Cascara Made Me Constipated

[steel_reserve]

Totally didn't see this coming.

I took a 450 mg capsule at night.

That night I had very chaotic sleep.

The next day I had a pleasant tight/healed/strong sensation in my muscles but that was all I noticed.

Didn't poop for 2 days.

Dropped rabbit pellets once a day for a week. Now I'm back to my once daily rabbit chunks.

I had a lot of gurgling during this time like any day it was going to rip but nothing happened.


Previous experiments:
Niacinamide gave me headaches. Had a great experience with riboflavin


Any clues on what to do next? I am normally constipated but not at a painful degree.

 

[SOMO]

Increase the dosage.

I think it's very unlikely that Cascara would make you constipated, because it is a laxative.

If you don't poop for several days, that is a medical emergency and could indicate a blockage.
If it happens again, I would honestly go to a gastroenterologist and ask for an ultrasound of your abdomen.

 

[Lejeboca]

Totally didn't see this coming.

I took a 450 mg capsule at night.

That night I had very chaotic sleep.

The next day I had a pleasant tight/healed/strong sensation in my muscles but that was all I noticed.

Didn't poop for 2 days.

Dropped rabbit pellets once a day for a week. Now I'm back to my once daily rabbit chunks.

I had a lot of gurgling during this time like any day it was going to rip but nothing happened.


Previous experiments:
Niacinamide gave me headaches. Had a great experience with riboflavin


Any clues on what to do next? I am normally constipated but not at a painful degree.

Cascara made me constipated too, at much smaller doses of about 150mg. It these dose, I've "recovered" faster. in a day or so. And I had the same feeling of "gurgling during this time like any day it was going to rip but nothing happened". But eventually, something did come out, so it is laxative, indeed @SOMO ;-)

My take on this happening is that cascara, as powder at least, absorbs too much water and "dries up" the poop. Activated charcoal affects me in the same way in terms of water absorption.

If I decide to use cascara, for emodin, for example, I'd try a liquid form, as a ethanol tincture or as tea.

 

[yerrag]

Another possibility is the cascara used. Are you getting it from a good source?

 

[steel_reserve]

I used spring valley whole her cascade 450 mg.

The only additive and it is magnesium stearate.

 

[yerrag]

I used spring valley whole her cascade 450 mg.

The only additive and it is magnesium stearate.

I'm not familiar with the brands and have only used one brand and it wasn't because I really researched it. It was. the only one I could get my hands on. It was effective though as my mom quickly got bowel movement where dulcolax, as prescribed by the gastro doc, wasn't working.

But I vaguely recall that the cascara sagrada has to be specially prepared or aged or something for it to be efficacious. Maybe someone else cN chime in. Or you can check with Lifegiving Store as they have the one from Italy. I think from Farmacia Labor or something like that.

 

[SOMO]

I'm not familiar with the brands and have only used one brand and it wasn't because I really researched it. It was. the only one I could get my hands on. It was effective though as my mom quickly got bowel movement where dulcolax, as prescribed by the gastro doc, wasn't working.

But I vaguely recall that the cascara sagrada has to be specially prepared or aged or something for it to be efficacious. Maybe someone else cN chime in. Or you can check with Lifegiving Store as they have the one from Italy. I think from Farmacia Labor or something like that.

I also think that because it's a natural product, there will be some variety in how potent the bark is.

I think you can get the bark standardized, but with non-standardized bark a small amount of bark may be high in emodin, but a large amount may be low.

The only other reason I can think of why it might "constipate" you is the bark itself acting as a source of insoluble fiber and slowing own intestinal transit.

 

[Dutchie]

Cascara constipated me too. It's high in salicylates.
I was having problems with sals at the time,though I hadnt discovered it yet. In general when I'm having problems with something, I get constipated....like my gut is freaking out and shutting down.

 

[Amazoniac]

Will is preloading with baking soda make any difference? Laxatives can affect acid-base balance and taking the salt is a way to guarantee that the body has resources to restore it. Its excess might also boost the laxation by drawing more water to the intestines at a time when not enough residue from digestion attracting water is something possible due to chronic constipation.

