Bowels

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Anonymous
Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 2:51 pm Post subject: Q: bowels

I have had troubles with my bowels for a least 4 yrs, my trouble is , Idont get the urge to go like use too. before if I had to go, I would feel it coming on then i would go to the bathroom sit down on the tolit and go. now I dont get that urge i just feel bloated. this all started in 2000 after I retired. 1 year later I come down with parkinsons.when I sit down on the stool now I dont have any pushing power even when is soft. I drink a cup of chinese green tea witch has senna in it to get that urge to go. Its like my muscles of the recutum are effected like the pd that effects my legs no strength.or If I use a small rubber bulb to squirt some water in to my rectum , to prime it so to speak, i'll pass a stool. Thats not normal.I drink 8 glassees of water a day, 1 glass of prune juice in the morn.and that helpes to keep my stools soft but doesn't help with the other problem. no blood in stool no cramps or pain Do you have any advise? I exercise every day '70 years old ii worked out all my life Thank you Mr johnson
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Kathrynne Holden, MS, RDJoined: 22 Jan 2007Posts: 94Location: www.nutritionucanlivewith.com
Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 4:41 pm Post subject:

Dear Mr. Johnson, No, this is not a normal condition, you’re right. But it’s also not uncommon among folks with PD. PD can affect the muscles that control peristalsis (movement) of the gastrointestinal tract, including the colon. The muscles slow down, and the stool then moves abnormally slowly. It can also slow or stop the muscles of the anus, so that the urge or ability to expel the stool is lost. You’re doing all the right things – drinking plenty of fluids to keep the stool soft, prunes/prune juice to provide laxative effect, and exercise to keep the GI tract as strong as possible – and I strongly urge you to continue all this, even though it doesn’t seem to be working. All these things truly ARE helping, even though the ability to expel stool is weakened. The water not only keeps the stool soft, it keeps your entire body hydrated, and dehydration is a very common, and debilitating, occurrence, in PD. The exercise not only helps stimulate the colon, it keeps you supple and your bones and muscles strong. If it takes a water enema to “prime” things, that’s OK – I know it’s not the first choice or the easiest, but it is helping you to move the stool. Next, talk to your neurologist; there is a laxative specially designed for those whose constipation is caused by slowed peristalsis – Miralax. It’s not ideal to take a laxative, but sometimes it’s necessary, and Miralax may be a better choice for you than senna. It is available by prescription, and your neurologist should be very familiar with it. Good luck to you, and keep on doing all those excellent things, you are a great example to us all!_________________Best regards, Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD -- For a Parkinson Tip of the Day visit: http://www.nutritionucanlivewith.com/
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