Hi,

Thank you for your thoughtful response. I did use plain water and it was a very mild temperature, right between too hot & too cold (just a few degrees above lukewarm). I held the water in for only about 5 minutes. I was laying down on a towel and varying my positions, massaging my abdomen the whole time to distribute the water.

It was really scary, I have never gotten any kind of tingling or numbness in my feet & hands before. The numbness was so severe that when I turned the water faucet on to splash cold water on my face, my fingers had a hard time moving, so I could barely "cup" the water. It was frightening.

Because I was fasting at the time, I'm thinking electrolyte balance *may* have had something to do with it. But I also know that there seemed to be some of the water trapped up inside my colon and the pressure and cramping kept building and building....and then the tingling/numbness came on....until finally some balls of feces and water were expelled...then I started to feel better. I've had that type of cramping before - when the enema water gets distributed really well and you are sitting on the toilet waiting for all the water and feces to expel...sometimes there is some that gets trapped up in the colon, blocked by hard balls of feces and I think that's when cramping occurs. But this was very severe and the numbness was new to me. Scary stuff. If I ever do decide to do an enema again, I will definitely do less water and will not lay around after the bag has emptied - I'll go straight to the toilet to expel.

Hi GammieGal,

Thank you for your reply, it's nice to know I'm not alone in experiencing such a reaction. The more I read online about the numbness in hands and feet, the more certain I am that it had to do with electrolytes, although somehow my fecal blockage during my enema really exacerbated it for a few minutes until my body was able expel the fecal balls and water...immediately after expelling the impacted stool and water I started to regain normal feeling and felt much better. It was definitely one of the scariest experiences of my life thus far.

I don't believe that enemas are an ideal long term solution to constipation at all. Although they are more natural than taking a chemical laxative...still, there is nothing "natural" about putting a hose up one's rectum and injecting a quart of water. lol So I try to only use enemas as a last resort. I constantly strive to improve the consistency of my turds through diet. Also, I think that there is far too great an emphasis and expectation regarding frequency of bowel movement. We've been falsely led to believe that if we don't have a BM every day or every other day that there is something seriously messed up in there. In fact, I find that not to be true and I have heard from many doctor as well that that's not true. People's systems are very individual and while it's normal for some people to take a dump twice a day, it's normal for other people to take a dump twice a week, and both are okay as long as the stool is soft/cohesive and easy to expel. Hard stools are the enemy, infrequent stools are not. This is what I have come to believe.

I have been having a lot of luck recently by adding a few soft prunes a day to my diet - anything more than a few would likely have the opposite effect. I eat maybe 6-8 soft (not hard and tough) prunes a day at various times throughout the day and I make sure that I drink some water with them...and last night I had my first BM since my whole terrible enema experience last weekend, and my stool was very soft and easy to expel, which I can only attribute to eating a few soft prunes a day. This is what is working for me right now. I am not concerned with pooping every day...I only hope that when I DO poop, that my stools are cohesive and easy to expel: I refuse to accept straining and little hard balls! The prunes are not a laxative though, they won't necessarily make your BMs more frequent, but they do seem to soften my stool and make them easy to expel, which I am so happy about.

I really hope you can find what works for you. :-)


All Best,
R

Hi GammieGal, 6 to 8 enemas, if you are taking them one after another during the same day is not recommended and could be harmful to your health.

The most important thing is not to let yourself become constipated to the extent that such a drastic measure would even be considered.

I am a practitioner of colon hydrotherapy, working with a naturopathic physician, and in addition to giving colonics, not infrequently I am called upon to relieve fecal impactions of his patients. Many are elderly, others include children, pregnant women, and people in occupations where frequent travel and desk jobs contribute to severe constipation.

Relieving such conditions typically involve multiple enemas among other means, none of which are very pleasant.

When you have taken up to 10 enemas, is that during a single day or over a period of time? And are those the disposable Fleet type chemical solutions available in supermarkets and drug stores, or are you using an enema bag or bulb? If the latter, how much water do you use for each enema?

When I have a patient scheduled for impaction removal I request that the night before that they take one or two Fleet Mineral Oil Enema s and retain it for at least one hour to soften the impacted stool. These are small disposables and do not cause discomfort. If the patient can retain them overnight they work even better.

Generally for home use I don't recommend more than one or two enemas on any day unless you are severely constipated, and then no more than 3.

You may want to schedule a colonic and discuss your situation with the therapist who can evaluate the condition of your large intestine during your sesion and offer suggestions for a future course of action.

Best wishes,

Valerie