IBS Tales Home
Header Image

IBS Tales Home > Treatment Reviews > Therapies > Enemas

enemas

Rated 4.8/5 based on 5 reviews

Enemas use water or other liquids and solutions to cleanse the lower part of the colon. Liquid is injected into the rectum and can help to soften the stool. Enemas can be used with mild soap, and other additions can include substances such as coffee. Fleet enemas are a well-known brand. Patients lie on their side or in another comfortable position, and insert the water or liquid into the rectum using the bag and tubing provided. The water is retained for around five minutes and then expelled along with any waste products dislodged by the water.

REVIEWS OF ENEMAS

Review by Joe

After eight years of IBS, taking one co-codamol 30/500 every day for the last three years as the only way to find relief from abdominal pain and bloating, I tried a salt water enema in desperation after watching a Youtube video. After two times I was able to stop taking the co-codamol for 10 days. I now take a co-codamol only occasionally and an enema two or three times a week and can say without question taking the enema has helped immensely. Hope this helps other sufferers to try this out.

Review by Jerry

I've had IBS for over 15 years. I must have talked to 10 doctors and I was still thoroughly stopped up. Last night, in desperation, I tried an enema. It seems to have worked (IBS is sneaky). I would suggest that people get a decent enema set. The ones in drugstores around here are cheap plastic and tubing and have a habit of coming apart.

Review by Roger

I am 64 years of age, a vegetarian, and I have suffered with IBS for over 10 years. After trying every therapy, every medication, and every diet under the sun, I began taking daily warm water enemas in the morning with a little vegetable soap and guess what - no more IBS.

Say what you may about the wisdom of daily enemas. I can only tell you that after 10 years of going to the bathroom sometimes as much as a dozen times a day, feeling like someone shoved a hot poker in my rear end, and never knowing if I was going to get to a bathroom in time if I went out somewhere, I have a life once again, and I'm none the worse for wear. Yes, I know there are the skeptics and the doom and gloom crowd about the wisdom of daily enemas. To them I say, have 10 years of IBS and then talk to me.

Review by Aloysius

I've been suffering from IBS-C since age 14, I'm now 34. Back when I was diagnosed not much was known about causes and treatments for IBS-C. My mom took me to the family doctor because I was constantly staying home from school, and I quit the football team due to chronic constipation that hit me one or two times a week starting in high school.

My chronic constipation was caused by poor diet - I ate large amounts of cheese, bread, pizza and junk food, but I never ate any fruits or veggies because I didn't like the taste. The poor diet was only half of the cause, and it was such a sensitive matter I didn't share it with the doctor or my mom. I was so embarrassed about straining so long in the bathroom and usually clogging and overflowing the toilet when I did go, I refused to go anywhere else but at home. If I was at school and had to go I held it in for an extra one or two days until I had the privacy of home. This made my BMs occur every three or four days most weeks, and they were extremely painful and time-consuming.

So when a change of diet (I cheated on the diet every day though) didn't help the doc suggested that my mom administer mineral oil enemas every week to help me go more often. The doc had the nurse give me an enema in the office that first time, and although humiliating to get, it helped my BM come out with less pain than ever before.

After that, every week I had to get a mineral oil enema from my mom. It took about three or four months to help things get better, but it eventually did and after that I only needed enemas maybe one time every two or three months through my teens, so it was well worth it to me.

Review by Mel

I'm a 26 year-old female sufferer with IBS-C chronic constipation that allows me to go about once a fortnight using sodium picosulphate (used for treatment before major surgery - not recommended for long-term use!) and manual evacuation. After watching a program on TV about detox I decided to give enemas a try as I'm sick of medication and suppositories that don't work.

I tried it and I feel great. I'm using it about twice a week as I'm too scared to try it more regularly, and it is relieving the discomfort, and the next day I move my bowels on my own so I'm getting some benefits. I'm using only a mild coffee enema and water, alternating between the two, although I find it difficult to hold it in for long periods of time - it seems to work ASAP as it's very low down - my problems are my colon seems to work better at the top end!

My depression seems to be lifting a lot more now with a combination of anti-depressants and the relief of tension. I believe my feelings of bloating are passing and my weight has dropped slightly, but not drastically (hence why I don't want to go overboard). The only side effect is a little extra wind the next day! Oh and my skin is starting to get its glow back and also my periods have returned finally after four months after the birth of my third child, within 12 hours of my very first enema - coincidence?!

Do you suffer from IBS? Have you tried enemas? Please contact Sophie to send in your review.