Hello

I’m here to tell about my 20 year old daughter’s journey and look for advice abd support from others who are experiencing similar issues. My daughter is constipated on a pretty much constant basis, for several years now. She has been taking laxatives off and on but since that provided only very short term relief (in the form of diarrhea ) we consulted a gastroenterologist to try and find a better long term treatment plan. She was prescribed Linzess and at first she responded to it, but after only 6 weeks of taking it daily (the smallest dose) she reported that it’s not working anymore and bloating and constipation has returned.

The gastroenterologist we consulted did not order any test, to my dismay. So she has not been formally diagnosed with IBS-C (we were told there are not tests for that and it’s diagnosed only in the case where all other tests are negative).

I’m wondering whether this community can recommend us whether to press for more tests (bloodwork, imaging, whatever would help a diagnosis) with our doctor. Also wondering whether we should try to reset to a very basic diet and reintroduce food one by one to check for good triggers? What about fiber supplements , pre and probiotic?

We are a bit at a loss on what the next step should be.

Appreciate any help and suggestions.

Thank you

Severine

Hello Severine,

I'm sorry to read about your daughter's struggle with constipation. I think some doctors might brush off the "oh, it's just constipation" and not look further. There are tests which help to eliminate other causes other than IBS.

Testing can be done if any red flags are seen, such as is there a family history of bowel cancer or inflammatory bowel disease?

If the doctor suspected a lump or mass in the abdomen they might order imaging. If there was any blood seen they might perform a colonoscopy.

I think it really depends on how miserable things are and how hard you want to push for more testing.

That's unfortunate Linzess stopped helping so quickly. Ibsrela is a new option for IBS-C and it works differently.

I'm not sure I would recommend fiber supplements, though some people are using miraLAX on a daily basis. That's not a fiber, but almost like a bowel prep.

If you don't get anywhere with the doctor, you might consider getting some advice from a Dietitian that is familiar with IBS. They might offer better guidance.