What's your favorite laxative?

I'd have to say Fletcher's Castoria, as it reminds me of the many times I was given it as a boy.

@termor64

Although Castoria is sold as a children's laxative, it works very well, in the appropriate dosage, for adults, especially if stirred into a small glass of prune juice and taken a bedtime. It can't be ignored and reliably produces a complete poo, often before breakfast. It's Senna syrup and doesn't really soften, but sure pushes.

I do not do oral laxatives if I can avoid them. That goes back to when I was a child. I remember one time I had complained to mom that I had a tummy ache. She said I could have an enema or a dose of Fletcher's Castoria. For some reason, maybe I didn't want to take time out from watching TV or something, I chose the Castoria. Big mistake! I nearly pooped my panties the next morning in school. I learned then that an enema is the way to go.

10ml liquid glycerine......3 minutes and everything is coming out!

typically use after an enema series, my recovery time can go 5 days otherwise, so it pretty much lubes up the sigmoid canal and thhis get going again....

I chose the Castoria. Big mistake! I nearly pooped my panties the next morning in school. I learned then that an enema is the way to go.

Oh yes, you almost joined the "poop in you underwear club" at school, so to say. As a member of that club, I can tell you it was most embarrassing! Wonder if there's a thread for that topic. Wonder how many have had accidents thanks to being given laxatives...

@Cheryl77177

The problem you experienced was not the fault of the Castoria, it was your response to it.

A dose of Castoria does take some time to work, sometimes as quickly as 6 hours, but can take up to 12 hours or even somewhat longer. When the Castoria starts to work, the person will start to get mild, widespread cramping. That is a warning you are going to HAVE to poo a lot fairly soon because the med has annoyed your entire bowel. You ignore this warning at your peril. The urge won't go away, but will soon get a lot stronger. That's why it works so well for diaper games.... the results are often soft, but not sloppy, and can't be resisted.

In your specific case, your mom should have asked you if the Castoria worked and made you poo. If not, you should not have gone to school. Once someone has had a full dose of Castoria they are going to poo, sooner or later and they won't be able to hold it for long once the urge starts.

An Afterthought: Since Senna, the active ingredient in Castoria, has to be metabolized in the gut to be converted into the laxative compounds, it is likely that Castoria is a more powerful laxative than the equivalent dose of Senna in pill form, like modern Ex-Lax. The liquid form is instantly distributed widely in the stomach. In fact, the last time I took Castoria, I was quite surprised at its poo power because my expectation was for a mild urge.

I joined the "poop in my underwear at school club" several times. The experience was extremely humiliating each time. One time I vividly remember happened when I was 16 and in high school. My mom had given me a laxative I had never used before - I think it was Doxidan - when I came home from school the previous day. The idea is that it would work during the wee hours of the morning or as soon as I woke up. I felt nothing by the nest morning so I decided to go to school. I actually forgot about having taken the laxative and went to baseball practice the next afternoon. Bad decision. The laxative kicked in with a vengance with little warning during batting practice. The nearest toilets were about 300 yards away in the locker room. I didn't nake it. Certainly the most humiliating moment of my adolescense.

Another incident happened in college when I had taken Dulcolax the night before and decided to attend my 9 AM class. That is a story for another day.

Eboyhou. I recall several cases of pooped pants when I was in Junior High and High School. In Elementary School I don't recall any problems if my mother gave me a laxative on a school night because I lived just 5 minutes from the school and I always made it to the washroom if the laxative worked during the school day. When I started at a newly built Junior High (Grade 😎 it was a 3/4 hour walk to school and the first time my mother gave me a dose of Ex-Lax on a school night it made me go as soon as I woke up in the morning and I went again just before I left for school, but about 2 blocks from the school I had to go again so badly that I couldn't hold it and I pooped a load of diarrhea in my pants. I went straight to the washroom when I got to school, cleaned myself up as best I could, and then got my gym uniform out of my locker and wore it for the rest of the day until I got home. I told my mother what had happened and pleaded with her not to give me a laxative on a school night again. She suggested giving me an enema instead but I hated getting enemas so I got her to agree to wait until morning if I hadn't gone the previous day and give me Ex-Lax before I left for school so that it wouldn't work on me until I got home that afternoon.

