In a word, no. This has not been my experience. 3 weeks is a long time, you must have been miserable. I would see a doctor about it asap before you end up with a serious blockage and land in the hospital. If things go that long, or even less as a rule, you need to find something that works. Your body needs to flush toxins. I have heard of people getting into serious trouble with this kind of problem, and for us CVID'ers, that means double the trouble.

Here's the broken record part; lots of water and fiber. There are so many great choices of real fiber in the form of powder and pills out there. If you are still having this problem after doing all the right things, I would suggest that you see your gastro doctor for help. Even your internist should be able to help you. One of these times you may face becoming seriously impacted and infected. That could lead to sepsis, which is something none of us want to face. It's really bad.

btw, the doctors are all reluctant to blame anything on the IVIG. I have developed a few troubling side effects, yet the doctor usually just blows it off as not relating to the IVIG. I recently found out through my heart doctor that my tactacharydia is almost surely a result of the infusions. But what am I to do? I have to treat it and that's that. I still have to have the infusions. So I am now treating it because I just have to. I know it's the infusions because I am 61 years old and have never had a heart rate over 60 or 70 in my entire life.

What difference does it make really, what is causing it, particularly if it is the IVIG, you still have to deal with it. I mean, you need to have the damn infusions. But I would seek medical advice and treatment for it in the future. Don't let yourself go that long. I would also keep telling my infusion doctor everytime I see him/her that this continues to be a problem and he might consider changing your IVIG product. You never know.

Don't be embarrased to talk about it here or with your medical team. It can be really serious, even life threatening, for us. Who the hell cares what anybody thinks. They have all been there at least once in their lives.

Good luck in the future with this. I just think that you will need to be agressive in trying to get a doctor involved, especially a gastro guy.

I can say that I had the runs all the time and since treatment I have had the opposite end w/ constipation. But I drink hot water and warm juice which works for me.. I also have been increasing my fiber and veggie intake.. I haven't gotten to the spot your in,.. but really 3 weeks is a long time not to have a bowl movement.

Good luck..

Thank you for the replies/advice I greatly appreciate it. I did tell my doctor well before it had been three weeks and he was not concerned at all (that's the thing with this dr he is really good at his specialty but besides that he doesn't seem to care), thankfully his nurses were nice and helpful. When it got to three weeks and had tried all over the counter things, fiber ect I then called internist, who is very nice and concerned but he was skeptical to do anything since my infusion dr wasn't concerned, and was happy that I then had mini/al results for it ruled out a blockage. That all said I will see a gastro if continues this week. Oh and warm juice briggzie, that's a great idea for in the past warm milk helped but could only drink so much without feeling sick
Thanks again
Thoughts and Prayers

Let us know if things improved for you and if any of the doctors helped you. It certainly seems to me that at least one doctor should help out. Have you tried enemas? That should help. Somehow, I have escaped them my entire life. I can't believe it. With all of the hospitalizations and maladies I've never had one. I know that they almost always work though. My mom had this same problem and a Fleet enema always did the trick. I hope you have found relief.

One thing you don't want is a bowel obstruction. It is horrible. In the hospital they gave me MiraLax. That seemed to work really well. You can get it over the counter.

I have IBS, so I swing from constipation to border-line diarrhea and everywhere in-between. I've had this problem my whole life, and I go through phases where one side or the other dominates. The IBS really seems to be acting up these last few months. I will have a very thorough clean-out of very soft stool where I feel literally exhausted afterwards, and then for the next 3-4 days I will be constipated. Usually the constipation ends with sudden cramping that makes me run to the bathroom and the cycle starts again. Recently, however, I had such severe constipation that when the cramps hit I was still unable to go to the bathroom and ended up vomiting from the pain of the stomach cramps. My boyfriend made a special trip out late at night to get me some dulcolax. It seemed to do the trick within about 6 hours.

In the main group, someone recommended the sweetener Xylitol for its immune-boosting properties and ability to fight respiratory infections. In addition, if you have more of it than your body is used to, it can have a laxative effect as well. If you're interested in Xylitol, check out http://www.xylitol.org. I've started using it since it was recommended, and I'm impressed! It tastes no different than sugar to me, but doesn't cause the blood sugar crashes that regular sugar does.

p.s. I've only been using xyllitol for about a month, but my IBS has been an issue for most of my life and particularly noticeable the last 6 months or more. I have been on IgG therapy for a year now. I don't know whether it got worse when I started IgG or not. I think the Xylitol helps with my constipation issues though.

So I went to the GI doc a few days ago, and he thinks I may be suffering from chronic constipation. He prescribed Acidophilus, Miralax, Benefiber and peppermint oil soft-gels for me. He said that I should take them all every day for 2 weeks and see whether I get relief from them. I'm to take the Miralax at night and the Benefiber in the morning, and Acidophilus and peppermint oil whenever (but still every day). The peppermint oil apparently relaxes the smooth muscle in the intestines and helps relieve cramps. I haven't gotten any yet, but I'm looking forward to trying it.

