<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> I originally posted about Dr. Christopher Lahrs & his website. http://www.constipation.net/Chapters/1_intro.html? (Save this link, it's the only way I know to enter his website & read several chapters of his book w/o purchasing it.) Below is some discussion I received on this topic. [As usual, my obnoxious comments are in brackets.] Valerie ------------- Constipation can have other causes, too. I'm a Baby Boomer, and one thing I've developed is a rectocele - also a urethrocele - a prolapse-type situation. The rectocele can cause constipation. -V [Absolutely! Dr. Lahrs thoroughly covers these topics in his book & includes amazing X-rays of each condition. Valerie] ----------------------- ... thank you for posting this message. I have struggled with constipation since I was a very young girl. Other than the episodes of diarrhea when I ate gluten, before I was diagnosed, almost 30 years ago, I am constantly constipated. I have tried water, fiber, fruit, you name it. I hope I can get into this website for some insights. B [B, I totally UNDERSTAND what you've been through. I have the exact same history. I grew up thinking it was normal to have constant abdominal discomfort & to strain for an hour or more to pass a few rocks once or twice a week. I didn't know what "normal" was until I grew up & read it in a book! My mother had tests run on me & I was told to "drink fluiids & eat more salads" which didn't help.] [A chronic constipation problem will only respond to a chronic solution. Chances are you have some nerve impairment of some sort & need a daily stimulant dose. This sounds a lot scarier than it actually is. People are afraid of stimulant laxatives for two reasons: (1) they've often had bad experiences from using the improperly and (2) all the warnings about the possibility of developing laxative dependence. I'd like to address both these concerns below: [ Bad experiences occur when the constipated person delays using the laxative in a timely basis. They keep hoping for days on end that their body will eventually resolve the problem, until they develop an impaction. Then it takes dynamite to release it. The release is often a painful event. The person assumes the laxative is the problem rather than the way it's been used. If a person is chronically constipated, they need a daily dose of laxative to PREVENT constipation & impactions. [It has been believed for decades that laxative use causes the bowel to fail to move on it's own resulting in laxative dependence. Clinical trials, however, have proven this is not true. Study subjects who took daily stimulant laxatives for a period of 90 days were found to have exactly the same level of bowel function after the study was over as they did before the study began. What is known now is that chronic constipation, just like many other diseases, is a progressive disease that is often related to nerve damage. Bowel function can gradually fail over time whether a person uses laxatives or not. Unfortunately there are still LOTS of doctors out there who aren't aware of the latest research & still discourage their patients from using laxatives when they are so desperately needed. You'll also see outdated warnings of laxative dependence on every packaged laxative you buy in the store. This scares people out of trying & using the very treatment they need most. [So, you might try what I do and what Dr. Lahr's recommends: a daily dose of X-Lax or any of the equivalent brands of senna laxatives on the market. Senna, an herb, is the preferred stimulant laxative because it does not work by irritating the bowel like most other stimulent laxatives do. Senna works by directly targeting the dysfunctional nerves in the colon. Senna laxative tablets are available in 8.6 mg, 15 mg and 25 mg tablets, so you can customize your dose. The only known side effect of senna is brown staining of the colon. You will see on EVERY product with senna in it, the mythological warning that using laxatives can lead to dependence. Some medical myths take decades to die. [I prefer senna extract laxatives to whole leaf senna because it's refined & the dose is standardized. Years ago I used a whole herb senna based laxative, Swiss Kriss, & got a serious allergic reaction from it. I thought that meant I was allergic senna & shouldn't use it. I've since learned that I can tolerate the senna extract in E-Lax & other senna based laxatives with no side effects at all (and I have a very sensitive gut and I AM allergic to every other OTC laxative). I think I was reacting to one or more of the multiple herbal ingredients in Swiss Kriss. [You'll love reading Dr. Lahr's website. He understands us & doesn't judge us! Valerie] ---------------- That's funny. The opening of the 30-min. version of "Gut Reaction" starts almost exactly the same way. > "Nobody wants to talk about the “C” word—that is, constipation. People >can talk about unusual sexual acts on midafternoon television, but no one >will talk about constipation. In our society it is considered impolite to >talk about your bowel function. This means that if you experience >constipation and its relatives—bloating, abdominal pain, straining, rectal >pain and pelvic pressure—you probably suffer in silence. You may be >embarrassed to mention it to your friends or family and even your >physicians. [Great minds think alike, huh?] *Support summarization of posts, reply to the SENDER not the Celiac List * Archives are at: Http://Listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?LIST=CELIAC