works as good. Simply nothing comes even close.
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Just be careful with real licorice. It actually acts like a corticosteroid, and can cause water retention, high blood pressure and kidney issues if taken in large quantities.I was on a medication amatyriptoline (sp) and it really stopped me up. I did the bulk adding and many of the other things suggested here. What I found worked for me best was licorice. You need to find something like the old time penny candy either cigars or pipes. It seems to add liquid to the stool. The stool is still solid but it comes out with less effort.