Re: Anyone do enemas?

I'm 76 years old and have had IBS slowly getting worse for about 10 years. It tends toward constipation with occasional swings in the other direction. It's accompanied by lots of gas, much of which smells very bad.

About a year ago I decided to try enemas when the constipation became troublesome. And although an enema takes a chunk of time out of my day to do, it definitely relieves the constipation. The problem is over within a few minutes. And unlike the things several doctors have recommended such as Linzess, and similar pills or a daily dose of Miralax, the enema gets the job done, it acts when I decide it will and I always feel good afterward, all of which are things I cannot say about any other cure so far.

I use filtered tap water, about 1.5 quarts and try to retain it about 15 to 30 minutes. I do this several times a week when I feel the need.

I have an additional complicating factor you should know about. My prostate is very enlarged and it intrudes on the space my rectum thinks it owns. And when I get a full rectum the pressure against my prostate can be maddening. It literally drives me up the wall.

When I was thinking about doing enemas the whole process seemed much worse than it turned out to be when I finally got up the nerve to try it and I found it fairly easy and reasonably comfortable.

I don't think enemas are in any way a cure for IBS-C. But they are surefire relief from symptoms. The only advice I've ever received from the several doctors I told about what I was doing was, use enough lube so that you don't hurt yourself and don't poke the nozzle in too fast.

If you've had IBS for very long you probably know that it can rule your whole day. I was sometimes afraid to go anywhere because I smelled bad if I passed gas and a lot of the time I was very uncomfortable. The relief I get from the enema has changed all that for the better. There is probably nothing perfect but at least an enema when needed keeps me much more comfortable and allows me to function better.
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