Constants and Variables 122, Unneeded Laxative edition
I DIDN'T NEED THIS LAXATIVE AT ALL.

WHY IN THE HOLY SHIT DIDN'T I TRY THIS EARLIER??????

Having a little parallel fun with the title, but this item is more serious and less obvious than the previous. This might be helpful to others in the same situation, so I'll narrate carefully.

Back in August 2016 I was preparing for hernia surgery. I had been consistently regular since leaving 8-5 office work in 2002. Suddenly the internal tension of thinking about surgery locked everything up, so I started using Senokot. It worked, and the nurse strongly recommended doubling it after the surgery to avoid stressing the abdominal muscles. Double dose continued working, so I kept taking it. I didn't want to lose the advantage.

About six months ago, after two years of the lax, odd things started happening. I was having dizzy spells and my feet were oversensitive and swollen. This gradually got worse, with spells of panic interspersed. It was essentially the same as 2008 when my blood pressure was out of control, but I could tell that the heart and circulation were not the problem.

In January of this year I decided to try an experiment. First cut down to one lax per day, then down to zero.

Variables:

At one per day: the dizzy spells and foot problems decreased but didn't go to zero, and the steady cramping of the colon disappeared entirely. The latter was obviously connected. This encouraged me to cut down to zero.

Down to zero per day: dizzy spells and foot problems disappeared. Everything back to elderly baseline, as it was before lax.

Constants:

DUMPING DIDN'T CHANGE. There wasn't a transition or 'bounceback'. I'm still just as regular without the lax. The pattern of mostly good dumps and occasional weak dumps is the SAME with and without. The only difference is the schedule point, which was around 6AM before starting lax and 4AM with lax. Returned to 6AM again.

= = = = =

In short, everything returned to the status quo ante. The lax WAS honestly necessary for about three months, but after that it started piling up. Senna is designed to irritate and overstimulate the nerves of the colon, and it must have been inflaming everything else as well.

In even shorter, the laxative was doing NO GOOD and SOME HARM.

= = = = =

Update two weeks later, just verifying that the changes were real, not a placebo-ish assumption. The dizzy spells are still entirely absent, and the other symptoms are still gone. The dizziness had been daily toward the end of the laxative usage, so the distinction is sharp. Dumping is still consistent and regular. Not quite as enthusiastic as with the laxative, but consistent.

Update four months later, still good. Dizziness and oversensitive nerves still entirely gone, dumping still reliable but not enthusiastic. This is a SETTLED QUESTION.

Labels: Constants and Variables, coot-proofing, TMI

  ¶ 2:37 PM