The next time I need a laxative she tried that, but the Ex-Lax started working during my last class of the day, and even though I went again before I left to come home I still ended up pooping my pants before I made it home. I then managed to convince her that she could trust me to take the 2 pieces of Ex-Lax with me to school and take it mid-morning, so that it wouldn't start to work until I was safely home from school, and even though it made me go several times during the evening and I had to get up once or twice through the night to go some more, by morning the Ex-Lax had finished working so the problem seemed to be solved.

When I started High School the school was just a 10 minute walk from home so my mother went back to giving me Ex-Lax on a school night if she thought I needed it since, if I went right before leaving for school I could make it there before I need to go again. Unfortunately I still managed to poop my pants a few times when I was in school and had to go so badly I couldn't get to the washroom fast enough. It happened once in Grade 10 and I had to change into my gym uniform and wear it for the rest of the day, and unfortunately a few kids in my class had overheard me telling the teacher that my mother had given me Ex-Lax last night and I had to go really bad and they realized that I had pooped my pants and started calling me "Dan, Dan the Ex-Lax man" when they passed me in the hallway. That same year I also pooped my gym shorts during gym class when we were wrestling and my partner had me pinned down and I suddenly had to go urgently because my mother had given me Ex-Lax the night before. It was especially embarrassing because I just had my jockstrap under my gym shorts and when I got up the runny poop leaked down my legs where everyone could see it.

I managed to get through Grade 11 with no accidents, but in Grade 12 I managed to poop my jeans on the way home from school about 2 blocks from home. Unfortunately the same boys who had called me "Dan,Dan the Ex-Lax man" back in Grade 10 were walking about a few house lengths behind me and saw me suddenly stop and clench my cheeks and noticed the brown stain that started to soak through the seat of my jeans. They pointed at me and started laughing and chanting until I turned up my street and they continued along the street we had been on.

@gboy said

I recall several cases of pooped pants when I was in Junior High and High School.. . . . .

When I started at a newly built Junior High (Grade 😎 it was a 3/4 hour walk to school and the first time my mother gave me a dose of Ex-Lax on a school night it made me go as soon as I woke up in the morning and I went again just before I left for school, but about 2 blocks from the school I had to go again so badly that I couldn't hold it and I pooped a load of diarrhea in my pants. . . . . .

I told my mother what had happened and pleaded with her not to give me a laxative on a school night again. . . . . .

The next time I need a laxative she tried that, but the Ex-Lax started working during my last class of the day, and even though I went again before I left to come home I still ended up pooping my pants before I made it home. . . . . .

When I started High School the school was just a 10 minute walk from home so my mother went back to giving me Ex-Lax on a school night if she thought I needed it since, if I went right before leaving for school I could make it there before I need to go again. Unfortunately I still managed to poop my pants a few times when I was in school and had to go so badly I couldn't get to the washroom fast enough. It happened once in Grade 10 and I had to change into my gym uniform and wear it for the rest of the day,. . . . .

That same year I also pooped my gym shorts during gym class when we were wrestling and my partner had me pinned down and I suddenly had to go urgently because my mother had given me Ex-Lax the night before. It was especially embarrassing because I just had my jockstrap under my gym shorts and when I got up the runny poop leaked down my legs where everyone could see it. . . . .

in Grade 12 I managed to poop my jeans on the way home from school about 2 blocks from home. Unfortunately the same boys who had called me "Dan,Dan the Ex-Lax man" back in Grade 10 were walking about a few house lengths behind me and saw me suddenly stop and clench my cheeks and noticed the brown stain that started to soak through the seat of my jeans. They pointed at me and started laughing and chanting until I turned up my street and they continued along the street we had been on.

OH MY FUCKING GOD

Your mother was a fucking bitch. After all these accidents she kept giving you laxatives where you shat in your pants in school or on your way to or from school. Does she have a learning disability or the desire to make you keep having those accidents to embarrass yourself???? She sounds like a MONSTER. WHY did you keep going along with this nonsense? Were you in pain or distress because you didn't shit often enough to please your apparently deranged mother?

