Migraine

The nortriptyline I'm taking has been giving me constipation from day 1 (I've been on it since last April at varying dosages). My neuro suggested I take magnesium as well to help counteract the constipation. He originally suggested I take 100-200 mg of Mg twice daily, but I could increase it if I needed. I'm up to 300 mg twice daily now. I've taken larger doses, but the problem I always have is that my body adjusts to the Mg dose and I get constipated again.

I've tried increasing the fiber intake in my diet, which is a little difficult since I'm on a gluten-free diet - many fiber-rich foods also have gluten. I've increased allowed fiber-rich foods where I can. I also drink a *ton* of water (Topamax makes me feel extremely dried out so I drink a lot of water without even thinking about it).

I've recently tried taking some fiber supplements as well. Unfortunately the ones we have in the house make me incredibly bloated and gassy. It's honestly not any better than the constipation. I know that not all supplements are created equal so I figured I'd post here and see if anyone has any ideas.

So, any ideas? I'm perfectly willing to discuss this with my doctor but I honestly don't know what to tell him right now other than "I'm constipated" and that the Mg isn't enough to counteract it anymore. Can someone point me to some information at least about different kinds of fiber supplements (maybe what kind of fiber they're made out of?) or other options so I at least have a starting point? My digestive system has been so much better on my new diet, but the current fiber supplements are making me feel as bad as I used to so they're definitely not a viable option.

I should also mention that I've eliminated dairy from my diet, so yogurt is a no-go. I have a sensitivity to soy so soy yogurt isn't even a good alternative.

Hi MJ!

I’m sorry you’re experiencing constipation but I’m glad you’ll be talking to your doctor about it. That is the best thing for you to do. When do you see him again? Can you call?

I can share with you my son’s occurrence with it from taking Tylenol 3 after his surgery two weeks ago. His surgeon was afraid he would be constipated from his medications so they prescribed a stool softening gel and he did great. He only had to take it once a day.

I take the same precautions that you do. I drink plenty of fluids, I should buy stock in bottled water; I use Kashi cereal and snack bars for extra fiber, along with magnesium supplements.

Here is an article that you may find helpful.

I hope this helps get you started...

Hi MJ-

I know what you are going through. Honestly, I stick to the good old fashion prune juice, it's all natural and if you mix it with a little apple juice it's not as bad.

It works great and the only side effect is a good one!

Hope you feel better real soon.

Lori

Both my dog and I take a stool softener with docusate. I think that the brand name is Dulcolax, but we use the generic from Walmart. The dog got very constipated several years ago, and the vet put him on the docusate. Sometimes dogs take people medicine. He's currently taking Ultram for his arthritis.

Metamucil -- and the generic -- contain psyllium husk, the bran of a small seed. It absorbs water in the bowel. In my experience, it doesn't soften the stool but rather makes hard stools easier to pass.

You can get psyllium seeds at the whole foods store. I've added them to bran muffins before.

You probably can't eat it, but All-Bran helps me.

I'm not sure what Benefiber has, but it's not psyllium.

I've taken Sennekot before. The generic didn't work for me.

You shouldn't take Metamucil within two hours of taking medication, because the Metamucil can interfere with the absorption of the med.

Gretchen in Mississippi

Docusate Sodium

It is an OTC stool softner w/out laxative safe for long term use. That is what we always sent surgery patients home with after surgery who were on narcotics. Taken twice daily it should work for you. Hope this helps!

Thanks, ladies, for your comments! This does help.

Laura, I *love* Kashi foods but one of their seven grains is wheat. So no more Kashi for me. One of my best homemade regularity-type meals was plain yogurt and Kashi granola but that's no longer in the diet. *sigh* That link does help a lot though - thanks for digging that up!

Lori, I think I will take a look at some prune juice options. I have to be careful with juice because of the sulfides (found in many) and sugar, but I may be able to find something that works. Thanks. Silly that I didn't think of that!

Gretchen, I will be looking into both Ducolax and Metamucil, and some of the others you've mentioned. I will probably end up asking my doc's opinion on this as well. Honestly I'd have to check the ingredients of All-Bran but there may be an equivalent that I can eat. Thanks!

Hedi, thanks to you as well. I will be checking this out as an option.

I ate some quinoa (a gluten-free high-fiber grain, very tasty) and black beans with veggies for lunch today that has helped me out temporarily but I'm definitely going to be looking into everyone's suggestions. Thanks again!

MJ,

I'm glad the link helped but phooey about the Kashi

I hope the prune juice helps though!

If we're talking extreme constipation, the only answer is Yakima Fruit Paste. I used this when I was taking methadone for chronic pain, talk about constipation ....

1 lb. pitted prunes
4 oz. senns tea leaves
1 lb. raisins
1 lb. figs
1 cup lemon juice

1. Make tea (I've use tea bags using 2.5 cups of boiled water, steep for 5 minutes)if using leaves drains tea and remove leaves.

2. Put 2 cups of tea, or whatever is left in large pot add fruit.

3. Boil fruit and tea for 15-20 minutes until soft.

4. Remove from heat and add lemon juice, cool. Use hand mixer/blender to mix into paste.

5. Put in tupperware container, store in freezer. This paste won't freeze, but will keep for a REALLY long time. Use 1-2 tablespoons a day.

"They" say you can put this on toast, bagels, english muffins or rice cakes. I'm thinking now I could have put it on my matzo. But I just put it on a tablespoon and downed it that way.....

Thanks for that recipe, Nancy. I will definitely keep that on hand to use if I need it. So far the constipation hasn't gotten *too* awful but now I have a backup plan! Thanks!

MJ-

I also have your constipation difficulties! Verapamil just does a number on me. So, I feel your discomfort my friend.

I'm also on Magnesium. I'm on 400mg, the max dose my doc will allow. But, really, I'm not sure if that is a drop in the bucket towards helping my cause. (If you know what I mean.)

What I've found really helps is eating prunes. They are surprisingly sweet. I've also dried other dried fruit, but prunes seem to top the charts. Apricots come in second.

I also mix in a clear fiber supplement, Fiber-sure into any 8 oz drink or food. I usually take it in water although I've put it in fruit juices, yogurt & oatmeal. It is taste-less, non-thickening and I don't "feel" it in my drink either. I'm pretty picky about what I put in my body & what I eat. The reason I picked Fiber-sure is because its one ingredient is Inulin (100% natural vegetable fiber). Oh yeah, and one dose is 5 grams of Fiber.

Other than eating kashi foods (which you can't eat) those are my best suggestions.

Kelly

Thanks, Kelly! Glad to see you're feeling up to posting. The verapamil really did a number on me when I was taking that the end of last year WITH the nortriptyline.

I will definitely check out prunes as an option. They may work out better than prune juice. I'll have to double-check but I think inulin is the type of fiber in DBF's fiber supplements. But I think I have enough options here to keep me going for a while.

Oh, and I'll add my own special recipe that I coincidentally discovered this week: quinoa and beans. (It's like beans and rice, but substitutes quinoa as the grain instead of rice.) Quinoa is a very fiber-rich grain that can be used in virtually any recipe as a substitute for rice or barley, and has no gluten, so it's safe on my diet. It's very hearty, has a bit of a nutty flavor to it. I think one serving of it has 5 g of fiber, and added to the fiber in the beans (also around 4-5 g per serving) it's a very good way to make you regular again.

Anyway, I'm mentioning this, because I whipped up a batch of quinoa and beans for lunch this week, and it made about 6 servings of it, so I ate I think 3 meals of it over 2 days. It's gotten things moving again, at least for now until I can find a more long-term solution.