Ways to wean from laxative dependence?

[Guest guest]

I'm sure if I were to scour the archives I could find some answers to this, but

perhaps those of you familiar with this could just help me out?

My 90 year old grandfather has struggled with constipation for a long time. He

is now very much laxative dependent and is unable to have a bowel movement on

his own.

My mother-in-law is also unable to go without a colonic every two weeks. She

took massive amounts of antibiotics, had almost constant diarrhea for months and

now is chronically constipated. For her, I realize that a massive amount of

probiotic foods would be ideal.

Any additional ideas on how to retrain the body to have bowel movements without

outside stimulation?

Thanks so much,

J.