I RARELY say anyone was abused (I think that term is grossly over-used), but you were abused.

@gboy

The problem you had was not the fault of your mom giving you a laxative, the problem was with the laxative you were given. Ex-Lax,

Before the reformulation in about 1997, Ex-Lax used phenolphthalein as the active ingredient. This stuff pulls a lot of water into your bowel and stimulates and you poo a lot of sloppy stuff, very urgently. But worse, especially in youngsters, each time you eat or drink, it works again... often more powerfully. This has been well known for at least 50 years. Other popular laxatives of the era, Feen-A-Mint for example, did the same thing.

Had you been given something like Castoria, or another laxative containing Senna, you would not have messed. They produce one or two poos, and that's all.

It is sad, but a recurring theme of my adolescence was how to manage the timing and intensity of laxative results. For the most part, my mom used Milk of Magnesia and Castoria. Both the magnesium hydroxide and senna were at least manageable in that I could usually wait long enough after they kicked in the find a convenient toilet. When I was 15, my parents took me to a gastroenterologist who pronounced me chronically constipated and had me try a variety of stimulant laxatives to be taken daily. That is how I ended up taking the Doxidan that wreacked havoc at baseball practice.

I cheated a lot with the laxatives or talked my way out of taking them regularly. That would leave me constipated for days on end. Eventually the constipation would give me a bad stomach ache and make me sick. When my mom found out how long it has been since my last bowel movement, she would freak out and prepare an enema for me to give myself. Soon I would be engaged in my favorite activity. Mission accomplished!

@eboyhou

Laxatives can be helpful to 'give things a start' if used properly, but used improperly can cause havoc as you found out.

If someone is constipated and cannot poo, a dose of senna, perhaps preceded by a couple of doses of Miralax to soften the poo, can be very helpful and bring complete relief, without filling one's underwear. But, once the person has pood completely, it's probably wise to continue the Miralax for a while, because the person's bowel has been emptied completely and it's going to take a day or so to refill with enough poo to go naturally and the Miralax will keep the new poo soft. Of course, Miralax was not available before about 20 years ago.

When I was a kid and got a mighty enema to relieve not going for about a week, when it was seen that the enema had 'worked' (yes, mom checked the toilet to be certain) and I was still sitting and fully draining, out came the bottle of Castoria and a big spoon. "But mom, I just pood" was of no avail. Her reply was always "Yes, but this is to keep you going. Would you rather I refill the enema bag?"

Of course, I opened my mouth and took the Castoria and next morning, usually before breakfast, it worked.

Sean, your post brought back memories. As soon as I got off the toilet after an enema, my mom would dose me with two tablespoons of milk of magnesia. She well understood that unless she immediately took action to jump start my bowel movements, it might take days for me to go naturally again after the purging effect of the enema. She wanted to avoid having to give me another enema a week later. The milk of magnesia usually did not make me poo the next day. However, if she persisted in giving me the laxative for another day or two, I would produce a large, soft bowel movement without a lot of distress. Unfortunately, my constipation has worsened as I have gotten older and neither senna, milk of magnesia or Miralax provide much in the way of relief anymore.

I wouldn't call my mother deranged or a monster. She was concerned about my bowel habits, especially during my early teens when I seemed to get constipated a lot more frequently than I had before that. At that age I would rarely go more than a week or two without getting constipated, probably because of eating too much junk food and sleeping until early afternoon on weekends and missing my usual urge to go early in the morning. In all fairness she was sympathetic to my rare cases of pooping my pants (only 5 times between Grade 8 and Grade 12) and tried to avoid giving me a laxative on a school night unless I was really uncomfortable from being constipated. Back then (1950's- 70's) a lot of my friends and cousins were given a weekly dose of laxative whether they need it or not, just to keep them regular, but it was usually given on Friday or Saturday night so the effect of it was finished by Monday when they went back to school.

