Can Constipation Make You Toxic?

[Juliebove]

I have not had to deal with this myself except perhaps for a weird bowel week when my thyroid was out of whack.  For the whole of my life I have battled big D, which has gotten a lot better since I changed my diet.  Gluten is not my issue but I have multiple food intolerances as does daughter.

 

Daughter has also battled big D but also constipation.  Some years back she kept getting UTIs.  She went to two different specialists for this who could not find a cause for the problem.  But a Dr. at the walk in clinic did.  From here on out she shall be known to us as Dr. Bowels.  Her real last name is actually quite similar.  Heh. 

 

What this Dr. found a few years ago via an X Ray was that daughter was full of poop.  That in turn prevenented her from urinating fully.  Some of the urine stayed in there and eventually she got an infection.  That and that caffeine was cauing irritation. 

 

Currently no UTIs and she has resumed caffeine, even drinking coffee.  She is 15 now.  But she has also been suffering from some acne.  She is seeing a dermatologist for that.

 

But recently?  Her face got super bad.  As in clusters of pimples on clusters of pimples.  Nothing helped.

 

Then she got big D again.  Said that her stomach hurt badly and she was sleeping a lot.  Gastro Dr. thought it had to be some other food intolerance that we hadn't ferreted out.  But, no!  Back to Dr. Bowels.  This time she found again via X Ray what she said was at least 4 feet of backed up stuff, stuck in her colon.  Said this had been going on for weeks!  Because it was so impacted, the only thing that could get through was liquid, hence what appeared to be big D.  Said she just has slow digestion and it is genetic.  Will need to take Miralax daily for the rest of her life.

 

Started her on that.  Today was the 4th day.  Am not sure she got all the gunk out of her but enough to where she isn't totally miserable and now her face is totally cleared up!

 

I had assumed that her face had gotten bad from stress but now I am wondering if maybe she was just toxic?  She had also lost a lot of hair.  She has really long hair and I would have to ream out the shower drain daily because there was so much in there.  That seems to be better with increased vitamins and supplements.  She also went on a vegetarian diet at the end of July and has been really good to stick to it.  I have been trying to find ways to get more protein into her but...  She has been super good with the fiber, making the switch to brown rice and eating lots of beans, salad, potatoes with skin and popcorn.

 

So...  Could the constipation have caused the pimples?  Odd that her face was so bad and then after three doses of the Miralax it has cleared right up.

[KCG91]

That link between C and UTIs is really interesting to me - I had bad C around the time I think my coeliac was triggered and also had recurrent, unexplained UTIs at the same time but never made the connection.

 

Between going gluten free and starting to take iron supplements (which have reinstated the C!) I had a few week's grace where everything was normal and my acne cleared up so I wouldn't be surprised if it was connected. 

Something I've found really really good for the C is a table spoon of linseeds/flax seeds on my breakfast cereal. Good luck!

[pricklypear1971]

I've heard statements like that before, even from mainstream doctors- that with a bunch of poop sitting in your body all of the 'bad stuff' is still in there and it makes you sick - not just uncomfortable.

I noticed when I started working out my skin underwent a change - it got clearer and brighter. I swear it was the sweating and circulation increase. Some people's skin greatly benefits from exercise, and others break out.

My bowels work better when I exercise, too. I'm one of those c Celiacs, and Hashis makes me c also.

[powerofpositivethinking]

I'm really glad Miralax seems to be working for your daughter!!  When I first starting complaining of C and went to my GP he prescribed that and I took it as directed, but it didn't help me at all.  I consider myself queen of laxatives and C relief 

 

I definitely think that the buildup could be the cause of acne.  Think about it...you've got all that crap fermenting in your system just sitting there and toxins building up.  All it wants to do is escape, so it chose your daughter's pores to come out.  

 

Back to the Miralax, has your daughter tried any magnesium supplements?  After putting all those harsh chemicals like exlax, dulcolax and so on before going gluten free, they left me more bloated than when I started and sometimes they didn't relieve the C and I gradually had to start taking more than the recommended doses which is when I knew something else needed to be done.  I know they "say" Miralax is safe for long term use, but I'm still extremely leery of it and prefer natural alternatives.

 

My magnesium level was normal on my blood test, but after reading that only 1% of magnesium actually circulates in your blood, that magnesium is important in over 300 bodily functions and learning about magnesium deficiency symptoms, I started taking some right before going to bed each night.  The trick is finding the right dose for your body.  It helps me go to the bathroom with much more ease!

 

Something else that worked for me was pure liquid glycerin suppositories.  I chose the ones without any harsh stimulants because I didn't want to become dependent on them.

 

In all my experimentation, magnesium and pure liquid glycerin seem the most natural and non-habit forming.  That's my opinion, so take it for what it's worth 

 

The big C kills my mood, and it's so hard to feel attractive when you're full of **** 

[Renaye]

I am convinced that that when things are unbalanced in the gut that it can cause all kinds of problems. I take miralax for several days then I go for about a week to 2 weeks, then I have to take it again. I don't go at all on my own. Have not tried magnesium yet but have a sample of natural calm in my cabinet. I agree, if you can't go then it affects your entire day or week.

Renaye

[Juliebove]

I am convinced that that when things are unbalanced in the gut that it can cause all kinds of problems. I take miralax for several days then I go for about a week to 2 weeks, then I have to take it again. I don't go at all on my own. Have not tried magnesium yet but have a sample of natural calm in my cabinet. I agree, if you can't go then it affects your entire day or week.

Renaye

Thanks!

[frieze]

go to pubmed....there are a few citations.

[Juliebove]

go to pubmed....there are a few citations.

Ah.  Thanks!

[sreese68]

I've fought acne for 30 years.  Gluten and nightshades definitely cause skin break outs for me.  Anyway, I've noticed the last two times I've gotten a stomach bug and had D, my face has broken out in mild acne a few days later.  This is interesting in that offending food causes cystic acne on my chest and back, so this is a similar but slightly different reaction.  So yes, I do think gut problems can cause acne.

 

Hope you're trying some food eliminations for her.  For me what causes C are: gluten, brown rice, and medium amounts of fructose.  Brown rice is by far the worst one.  C sets in two days later with severe stomach pain.  I can eat white rice, though.

[foam]

I got severe acne about the same day I became vegetarian. I'm not sure why but I guess I increased consumption of things my body didn't like. I persisted with it for 20 years but looking back I shouldn't have. Or at least done it in a much smarter way. Problem is it's a very difficult diet to do properly. The modern vegetarian invariable eats far more grains (soy, corn etc.) and more processed food that someone eating meat and that's the problem with it.

[Juliebove]

Thanks!  We really can't try food eliminations as we have so many intolerances and our reactions are delayed.  So that would be too tough to figure out.  But next year I'll have us retested.  Dr. said to do it every three years.