25 July 2021

Pooping A Pineapple-

Okay, so I've started with a title that will attract a few readers.
And Lord, I hope my wife never reads this post.
If discussion of what comes out the exhaust makes you uncomfortable, NOW is the time to stop reading.

Twice... I've been married.
Both times I have been married to women who seem attracted to carrying around extra weight in the form of something solid that oughta be flushed.
Number 1 wife has gone on to be with our Lord. But she had a continual problem with constipation. And man-oh-man how I wish I could now communicate with her or someone in her family about the last years of her life!

Number 2 wife has had a constipation problem forever. She goes days, until she's really uncomfortable, and then pops pills to try to make her bowels move. These pills call themselves "Natural Fiber", but reading their ingredients I find they are mostly "cellulose", which means trees.
I'd certainly rather see her take these than a pill containing some exotic chemical that appears nowhere in nature. But her diet is a big part of her problem...
She eats almost no vegetables. French Fries don't count. In the disassembly line that is our gastrointestinal tract, potatoes of any sort don't help much to move the finished product toward the finish line.

Lemme get to my point here-
"Lewy" has become a major focus in our life now. And by that I mean "Lewy Body Dementia", the second most common type of dementia after Alzheimer's.
EVERYONE has heard about Alzheimer's. Few have heard about our new acquaintance, Lewy.
But you're gonna hear more and more about Lewy in the future. He kills much more quickly than AL does.

I've been poking around doing the thing Doctors hate-
Researching the information available on Lewy Body disorders.
One of the connecting links seems to be constipation.
L.B.D. patients are frequently constipated.
Well.... DUH! My wife has been constipated since I first met her. And it turns out, there are Lewy Bodies in your gut... lots of 'em.
Is there a connection between constipation in early years and Lewy Body Dementia or other dementia, in later years?
More research is necessary.

But...
If you're young and frequently constipated, Doc Greybeard suggests you go an buy a bottle of Prune Juice. Take a big enough dose to move things along on that assembly line.
And repeat as necessary.
Seems to me the old saying, "Can't hurt much... might help A LOT" applies here.

More on all this in the future.

11 comments:

Greybeard said...

https://entirelyhealth.com/conditions/brain/10-signs-of-lewy-body-dementia/?ref_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Lewy%20Body%20Dementia%20Sy-D&utm_content=1364494743351679&utm_term=lewy%20body%20disease&msclkid=838d917272c411ef270df18faa23e394

Old NFO said...

That is a 'really' bad habit, and women do seem to be prone to doing that. Afraid to go anywhere but their own bathrooms... sigh

Well Seasoned Fool said...

Everybody has opinions and mine is drinking too little water. My day starts with a quart of water as soon as I get up to be followed by three more quarts during the day.

Anonymous said...

My wife had constipation problems for years, might go 10 days without pooping. Really backed up. After several doctor visits it was determined her large intestine wasn't moving things along, had quit working. Surgeons removed 75% of her large intestine, she now poops several times a day. Serious surgery, was in the hospital for 8 days for recovery. CNF

Greybeard said...

CNF-
Is she now glad she had the op, or is she now constantly worrying about accidents and being close to a restroom?
Surgery is SUCH a serious thing. I always worry about trusting someone that may, or may not, be smarter than me. And how many of 'em are just using us for research?
Scary.

Anonymous said...

Eight years ago I had some surgery and the doc said under no circumstances was I do to any straining (never been constipated in my life) and just in case put me on Colace for a month. It's now over the counter at Wally. According to pharmacist it was the best on market if you didn't eat right or drink plenty of water.

Gerry said...

My wife has the same issue caused by her multiple sclerosis.

Prune juice, Milk of Magnesia and Metamucil can always be found in our humble abode.

Anonymous said...

Grey beard, she's glad she had the surgery, being backed up for over a week is painful and unhealthy. No problems with accidents, we thought road trips could be an issue but they haven't been. CNF

Jess said...

My first wife had two feet of her colon removed, after it was determined it was longer than it was supposed to be, it was full of diverticula, and the main reason for constant constipation. It worked, although it did require a week in the hospital to insure her plumbing was working correctly.

Rain Trueax said...

I don't have a problem with constipation-- generally anyway. I do though believe in magnesium as an aid to good digestion. The product i use now and again is called Natural Calm. You put some of the grains in hot water and drink it.

I had never heard of Lewys until you wrote about it. I might not research it as I tend to worry then that I have something I never thought of before :)

Justin_O_Guy said...

Drink more water
Take magnesium and vitamin C..

I was so constipated as a kid I didn't know it was abnormal.
I worked in the oilfield in West Texas, and didn't sweat enough to stain my t shirt. You don't want to know what taking a dump required.
Magnesium and vitamin c will make you have diarrhea if you overdo it.