Sean: My mother did give me Castoria until I was 8 and balked at taking it. Many of my friends' mothers gave them Feen-A-Mint chewing gum laxative and I asked to be given that instead because it was pleasant tasting, so that's what she switched to. A problem arose when I turned 13 and she started to give me the adult dose of 2 pieces of Feen-A-Mint which gave me bad cramps before it worked. On the advice of one of my aunts who'd had the same problem with my older cousin when she started giving him 2 Feen-A-Mints, my mother switched to 2 Ex-Lax tablets which worked just as effectively without causing as much cramping, and that became her "go to" laxative during my teens and 20's. Back then most of the popular over-the-counter laxatives contained phenolphthalein.

@gboy

Feen-A-Mint and Ex-Lax had exactly the same active ingredient, in the exact same dose, as I remember. The results should have been identical.

As to constipation now, try a combination of Miralax and Senna. Adjust the Miralax dosage so the poo stays soft, even after several days, then adjust the Senna to the amount of poo pushing that works for you. Depending on dosage, Senna can give you a mild hint to an urge that is impossible to resist. It may take up to a week or two to find the optimum Miralax dose. Take the suggested dose for at least three consecutive days and then adjust for softer or firmer poo and do the new dosing for another three days. Aim for soft, but not sloppy. Miralax, depending on dosage, can just soften a bit to make your poo liquid.

Back in those days, I guess the use of adding fiber powder supplements to one's diet wasn't know.

Bisacodyl Suppositories. For a good clean out for me I’ll take a fleet enema followed by a plain warm water enema then insert 2 bisacodyl suppositories let them melt 20-30 min then good soap enema explosion clean out lol

For effectivenes 3 to 4 bisacodyl pills are very good. I've tried MoM caplets and they are effective too. They will keep working for a while if you continue to drink water. I recently tried the Dulcolax Gummies and was disappointed.

@Jimmy_1

Dulcolax Gummies seem to have 1200mg of Magnesium Hydroxide in each. The adult dose is 3600mg to 7200mg, so you need to take 3 to 6 gummies to get the same poo power as a dose of MOM.

Did you take that many?

Sean,

Yes I took four gummies.

@Jimmy_1

That's near the lower end adult laxative dose. I'd expect a mild urge and gentle poo from it. Kinda like... hey, maybe you should go sit on the potty for a bit.

You should not expect as dramatic results as with 4 Dulcolax or 2 oz of Castor Oil.

That depends on what you want. I like Epsom Salts to clean me out.

I really like Mira-Lax or Clear Lax, I usually triple the dose. Gets things moving fast.

I then give myself a few enemas after all the poo moves through. That way I get a good clean out.

When I have a colonoscopy scheduled, I start with Clear-Lax then move to their prep, followed with enemas. Then early in the morning more Clear-Lax, then a couple more enemas and then I know I am squeaky clean.

Another way is to take some enemas, then a suppository inserted, usually 2 or 3, then a very hot enema and that will move up and help clean out you bowls. I get the cheap ones from Wal-Mart.

As to the question , my ' laxative ' choice would be a glycerin suppository . I have not used them often but ' for a change ' they have been effective .

Seems the very few I recall being given in the home as a kid ' worked ' very quickly as the long , slender suppository slowly melted in my little bottom .

That’s easy, a two quart enema with warm water salt and baking soda. It works when you want it to, no waiting.

I detest laxatives ! They are like coffee: Right Idea, Wrong end ! To do the job RIGHT: ENEMAS !!!

I rarely get the urge to take a laxative since I take almost daily enemas. Occasionally, I have my wife give me three glycerine suppositories in the knee-chest position. I have also taken magnesium citrate or four Dulcolax tablets for something different. Rarest of all, I will take castor oil which is the only laxative that works all the way down from the stomach to the colon. Others work only in the colon. Once you take it it is too late, everything is coming out.

I have never used a laxative ,if i need help i will use a quick bulb or two of warm water,and a few minutes later results

Only enemas and suppositories and soap sticks here. Ain’t got no time for pills unless it’s rectal medication haha

Glycerin suppositories for me when I feel like something other than my trusted bag full of a soap suds enema.

Will there exist a better cleansing of the bowels than by swallowing 2 oz castor oil mixed in 4 oz tomato juice, this early in the morning, not having breakfasted?