what are the health risks problems for taking laxatives for more than a week ?

Question

im not taking (stimulant ) laxative for any digestive problems,, im just using it to help lose sum weight.. i really want to know if the health problems are that serious.. i think it is helping me loose sum weight but i wanna know if its worth continuing to take it...even though this may sound dumb.. i just want to know sum opinions

Answer 1

You can upset your electrolyte balance. Electrolytes are minerals like sodium and potassium that are dissolved in the blood and other body fluids. They must be present in very specific amounts and exact ratios for proper functioning of nerves and muscles, including the heart muscle.

Laxatives and enemas (and also forced vomiting) can upset this balance by flushing essential minerals out of the body, resulting in muscle cramps, tremors, spasms, irregular heartbeat, and in some cases cardiac arrest. The heart stops, and unless the person receives immediate emergency medical treatment, s/he dies.

Laxatives and enemas (and also vomiting) remove needed fluid from the body. The resulting dehydration can lead to tremors, weakness, blurry vision, fainting spells, kidney damage, and in some cases death. Severe dehydration requires medical treatment. Drinking fluid may not hydrate cells and tissues quickly enough to prevent organ damage or death.

Laxatives irritate intestinal nerve endings, which in turn stimulate muscle contractions that move the irritant through the gut and out of the body. After a while the nerve endings no longer respond to stimulation. The person must now take greater and greater amounts of laxatives to produce bowel movements. S/he has become laxative dependent and without artificial stimulation may not have any bowel movements at all.

Laxatives and enemas strip away protective mucus that lines the colon, leaving it vulnerable to infection.

Enemas can stretch the colon, which over time becomes a limp sack with no muscle tone. No longer can it generate the muscle contractions necessary to move fecal matter out of the body.

Laxatives abusers seem to have more trouble with the following problems than do nonusers: irritable bowel syndrome (rectal pain, gas, and episodes of constipation and diarrhea) and bowel tumors (both benign and cancerous).

Answer 2

Taking laxatives will completely damage your digestive system. I can tell you from expirience and from friends I've known that you won't be happy with the result. The only weight you lose while taking laxatives is water weight. You're only losing the food you eat in your stomach. But most of the food already gets--- taken in by your body. Just like purging the food, it's stupid because once you swallow the food you have taken in the calories. It's pointless to throw it up because then you're only doing it because of the 'water' weight in the morning. If you keep taking laxatives daily and abusing them, you will become dependant on them to the point where you won't be able to take a sh it without them. This is the worst thing you can do to lose weight. Trust me. I have dealt with this, and tried it before. You won't be happy. Please don't go on with it.

If you are looking to lose weight fast for something, I would suggest the cabbage soup diet or the raw food diet, but not forever. Only if you really need to lose weight for something super fast. Although it's best to just eat healthy in moderation and excersize because then you're helping increase your metabolism, which is what you want for long term weight loss.

I was on on and off short term diets and completely ruined my metabolism to the point where last winter on vacation I ate as a normal person would, without dieting and gained 15 lbs in two weeks.

Now, thanks to not using laxatives, diet pills, energy boosters, and staying away from too many over processed foods, and eating healthy and excersizing I have managed to lose the weight I gained and then some.

Good luck!

Answer 3

It is dangerous. You might get dehydrated and throw off your electrolyte imbalance. You are not letting your body benefit from the food you do eat, and might get malnutritioned. We need a certain amount of food and water. Laxatives are also irritating, and habit forming. If our systems get used to laxatives they stop working without the laxative. So constant use of laxatives do mess us up.

I find that eating soups works best for me. The soup makes me feel full, and I get my liquids that way, as well as enuff nutrition. You want to be healthy above all, so losing weight has to be done in a way that your body is allowed to function normally, and to get the basic nutrition that it needs.

so,,, quit the laxatives and find a more sensible diet with exercise. Exercise is great for us,,, walking, swimmin, gardening. dancing. Exercize works off those extra calories too.

Answer 4

let me ask a question:

Lets say someone wants to lose some weight...and they are prepared that whatever they choose might be kind of tough.

Why on earth...of all the questions on here...all these laxative questions, all these "gimme a pill" questions, all these "can i eat an apple a day" questions...why isn't it that anyone won't just try going for a run! Just go for a run! 30-45 minutes a day!!!! Is it that hard??????????? People are willing to eat raw food, eat an apple a day, take laxatives till they crap out their intestines...and they won't just go for a run for 30 minutes???????????

Has everyone really gotten that lazy? Or, is it just ignorance??

I mean, its one or the other- laziness or ignorance.....so which is it with you nena????

It amazes me, absolutely and completely amazes me

Answer 5

Dehydration is the major risk. You can become dependent on them and you can lose the ability to have a bowel movement on your own. It can also cause a electrolyte imbalance.

When I was anorexic, I became dependent on laxatives and it's not worth the risk. Quit while you still can.

Answer 6

although dehydration is a major risk, even worse than that, your body will become dependent on laxatives in order to have a bowel movement. Talk to a doctor. What you are doing is seriously unhealthy.

Answer 7

NO!!!!!!!!!
Dehydration, electrolytes screwed up leading to heart problems. I work in the the health field and cared for a woman who took laxatives for the same purpose which became addictive. In the long run she has gi problems and constant diarreha.

Answer 8

continual use of laxatives won't help you lose weight; it'll just give you really bad stomach cramps. Laxative abuse also messes with your body's electrolytes (you'll have no energy and will therefore move slower and burn less calories, making it harder for you to lose weight) and could cause intestinal or anal paralysis.

Answer 9

yes, it can do so much damage to your bowels and some cases leads to people having parts of their bowel cut out. I cosidered using laxatives and diuretics to loose weight but I seen something on the dangers and its really dangerous.

Answer 10

lose of your natural ability to have a bowel movement because you develop a tolerance to the effects of the laxatives