Laxatives as a child

Has anyone also received harsh laxatives aside from enemas and suppositories. The laxative mostly used on me was Castor oil. A few times I was given citrate of magnesium. I hated every bit of it.

Cody

I was given Castor oil as a child and still use it today from time to time. It is not pleasant but it sure works well.

I had a lot of constipation problems as a kid. I got Milk of Magnesia and Fletcher's Castoria frequently. At 16, I was given a large dose of castor oil to clean me out for my first barium enema. After that, the doctor put me on Peri-Colace on a daily basis. It was a combination of a stimulant laxative and a stool softener.

When I went away to college, I occasionally used Dulcolax tablets or, when that wasn't convenient because of class schedules, Dulcolax suppositories. I still use Dulcolax in both forms today.

The only thing close to a laxative I remember was a bottle of mineral oil, probably as a stool softener.

We were seldom constipated, but my mom solved that by giving a fairly large soapsuds enema. It might have taken longer to give than a pill, but the results were predictable and quick.

My grandmother gave me half a glass of lemon-flavored Citrate of Magnesia once in while.

When I was 14 I was seen by a doctor at school... not sure why. Perhaps everyone was, perhaps it was because of bad acne.

He questioned me about lots of things including constipation. I denied it if course, quite vigorously.

But he had hit the nail on the head, and he knew it.

He sent home a note that I be given Citrate of Magnesia every Friday night, and for a few months I was. It made me very nauseous. I could hardly sleep, and I often didn't actually "go" until noon Saturday. In an attempt to get better results my parents added Castor Oil. I got three tablespoons (about an ounce and a half) first, then the Citrate of Magnesia, then an equivalent amount of water.

So then I was sick and bloated, and had those horrible tastes in my mouth as I went to bed. And still didn't actually "go" until noon Saturday.

I was taken to a naturopathic physician, who started me on regular colonics and enemas. Worked better from my point of view.

I don't remember how constipated I actually was before that fateful doctor's visit, but as a much younger child I had severe obstipation and was often treated with high enemas, retention enemas, and even dilators. In those days I was treated by my Uncle, who was a doctor.

My Momma liked to use Ex-Lax on us. >😢 Nasty stuff. Much preferred an enema but only got them on "special occaisions"

My aunt used to give us castor oil when we stayed at her house for any lenght of time. It would probably still be my choice for use today.

My mom also used Ex-lax or when it was a soon needed BM it was a suppository and i prefer suppository's to ex lax any day of the week because Ex-lax always gave me very very bad cramps

My Mom and Aunt were nurses, so all of us cousins regularly received enemas, from either one, and suppositories occassionally . . . loved them all

I remember getting "gound-up figs & apricots with senna leaves". It wasn't bad tasting and used almost daily . But my birth defect necessitated frequent enemas anyway. My Mom would say that she didn't have time to see if a laxitive would work but she could see the results from an enema instantly.

Thanks Mom.

the boxcar

My grandmother like to use Haley's M-O. It said right on the label that it was 'undetectable by children' when mixed in milk. It was undetectable in taster, but about 3 hours later there was nothing undetectable about the effect. She wanted me to very regular, and didn't take any chances. That went for most of one summer when I was staying with my grandparents.

It took a long time to realize the relationship between the glass of milk at dinner, and 3 hours later it took effect. Talk about being regular like clockwork..

I took some Castor Oil once. Worst taste in the world and doesn't really work for me. I also had to take some white powder stuff that was mixed into my drinks; and again, NASTY TASTE!

I probably got Castor oil once when I was very young, but don't remember it if I did. Around 6 or 7, my mother gave me Milk of Magnesia (YUCK!!!). In later years it was Sal Hepatica and it tasted better than Milk of Magnesia, but was not pleasant either. Anyone remember that salty tasting stuff? Personally I would much rather she had just given me a good enema or two, but she never gave me any more enemas other than my first one that I wrote about a month or so back. That first one was enough to make me grow to love enemas. I would take a lot more of them than I do, but for my wife. So I have to sneak my enemas in when the opportunity arises. Would that she liked to give and receive enemas, too. I did get her to let me give her one enema one night, but she didn't take much water before she said stop.

highndry (and now you know why)

My Mom relied mainly on good ol' Ex-lax. If it didn't give satisfactory results, it was enema time!

Many times my parents administered me some laxative pills now out of commerce (and different from products publicized in the news) whose effect the day after was accompanished by physical discomfort;once, in a period during summer holidays, they administered me a pill my father had used during his childood and so he retained it very effective; having read in the instructions the advise to repeat the dose every three days, they did so: with this rythm, every pill resulted to be more effective than the preceding, but also side effects were enhanced and at the end the purgative effect was accompanished by abundant vomit (I remember me sitting on the toilet defecating liquid stools with a basin on my hand to vomit meanwhile)so at the end he suspended the treatment.

Other times they administered me magnesia or picosulfate-based drugs.

