hi joanne,

thanks for your post. this is a late reply but you may pick it up.

can't give any advice on the laxative/suppository side of things as have not used them myself. from a general point of view though, it sounds like any kind of addiction in the sense that you're gonna have to slowly wean yourself off them... and encourage your colon to resume its natural activity.

however, if your colon has always been 'lazy' then i'm guessing that's why you started using laxatives in the first place. one question to ask yourself might be, "was there a time when my colon worked fine?" for example, if you started using laxatives to help you poo ONLY when you were around other people, but didn't need them when you were alone, it would indicate the primary problem was shy bowel rather than lazy colon.

as far as doctors are concerned, i'd advocate a persistent approach. they also seem to respond well if you do your own research on the net or in books about how to come off laxatives and then take suggestions to them.

good luck,

baz