Constipation with IBD?

[Farmwife]

Constipation with IBD? Is it possible?
Here's the strange part, her stool is soft.
She's never struggled with poo problems. Her health is stable and she's happy but now this!
Any thoughts?

Oh, why I have your attention,:ysmile:
She got a BAD, BAD cold out of no where. With in 24 hrs. it was gone.
Don't get me wrong thats every mother's dream but that's new for her.
The constipation happened a week or so before the sudden cold and the constipation still continues.
Thanks for reading!
:soledance:Farmwife

 

[Tesscorm]

Constipation seems to be almost as normal as diarrhea with IBD - I've read of so many members here mention it.

Stephen's been constipated a few times, but don't think his stools were soft as he would then have some issues with fissures. What has helped him, almost immediately, has been prune juice (just 1/2 cup or so, for a 2-3 days) and then epsom sitz baths for the fissures. When the fissures have been particularly bothersome, I gave him penaten cream and that seemed to help him as well.

 

[DustyKat]

Yes it is possible due to the narrowing that can occur in the intestine from inflammation and/or scar tissue.

I know that diarrhoea is one of those symptoms that doctors look to as a gold standard when it comes to Crohn's but for some people diarrhoea is never a symptom and either constipation or a tendency to it is their presentation. Neither of my children had diarrhoea as a symptom and I personally think the higher you go in the bowel with the disease the less likely this is.

Inflammation and scarring is of course common in IBD and when that occurs in the small bowel problems with narrowing are not uncommon due to the smaller gauge of the intestine when compared to the large bowel. The type of stool you are describing is like what my daughter had. She would only go every 3 days or so and it was a normal stool but I think this has more to do with the fact that there is slowing higher in the bowel where there is more water present, once the narrowed part of the intestine is passed then the stool has a normal transition in the large and therefore it remains a normalish consistency. Certainly not the hard dry pebbly stool you expect with constipation.

I don't know about the cold. Could it have been an allergy/hayfever as opposed to a cold??

Dusty. xxx

 

[Tesscorm]

I should've just let Dusty answer!!! So much more informative than my post! :lol:

 

[DustyKat]

No way Tess! and now I am just...:redface::redface::redface:...:lol:

 

[Tesscorm]

:lol:

 

[mickey]

That was my main issue when it started....it would be a week between movements and it was a toxic feeling. I was told the motility of the colon is compromised and slowed. I have learned the Bikram "Wind Removing Pose" guarantees a movement daily and ginger tea helps calm things....have to think of it as retraining the bowel to go back to normal.

 

[Farmwife]

Thanks everyone. That makes a lot of sense Dusty. If their is inflammation or scare tissue it would definitely slow things down. I would tend to think it's scare tissue, only because she's not cramping bad or flaring up. Is this something that should be told to her doc? We see the GI spec. in a few weeks. Hopefully we can wait to then.
Have a good Sunday all.
:soledance:Farmwife


Oh, Tesscorm will try the prune juice! I'll make sure to tell Grace it was your idea. I'm sure she'll thank you.:lol:

 

[DustyKat]

I would definitely tell the doctor.

Dusty.

 

[archie]

i suffer from constipation, strong waves of cramps and gurgling noises regularly but I also feel fine so I mentioned it to the consultant and he wasn't overly worried but is sending me for a small bowel series to check for any strictures etc. I also have a sluggish bowel even with eating healthily and exercising regularly to the extyent now I won't take any pain killers for fear of never going again. I hope you get some answers soon but it may be worth while mentioning the small bowel series to check.

 

[Catherine]

Sarah has form of constipation with her crohn but she still goes every day. She takes prune juice every couple of weeks. It does not increase the number of bm just the amount each time.

 

[Mehita]

My son has a stricture higher up in his small intestine (no disease anywhere else) and tends to have constipation more than diarrhea. I think Dusty described it perfectly.

The only other thing to note that no one has mentioned is that constipation sometimes shows up as daily bowel movements but the issue is that it takes forever to get out. He will sit on the toilet for 30 minutes at a time or longer, pooping gumball sized poops the whole time, and still feel like he's not quite done when he leaves the bathroom.

We give him a child dose of Miralax for a couple of days and then he's better. We have found that if we give him too much Miralax, he'll swing in the other direction and get too loose. A very precarious balance!