We were an ExLax family. Nasty stuff.

Ex-Lax

Sodium picosulfate is unfamiliar to most in North America. For all practical purposes it is the same as Dulcolax. Dulcolax and Sodium Picosulfate are the same 'core' molecule. Bisacodyl (Dulcolax) has an acetate group on each end that comes off almost immediately, and what is left is very irritating to the bowel wall. As a result tablets are coated to delay release of the bisacodyl for 5-8 hours.

Sodium Picosulfate is the same molecule, but with NaSO4 groups on each end instead of acetate groups. It is more stable, but the bowel flora 'snip' off the NaSO4 eventually, releasing the same molecule you have with Bisacodyl. Because this happens slowly, Sodium Picosulfate doesn't need to be coated, and can in fact be dissolved in water with some help. Typical commercial products contain 5 or 7.5mg of sodium picosulfate per ml, so the dose if usually just a few drops.

Boehringer-Ingelheim, who makes Dulcolax, also makes many of the Sodium Picosulfate products (Dulcolax SP, Dulcolax perles, Dulcolax liquid, Laxoberal, Guttalax etc).

While Sodium Sulfate (Na2SO4, Glauber salt) is a laxative in its own right, the amounts contained in a typical dose of sodium picosulfate are so small that they have no effect. Milligram for Milligram sodium picosulfate and bisacodyl are roughly equivalent.

Sodium Picosulfate is not FDA approved (it is a suspected Teratogen), so it isn't sold in the USA. It is sold in Canada as a component of Pico-Salax, which is effectively magnesium citrate and sodium picosulfate combined for bowel cleansing prior to X-ray or colonosocopy etc).

My mother liked MOM the white stuff tasted awful. My mother did not give you a Little & then water she gave you glass full never knew how much she put in the glass of water but, people tale today about an oral enema well that what happen everytime she gave me MOM. MOM was not easy to drink but spend the day with the runs.

Castor oil, like Fels Naphtha, had an honored place in our medicine chest mainly for shock value. That's because daddy liked the looks of them standing there and more than once he prevailed upon the nurse to give us (my twin brother and I) a squirt or two in ano mixed with the enema solution. The results are better imagined than described.

To Hostile:

Castor Oil will work very efficiently in the case that you will swallow a sufficient dose of this. In the Russian Popular Medicine you will find the following rule: one kilogramm of the weight of the human body coresponds to one milliliter of Castor Oil; e. g. the human weight of 60 kilogramms corresponds to a dose of 60 milliliters ( = 2 oz) of Castor Oil.

Let's see had Milk of Magnesia, Ex Lax a few times, and Mag Citrate I think. I would often be offered a choice of MoM of an enema but obviously would usually choose the latter. 😉

When I got to be around seven and if my mother knew or suspected that I had not gone in two days and was not ill or had a cold, she made me chew some Feen-a-Mint. That would usually happen on the morning of the second day without a bm. The Feen-a-Mint worked only about 1/3 of the time. If it did not work by supper, after the kitchen was cleaned up, I heard the water running in the bathroom and not too long after I would get called there. Whenever I stayed home from school not feeling well, had a cold or any illness, she never bothered trying any laxative.

That sounds familiar. About the same age after not going for a couple of days, it was a dose of Milk of Magnesia for me, along with the threat that if it didn't work (which it seldom did) other measures would be taken. After no success my mother would call me into the bathroom where the sink would be full of Ivory soapsuds and the dreaded bulb syringe would be setting on the counter. Unlike the Milk of Magnesia, that syringe always got the desired results.

Keep in mind: before the mid 80s or so, Ex-Lax was phenolphthalein, which stayed in the system up to 24 hours.

The modern version is relatively mild.

I have used Phoso-Soda, Magnesium Citrate, Milk Of Magnesia and Dulcolax. I hate Dulcolax, and will normally only use it as a pre-enema in a system cleanout. Even after the cleanout is done, I prefer Magnesium Citrate to clear the small intestine.

I was introduced to dulcolax suppositories as a child. I didnt like it back then. Its kind of harsher than most other laxatives but then it does a pretty good job at cleaning you out thoroughly. The only bad part i guess is the terrible cramps associated with them 😢 . Also they are faster and much more cleaner as compared to enemas.

Somehow the Fig Syrup never did the job, and it tasted revolting. Once the syrup didnt work and enema was the next course of action.

Looking back, it was an ordeal. Now, I look forward to a partner asking me whether I need something 'to help'!

I had my share of glycerin suppositories growing up, but what I hated more than anything was castor oil...uhg...you couldn't do anything about the taste....not even in orange juice. Still taste it..just thinking about it..lol

In swallowing a big dose of Castor Oil together with fridged carrot or tomato juice, this in the form of an emulsion by the help of a Tupperware Quick Shake Container, you will not have any problems with the taste of this.

For me it is very interesting, that in your country X-prep is no more available. Here in Germany in the clinic x-prep is the standard up to this day.