Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) & The Enema

OK, I take back what I said about Miralax.

No problem Susie. Not everything useful is written in the medical textbooks.BTW- she is a nurse with a MS, as well. I am a pharmacist. Both of us are cautious, but seek alternate advice from experienced people.

I'm a nurse with an MSN too, but I have not practiced in over ten years.

I know it sounds odd, especially on this site, but enemas help maintain my good health. (Yes, I know they can feel good-- that's certainly a benefit!) I have a touch of IBS-C which is affected by my high stress job. When my insides are tied up in knots I'd much rather have an enema than be taking drugs and laxatives. I can't believe that I'm alone here.

You are not the only one here taking them for health reasons, Vicki. I have MS and have to take an enema every-so-often to keep my bowels running smooth and free.

Yup, I have had IBS for 30 years, and enemas became the solution (oops - pun again!) to put me in charge of my IBS instead of the other way around. Sorted my hemorrhoids (resulting from years of IBS) also. Enemas do not cure IBS - their regular use just makes the condition far more manageable.

Many IBS sufferers have this incredible discomfort after defecation, a feeling of an incomplete evacuation, and they have to keep running back to the toilet only to find (in the words of a famous poet): "Here I stand, broken-hearted - came to shit and only farted!". 😳 One good enema, and you're fixed for the day.

I for one can testify to the therapeutic benefits of enemas - not to mention the fringe-benefits! 😈

Vicki...I have the same condition--IBS-C. I find the enema routine to be a very healthy and pleasant way to relive any discomfort or impaction. It also seems to be a nice time to relax and have some quiet time for myself. The stress of my job, whether positive or negative, is stress just the same. I am glad you have found this site. It is not odd at all that you are posting. Many people find myriad benefits including intestinal management.

I am not sure when IBS, terminology was first used, but i'm curious to know if enemas were once used as treatment for this

I recall that the term "spastic colon" was commonly used to designate what is now called IBS back in the 50's and 60's. I don't know when the term was changed. I remember a neighbor lady having this condition and her doctor told her to take enemas when she experienced what we now call IBS-C. If IBS-D was happening, the usual remedy was Kaopectate. If you had IBS-A, you were screwed and most of these patients were considered to have a psychological problem that was the seat of these physical problems. Smooth muscle relaxants like Donnatol were also prescribed.

They changed the name because of political correctness. Nobody wants a spastic colon or to be a SPAZ. so they made it irritable bowel syndrome.

It's the same thing as being bipolar, which used to be called manic depressive--political correctness and not wanting to offend anybody strikes again.

Enemas usually aren't an official treatment for IBS but some people say it helps.

Of the people I know who have it, Miralax has been very good despite some recent concerns about PEG3300.

I had some kind of bowel condition when I was about four. The scary doctor who came to our house and examined me on the kitchen table said I had ‘a germ in the bowel’, which is apparently what distressed patients and their parents were told in the early 1950s. I suspect it was IBS, as the symptoms were the same as I experienced again about thirty years later. By then it had become ‘irritable colon’ (actually the Polish-born doctor who diagnosed it said ‘colon irritable’). Fortunately, like bk116, I was able to overcome it by dietary changes.

Thanks for the info, my wife was diagnosed with this few years back, your responces is very helpful

FOR HEALTH REASONS :

My gyno says I likely have a touch of irritable bowel, particularly when I'm stressed. She recommended that I see a GI doc who would probably do a sigmoidoscopy and/or recommend a colonoscopy. My Mom underwent a barium enema about 20 years ago for the same symptoms, but they didn't find anything. We're so much alike! I take Miralax when I know my insides are getting into knots. I use it in moderation and I haven't had any problems. Mom taught me how to take a good enema, which always seems to help when I need it.

I think i have it too i had operation in 1994 they took 2 inches from my bowl , i still wet and mess my diapers , but the pain is gone

I have IBS , and enemas seem to be the only thing that helps during a flare up for me.

Wife has had severe IBS all her life. She has IBS-A, or alternating between diarrhea and constipation. She's been scoped, BaE's and nothing physical has ever shown up. One of the gastro's I used to call on explained to me that IBS is a hypersensitivity of the bowel nerves that depends very much on emotional upsets. It's a lot like asthmatics, whose respiratory nerves can "lock up" over very little stimulation.

Due to her IBS, wife has developed internal hemorrhoids and an anal fissure. I introduced her to irrigation to treat either constipation, or excessive diarrhea. She is NOT a klysmo., but asks me 3-4 times a week to give her a 16 oz. bulb of tap water. If the IBS is severe, she will ask for a bag with one or two quarts of tap water, but avoids them like the plague. Abnormally high stress at the workplace, or with family will trigger an attack. Also, travel is an automatic stressor, so we never travel anywhere without enema equipment.

I think there is a genetic component to this as well, since her father has suffered with IBS all his life.

So, do enemas help with IBS? My experience would say yes, but the medical community is so anti-enema now, they never recommend them. This has nothing to do with the so called "greedy pharmaceutical industry". I have worked for several drug manufacturers and they could care less about bowel problems. The real money is in anti-cancer, anti-infectives and other life-threatening conditions. The only "drug" companies making any money are C.E. Fleet Co. and Geigy Labs (Dulcolax products).

I'm just happy I don't have IBS. I've seen my spouse doubled over in pain from intestinal spasm, or running to the toilet 10 times a day.

Youne not

My first reason for using enemas is to avoid problems with hemorrhoids that have stayed shrunk for years now. No matter how careful I was with diets, something would cause a spell of loose bowels that would irritate them. I hate laxatives that caused me to rush to a restroom.

I also believe that enemas are a part of maintaining good health.

Diane -

I like your attitude toward spankings and enemas. They often go together for maximum pleasure!