- Medical Toxicology of Drug Abuse (978-0-471-72760-6)

"The daily recommended dose for cascara for children and adults is 150–500 mg (~10.5–50 mg hydroxyanthracenes) and 300–1,000 mg (~21–100 mg hydroxyanthracenes). The toxic dose of cascara in humans is not well defined."

"Anthrone C-glycosides (Cascaroside A–D) in cascara are prodrugs. The absorption of these large molecules is limited until glucosidases in colonic bacteria catalyze the cleavage of the sugar moiety and the formation of free compounds (aglycones). In contrast to the dianthrone O-glycosides (e.g., sennosides A and B in senna), bacterial flora in the GI tract do not easily metabolize the anthrone C-glycosides; therefore, the laxative response of different animal species to cascara varies substantially.[169] The released anthranoid aglycones (free anthrones) diffuse to the intestinal wall where they alter intestinal secretions and motility.[170] Animal studies suggest that some hydroxylation of these aglycones occurs after absorption in addition to the conjugation of the anthrone compounds to glucuronides and sulfates. Prolonged action of cascara results from the biliary excretion and enterohepatic recirculation of these compounds. The maternal use of cascara is compatible with breastfeeding.[171] Most laxative abusers report the necessity of higher doses of laxatives to achieve the desired effects."

"The onset of action of the laxative effects of cascara is about 6–8 hours."

"Rarely, the abuse of cascara is associated with gastric melanosis.[176] Pathologic changes associated with melanosis coli typically appear after 4–12 months of laxative abuse, and these abnormalities disappear over a similar period. Rare case reports associate the use short term use of cascara (3 times daily for 3 d) with the development of portal hypertension and severe cholestatic hepatitis that resolved following cessation of cascara use.[177] The liver biopsy demonstrated moderately severe acute and chronic portal inflammation including a large number of eosinophils suggesting an immune-mediated hepatitis. Experimental studies indicate that cascara lacks long term carcinogenic potential as defined by the absence of initiating properties and weak or absent promoting activity.[178,179]"​

 

[Jennifer]

Cascara constipated me too. It's high in salicylates.
I was having problems with sals at the time,though I hadnt discovered it yet. In general when I'm having problems with something, I get constipated....like my gut is freaking out and shutting down.

I just sent you a PM with a possible alternative.

 

[steel_reserve]

I took more with an entire bottle of water and I had no problems.

I still didnt notice any therapeutic effect.

I recently read that cascara needs to be aged and look dark like coffee grounds. Mine was definitely not aged.

 

[Jam]

It's not really possible to purchase a supplement with unaged cascara, unless there was an error in the manufacturing process. And since you didn't notice an effect, it is probably weak or inactive. Ingesting unaged cascara normally results in very painful intestinal spasms. Definitely something you would notice...

 

[Inaut]

I've recently started using very small doses of cascara and actually like it so far. It's helping to normalize my bowel movements (I go frequently--too often i'd say and it's seemed to slow down). Will keep it at this dosage 1/16 of teaspoon for a while and will increase slightly.

 

[equipoise]

I've recently started using very small doses of cascara and actually like it so far. It's helping to normalize my bowel movements (I go frequently--too often i'd say and it's seemed to slow down). Will keep it at this dosage 1/16 of teaspoon for a while and will increase slightly.

That's nice, I'm gonna order it in few months, to have it in my stack. Heard only good things about it.

 

[Amazoniac]

These may offer clues despite the hefty doses:
- Botanical Dietary Supplements Gone Bad
- Immunosuppressive effect of emodin, a free radical generator
- The role of constitutive and inducible nitric oxide synthase in senna- and cascara-induced diarrhoea in the rat
- Pharmacodynamics and Safety Aspects | Anthraquinones in Plants: Source, Safety and Applications in Gastrointestinal Health (978-1-897676-32-5)

- WTF is going on in my gut? - failed Cascara Sagrada experiment (@deliciousfruit)

 

[Chad_Catholic]

The Cascara from the Life Giving Store is superbly effective. I've had positive results with not even 100mg.