He's sending me for a colonoscopy in 2 weeks to ensure that I don't have colitis as well.

I just came across this and wanted to add, although I dont have tummy issues, my 7 year old has severe constipation - no idea why as she eats TONS of fruits anyways - CG was right, Miralax or at walmart its way cheaper and called Clearlax and you can take a BOATLOAD of the stuff. My 7 year old was on a 1/4 CUP twice a day for 3 MONTHS yes you read all that right. They wanted her stools loose to get out any blockages that may have been caused by the constant constipation. Have you tried that? I would even try the dosage - no cramping, nothing, she would just go regularly. 3 months - try it :) She';s been off of it for over a month now and still going regularly YAY

Ok, so I just had my colonoscopy today, and they found no evidence of Colitis or Crohns, but they did find a small polyp. They are sending it for biopsy to verify that it's benign (the doctor thinks there's nothing to worry about...problem is, I never know whether to trust that or not)

Aside from that, he found some small hemorrhoids and believe that the bleeding was probably related to them. He recommended (on top of the benefiber and miralax that I increase my fiber intake significantly) I used to be a vegetarian and didn't have many issues with constipation during that time, but once I started eating meat again the constipation became a problem for me again. I've been eating more meat than I otherwise might because of the fact that so many healthcare people have emphasized that I should have a lot of protein. I'm at least trying to eat more "white meats" like fish and poultry, but my mom does most of the cooking and she prefers beef, so we eat that frequently.

Kelli, I think I might try what you suggested, thanks for the tip. :)

Mel

Oh...here's one thing that is interesting to those with IBS. It's a bit graphic, but came from my GI doc. He said that when you have a bowel movement, and the stool is very thin and soft, that can be an indication of constipation. So even though it may seem that you're going and that it looks almost like diarrhea, I guess you can actually be constipated. The other thing that I've heard...not sure where I heard this one, is that you can have diarrhea and pass mostly water, and that can also be an indication of extreme constipation. Weird huh?

hey princess!
I think the diarrhea in constipation is stuff that leaks aroung the hard stool; thats how you can have both. I have had to use glycerine suppositoris for about 4 years; after a hospital stay my muscles were not coordianted enough to do the job themselves. I have never fully recovered from that and have an especially hard time (pun!) lately with the use of painkillers being necessary. time to start the Miralax again!

Sorry although I am a guy, I have the exact same problem. See my reply: I have received IVIG every 3 weeks for 9&1/4 years. My Common Variable Immune Deficiency (CVID) is complicated by related mild bronchiectasis in both lungs. This treatment has substantially reduced the number of sinus-pulmonary infections I have. I also have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Following every IVIG, I experience a mild headache and extremely severe constipation even with incireased hydration such as simultaneous infusion of 1000 ML of 9% saline. Various different brands of gamma globulin have been used but the extremely severe constipation continues after each IVIG. After the 1st IVIG, a severe impaction occured in my colon as a result of the constipation because I had not expected this to occur with pain off the charts. Now after each IVIG, I must use very strong stool softners and laxatives including as a last resort the prescription syrup medication lactulose, all of which worsen IBS. The result of this GI reaction is that I do not feel good the day of the infusion and 1 to 2 days after the infusion. My gastronterologist tells me, that for some unknown reason during the IVIG infusion all of the water is taken out of my colon. This could be in response to the viscosity of the plasma in the IVIG. I AM TOLD THAT THIS REACTION IS EXTREMELY RARE AND THERE IS NO KNOWN WAY TO PREVENT IT. A pharmacist connected with one immune deficiency magazine for lay people, IG Living, has told me that she knows of 3 persons experiencing the same problem. In each case the stabilizer in the IG plasma was sucrose for 2 and sorbitol for 1, The IG Living people recommended an IG that is stabilized by glycine, a naturally occuring substance in the human body. For many years Gamunex 10%, stabilized by glycine, helped prevent the GI problems I experienced. GOOD LUCK If you want, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME.

Following last previous post, my email is djporter10@aol.com.

I only wanted to add to be very careful with Xylitol, it is deadly to dogs...not sure of other pets.

I just came across this post and wanted to ask a question, I am new to this group and really tyring to find out more about CVID and the symptoms that come with it. I have been experiencing episodes of severe burning in my stomach - up high, just below my rib cage. It is very sporadic and comes with major hot flash type feelings. It lasts about 2-5 minutes. I think it may be an ulcer but have not been to the doc yet (I have had 2-4 doc appointments a week for the past few months and just haven't had time to work it in yet) Has anyone else had or heard of these type symptoms with CVID? Thank you so much for any help - the Lord bless and keep you all!