Joe

Vicki, you are not alone! *shakes Pom-poms*. One of us! One of us!

I too have IBS-C. After a lot of trial and error I learned that a 2-liter warm enema (about 108 degrees) every 3 weeks, keeps the symptoms in check.

After almost 50 years of taking enemas and doing unscientifiic research on the subject I have definitely found a correllation between good health and enemas. Even though I have established myself as an enema fetishist I am aware of the health factor. At one point I took an enema daily for 25 years and I still take them at 84. I ALWAYS feel better after an enema and I have had a very healthy bowel situation over the years.

Relief from IBS-C with regular full enemas.

In 1949, when I was seven years old, I was diagnosed with a spastic colon as it was called at that time. Since that times my constipation predominant IBS has slowly got worse and worse over the years, in spite of watching my diet very carefully. Doctors have provided little help, offering anti-spasmodics, with many serious side-effects and advising me to take more fibre. The best comment about fibre that I have come across on-line is the following:-

Telling an IBS sufferer to eat more fibre, is like telling someone with a rash, to roll around in poison ivy to obtain relief.

When I was 35 I regularly took enemas of 4 quarts of normal saline (one teaspoon per quart of water). Since the age of 65 I have obtained the best relief by taking enemas of saline with baking soda every night before bedtime.

When I am having a flare-up, I am unable to take in more than 2 quarts as a first enema. I am usually able to take in a full 4 quarts on the second enema, with some pain and a lot of discomfort. I am never able to hold a full enema for longer than 5 minutes. In spite of some pain and discomfort from the full enemas, I get me the best relief from them, allowing me to sleep well, and be free from cramps and bloating for the next day.

I would be very interested to learn of other members of this forum who might also suffer from IBS-D (diarrhea) or IBS-C (Constipation), including details of their regular enema practices.

Howard Hamilton.

I was diagnosed with IBS when I was 15. I don't think I really have it very much any more (no more regular stomach pain and bloating). However I do get a sort of alternating diarrhoea and constipation fairly regularly, particularly when I'm stressed. When this happens a good series of enemas till mostly clear acts as a sort of "reset button" for my colon and I go back to regular BMs until the next time it hits, which might be months later.

Interestingly I do find that extra fibre helps me a lot, although I've heard from IBS sufferer for whom, like you, it is the worst thing ever. I take a couple of spoonfuls of ground flaxseed with me cereal every morning to up my fibre intake.

Apollo, what you described is called, IBS-A, or "alternating". My wife has had it all her life. She is NOT a klysmo., but asks me to give her 2X 16 oz. bulbs every morning and at bed time. Fiber does not help her. High fat foods make it worse.

Apollo, what you described is called, IBS-A, or "alternating". My wife has had it all her life. She is NOT a klysmo., but asks me to give her 2X 16 oz. bulbs every morning and at bed time. Fiber does not help her. High fat foods make it worse.

I'm not sure that what I have counts as full IBS-A, as the diagnostic criteria seem to indicate that abdominal pain is a necessary symptom, and I don't get that at all, except for the occasional gas pains that everyone gets. I agree that what I have is probably related to IBS-A, it just seems too mild to justify the name.

If I didn't enjoy enemas for other reasons I probably wouldn't bother with them for my symptoms, but I figure that as they seem to be effective, and I'm going to be doing them anyway at some point even if just for fun, then I may as well use them to keep my colon in check as well.

IBS is a term used to describe quite a variety of symptoms of gut malfunction, and a difficult one to really pinpoint and diagnose. After having eliminated all other possible physiological conditions you could suffer from (subjecting you to a battery of tests including a colonoscopy to set you back more than just a few bucks), doctors will pronounce that you have IBS (C, D or A). You don't have to exhibit pain or cramps, specifically, for this "diagnosis", for many people it's more about discomfort than anything else. Anyhow, I have had it too since my twenties - the C-type.

My particular symptoms relate to spasm of the rectosigmoid junction, where it clamps shut during evacuation even though the sigmoid may be full and ready to unload some more. The faecal matter is not necessarily hard either, it just won't come out unless I strain heavily. Which in turn produces more spasm, more constricting closure, more discomfort. The worst part is that the spasm continues for hours after an attempt to defecate, which is a terribly uncomfortable feeling of a continuous urge to evacuate, but no show when I go to the toilet. Strictly speaking this is not constipation (hard, compacted faeces), the gut just won't evacuate anything unless it is liquid. Hence, enter the enema.

Long story short, a daily morning enema (large volume, 2.5 quarts and up) has sorted the problem. No more symptoms. In fact, the muscle toning resulting from the enemas has given my gut a substantial level of "re-training" in that I can go normally too, and don't suffer the symptoms like I used to. Nowadays I do regular coffee enemas, epsom salts (I need Magnesium supplementation due to a rigorous weekly workout routine, so this works well) as well as the occasional lemon, or garlic, or saline, or bicarbs enema. Soap also, but it tends to irritate my gut and therefore I limit the frequency of SSE's.

Have been doing this for many years, and I'm fit as a fiddle, healthy as a horse. Keeping me younger-looking too (most people estimate my age in the mid-forties, and I am actually late-fifties). I can really recommend this regime, IBS or not. Oh, yeah, and let's not forget the pleasurable side of enemas.... 😈

Hi Fiburst

Thanks so much for your detailed reply. Your symptoms of Sigmoid spasticity exactly match what I .experience. Your description is the best that I have ever come across. Unfortunately my constipation has become chronic, in spite of talking Mg and L-Glutamine at night and a pro-biotic (Solgar) twice a day.

I no longer play the victim, as I don't get much sympathy from other family members and Medical Doctors.

All the Best, Howard.