Please help me, I am desperate!

[Kate2114]

I am an 18 year old caucasion female.  Almost 3 years ago, i was involved in a very serious auto accident where public transportation vehicile hit my grandmother and I head on, killing her almost instantly, and leaving me with broken ribs, a broken tailbone, pinched nerve in my back, bulging discs,1st degree burns on my face and arms, bumps and bruises, and serious bruising on my internal organs.  The doctors told me i would be in serious pain for the first few months while everything was healing.  I could not eat, sleep, or have bowel movements.  3 months after my accident, after not being able to deficate for 2 weeks, i went back into the emergency room.  All the doctors had me do was additional CT scans and xrays and told me i was really full of feces, (duh)

To make a couple year story short, i have seen the best doctors here in michigan, they have perscribed me every laxative known, given almost every test, been to physical therapy, you name it. They gave me a SMART pill test and discovered i have a very slow digestive track and disinertia with the muscles in my bottom.

I currently take 8 pills of perscription bisacodyl a day, 2 caps of miralax, high fiber diet, occasional enemas, and stomach massages, as well as an antibiotic for bacteria they think might be in my small intestine.  I am able to go now, but if i miss even one dose, i do not go.  I am in constant agony because of the pain.  Due to my back injuries and head injuries i suffer from chronic vertigo and am not able to excercise as much as i used to, which has caused severe weight gain.  

At times, my stomach swells to the point of i have the appearance of being 7 months pregnant.  It swells so bad, I have pant sizes that range from 14 to 18, and can wear both at different times of the day.  There are also definable food pieces in my feces, including meat, which my doctor does not belief possible.  My feces that does come out not only contains food I ate week ago, also varies in color.  From yellow, to orange, to black and redish, to green and rarely, brown.  

Everytime i see my specialists, they have a new diagnoses and cure for me which they are "sure" is going to work.  I feel like it is not normal to live on laxatives, but that is their plan for the rest of my life.  They compare my situation to  a person with a heart problem, you have a problem, take your pills, thats the solution! But the longer i take them, the more laxatives i need.  At one point, they had me drink golytly, 2 bottles of magcitrate and i only went once.  I have yet to completely clear out, so it is impossible to do a colonoscopy.  if i dont take medicine, i do not go.  If i do take all my meds, i deficate food and water
. What do i do??? Is what they have perscribed to me "normal"? I have done all that i can and feel like surgery would be good for me, but they refuse because i am so young and they have never seen any of this on a young person after such trauma and they think the muscles in my bottom are to blame for the problem, not anything internal.

Please just give me some advice, suggestions, you opinion, anything!!
Thank you
Kate

[Morecambe]

There are cases mentioned on Medhelp where a final solution for chronic constipation is a total colectomy after everything else has been tried and failed.  Indeed this surgery is probably for patients older than you - but maybe your situation has been heightened and exaggerated by your unfortunate accident.  In other words, I think it may be worth asking whether your previous medical stresses might possibly make you a special case for surgery.  I am not advocating that you must undergo surgery - but I suggest that you do ask your doctors/surgeons whether - however unconventional - it might just be the remedy for you.

In order to provide some relevant information, I underwemt a total colectomy some years ago - not for chronic constipation - but following torrential diverticular bleeding.  In response to another Medhelp patients question, I shared my experiences on:-

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/523166

Maybe you would like to have a look at that posting, perhaps print it off and show it to your doctors and seek their opinion as to whether they would anticipate a similar experience for you - if, of course, you elect to undergo surgery with their approval.  Possibly the operation can be performed laparoscopically in which case the post-op trauma should be lessened.

Have you tried a very high fibre diet along the following lines:-

- pulverised fresh vegetables to which organic bran has been added
- pulversied fresh fruit to which organic bran has been added
- home made muesli (soak organic oats + bran in milk and add grated fruit/nuts nd lemon juice).  It looks like wet cement but it tastes OK!!
- proper meals (fresh meat/fish + vegetables etc)
- organic wholemeal bread
- 2 litres of water per day
- no junk food, colas, white bread etc etc
- yes you can have a small amount of Swiss cholocate to make you feel happy!!

Do come back if you have any questions

regards
Morecambe

[Kate2114]

First of all, thank you for responding.  I feel so alone in this issue because the doctors just don't see how this could happen, and my family just can't idenitfy. As much as i would wish this kind of issue on anyone, it is a comfort to know other experience similer issues.

I would definetly try to find another doc, but there isn't anyone else to see.  Here in MI we the University of Michigan Bowel Control Clinic, and they really are amazing, they have helped so many people, but are still playing the med-game with me. I have looked into some of the holistic kind of treatments; herbs, relaxation techiniques, ect, but nothing really seems to help a whole lot.

See, basically, i think i have the constipation thing under control, as long as i take my medicine. But they found a blockage in my intestines and can see via x-ray that i am litterally full of you know what, but when i take a the pills and go, it isnt a whole lot of feces that comes out. Identifiable food is what I see along with all the water I drink and small bits of feces.  
And believe me i know what you mean about the water! I drink it constantly but it makes me kind of sick because my belly fills up so fast.  I do think i counteract some of the fiber, it has been hard to give up some of my favorite foods, the rice, breads, pastas, ect, but for the most part i have switched to whole grains.

I know most people dont want major surgery, but i just feel like it is the only thing that can get me fully cleaned out so i can do the whole medicine regimine and diet. I wish a doc would just understand that!

Thanks again for responding! Good luck with you and your son

[Jessie76]

Kate, I am so sorry for what you are going thru. I really don't know what to tell you other than if you are unhappy with your care, search for a new doctor. I have always had stomach problems and I feel like I am constantly on the search for a new specialist. I agree, doctors are pill pushers. They think all our problems will just vanish if we take this cabinet full of miracle pills. I, myself, have not found any meds helpful. Maybe you could look into some holistic or docs specializing in natural healing? I am trying that route currently. Some serious diet changes may be in order. I have had chronic constipation all my life, as well as my son from IBS and there are many foods that are binding, such as rice, bananas and many others. You said you were on a high fiber diet, but you may be canceling it out if you are taking in binding foods as well. My son and I both have slow motility. The #1 thing I have found helpful is really putting down lots of water. It is really hard to drink 8 bottles of water a day, but if you could try that for a couple weeks and really stick with it, maybe it will help? I wish I had more advice, but it is awfully complicated because of your accident. I would definitely search for a new specialist if their treatment is different than what u want, specialists should work WITH you not just tell you what to do. oh, my son is on Miralax and has been since he was 1 and a half and it has really worked well for him and upon researching it, it really is not "medicine" it works differently from other laxatives by changing the way the water is absorbed, but we had to experiment with dosage to get it just right. Good luck to you