Laxative Abuse – Is It Dangerous?

Laxative abuse has been going on for years and is quite more common than most people realize. What many people find surprising, or even shocking, is that most of this abuse is not even perpetrated by individuals with constipation problems. It is also a part of the symptoms found in victims of anorexia, which is a very dangerous eating disorder. If you know anything about that deadly disorder, you will understand immediately what it can do to one’s body when laxatives are put into it too frequently. Put simply, this action will cause the body to shut down and stop being able to have bowel movements on its own.
That is the most dangerous thing that laxative abuse can cause. However, there are a host of other problems which can be just as painful if not exactly life threatening. When the body is fed too many laxatives, it will become dependent upon them in order to evacuate like it is meant to do. Eventually, it will need those laxatives or it will become more than just constipated.

The reason that people with anorexia and bulimia take too many laxatives is that they are obsessed with their weight and not becoming “fat.” They feel that by eating as little as possible, and then purging it in some way, that they will keep control of their weight. Laxative abuse is a huge part of this entire process for obvious reasons.

If you find that you are having issues with constipation to the point that it is making you uncomfortable and affecting your life, it is time to reach for the phone to call your doctor, not over the counter laxatives. There may be something wrong that only your doctor can find and can fix. Your doctor needs to be consulted BEFORE you become tempted to start popping over the counter laxatives like candy. Before you know it, you could have a problem with laxative abuse.

By seeing your doctor before you allow yourself to become dependent on laxatives, you are saving yourself a lot of problems. The doctor will not have to get you off of the laxatives before actually starting treatment. This will take even longer to get your problem sorted. That is why it is very important to use some common sense when you become so constipated that you feel the need to abuse laxatives. See your doctor first. The problem can be taken care of much faster that way.