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Suggest Treatment For Severe Constipation, Abdominal Bloating And Acid Reflux
Question: hello doctor i suffer from rearly bad consipstion and often my stools are very tappered ive tried increasing my fiber i drink lots of water but nothing seems to improve things i suffer from gas and bloated stomach and very uncomfortable most of time and my weights increasing any advice would be greatly appreiated. XXXXXXX
Brief Answer:
fiber supplement, continue fluids, monitor laxatives
Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic
The constipation would contribute to the bloating/gas, discomfort that you are experiencing.
Using a high fiber diet is very good but you may want to consider adding a fiber supplement to this, eg benefiber, metamucil or cetrucil.
You would initially use this at once daily and increase up to 3 times daily if this is needed.
Using a lot of water, at least 8 glasses, is also important. Any fluid with the exception of alcohol or caffeine products, since they cause the body to lose fluids would be helpful
Physical activity also helps with constipation and it is recommended that a person is as active as possible to help with the bowel movements.
If you are currently constipated then using a laxative temporarily would be helpful. There are a lot of different laxatives that are over the counter. Laxatives should not be used in the long term because persistent use can actually cause or worsen constipation
They stop the bowel from working on its own.
If you are using any medications or vitamins, you may want to make sure that none of them can cause constipation as a side effect.
If you use the fiber supplement along with your dietary fiber, use a lot of fluid, are as active as you can be, do not over use laxatives and still have a problem, you should consider seeing your doctor for an assessment.
This would include physical examination and possibly imaging of the abdomen/intestines to see if there is any structural cause for your constipation.
Blood tests may also point to another contributing cause.
I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
fiber supplement, continue fluids, monitor laxatives
Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic
The constipation would contribute to the bloating/gas, discomfort that you are experiencing.
Using a high fiber diet is very good but you may want to consider adding a fiber supplement to this, eg benefiber, metamucil or cetrucil.
You would initially use this at once daily and increase up to 3 times daily if this is needed.
Using a lot of water, at least 8 glasses, is also important. Any fluid with the exception of alcohol or caffeine products, since they cause the body to lose fluids would be helpful
Physical activity also helps with constipation and it is recommended that a person is as active as possible to help with the bowel movements.
If you are currently constipated then using a laxative temporarily would be helpful. There are a lot of different laxatives that are over the counter. Laxatives should not be used in the long term because persistent use can actually cause or worsen constipation
They stop the bowel from working on its own.
If you are using any medications or vitamins, you may want to make sure that none of them can cause constipation as a side effect.
If you use the fiber supplement along with your dietary fiber, use a lot of fluid, are as active as you can be, do not over use laxatives and still have a problem, you should consider seeing your doctor for an assessment.
This would include physical examination and possibly imaging of the abdomen/intestines to see if there is any structural cause for your constipation.
Blood tests may also point to another contributing cause.
I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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