I know, this is an odd possibly uncomfortable subject. oh well.

So what's the deal. When I was anorexic my doctors said that people used them to stay thin, does this really work? I'm sure it doesn't, and it's just silly - but, can they help/harm? any light on the subject?

I doubt it's good for you...at all.

They harm for sure. Basically the idea is that you don't fully digest the food as it goes through the system bc the laxitives rush it. But it's super dangerous bc you lose electrolytes bc you're having diarhea basically. Which isn't a fun thought right? And I don't think that they actually work. Bc you're still taking most of the calories out when you get the food in the stomache. It's kinda like purging-bulimic people aren't generally all that thin.

But yeah. Bad idea. Not good for you, and overall just gross...

Nope. No good.

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).

Taken from: http://www.anred.com/lax.html

in the more severe cases of anorexia they end up having to use them because they cant have a bowel movement otherwise, probably because they have abused laxatives for such a long time. Its not a pretty picture

So what's the point of them then?

Yeah, after a while the laxative user who abuses them won't be able to have a BM without them! And having normal BMs is a very, very good thing

Used to have teenage girls come into the pharmacy buying 500s of bisacodyl tabs (laxative)...for their "grandmas". Mmhm.

Laxatives are for those very occassional times when someone who is otherwise healthy needs a little.. uh... push to have a BM. They are never for regular use. It's true that those who abuse laxatives may become dependent upon them to ever have a BM.

i think they can give the illusion on helping lose weight, at least at first. especially if you consider dehydration. sure, maybe you'll drop a few lbs, but it's all water weight and not fat, so it's worthless for lasting weight loss.

People also seem to believe that calories won't be absorbed if the laxatives can push the food through your system quickly enough.... it's completely untrue. Even if you force yourself to vomit immediately after eating, you still retain something like 70% of the calories that made it into your stomach.

much like most OTC diet pills... there's a myth and illusion that make them seem helpful, but no support in losing fat and keeping it off.

If you're asking what the point of laxatives are is that they are for people who are constipated.

I've heard that people can screw up their intestines very badly by abusing them.

Very bad idea! Never abuse laxitives.

Sad day. Thanks for the info ladies

I worked for 15 years as a registered nurse on a colo-rectal surgical ward. Aside from bowel cancer, the second-most frequent reason for people to require bowel surgery (usually removal of part/all of the bowel and formation of a stoma) was laxative abuse.

Aside from the short-term effects that posters above have already mentioned, like diarrhoea, electrolyte imbalance and dehydration, basically the laxatives cause your bowel to "forget" how to work by itself. So it gradually becomes more and more ineffective, until it finally stops working. During this time the sufferer has bad constipation requiring more frequent and larger doses of laxatives to actually be able to go to the toilet, with the associated pain. Then after the surgery they have to live with a "bag" for the rest of their lives, having destroyed their bowel totally.

There are usually other associated problems, such as liver and kidney damage, and we had people who totally lost the ability to digest any food, so ended up with a fistula in their arm like renal dialysis patients have (enlarged vein) into which they need to inject "artificial feeds" every day for the rest of their lives.

Have I scared you off yet? Good! My work here is done.

Seriously, don't even consider it. It's not worth it.

I read up on this as a family member is bulimic.

It is a form of bulimia. According to the dictionary, this is what bulimia is: A condition in which bouts of overeating are followed by undereating, use of laxatives, or self-induced vomiting. It is associated with depression and anxiety about putting on weight.

Here is how I see it:

Yes, it does work. But then you can't take one or two (the recommended use) - you have to take MANY. As in 20-80 pills. This causes TERRIBLE cramps and pain. Terrible pain - as in you cannot function. And if you don't take enough, and therefore does not have that much pain, your body will just digest the food and make fat out of it.

There was a celeb (one of the barby twins - can any body remember them?) that went to hospital because she took over a 100 pills. That was the way she kept her weight down (she looked like a skeleton!).

She could not have BMs on her own... EVER AGAIN. This will affect her for the rest of her life.

Please, don't take offence to this, I saw what bulimia can do to people, and that is why I say the following: As you were anorexic, you are at a very high risk to become bulimic - and the fact that you ask the question may spell trouble. Please do not do it - don't give your power away.

People with bulimia give their power away to the disorder. All they think about is food, and how to get rid of it after wards. It is just not worth it.

Wow, I never knew laxatives could cause that much damage. yuck.