Constipation

Please any ideas how to deal with constipation. I tried, all bran, detox drinks, increasing fibre. Something is definately wrong and I feel bloated often! Thanks

Magnesium worked for me I got it as a supplment at the drug store after I saw something with Dr. OZ tv. it really made a difference when fiber was too tough for me to handle.  Apparently too much calcium can cause this problem but this worked well after a couple of days.  I have a gluten problem and it is common with Celiacs to not poop and this did the trick. Hope that helps it was the least painfull and invasive

My daughter goes through that and we just went through a bout of 14 days of constipation. Not Fun!!

Heres what we do, fiber, fiber, more fiber. Water, Water, more Water. Fiber without water=cement poo. Not fun!

Roughage, lots of fruits and veggies including pruns which arn't that bad when warmed up. Raisins too.

Take it easy on milk products, cheese....etc.

Natural fruit juice with no added sugar is always good too.

Now she gets perscription laculase which is a mild laxitive and is non addictive in the bowels.

And when all else fails go with a mild suppository, the glycerine ones arn't too bad.

Good luck with that.

note...

Fiber is BULK forming. If you have too much of it, hello bulk.

I don't know if anyone suggested this already, but I take benefiber...just 3 little chewables a day, and it helps me!

I use a fiber laxative - I use it once a week and it works wonders for me.  My doctor told me that some people just need more fiber than others.  I don't have IBS or anything like that - I just need massive amounts of fiber and a laxative to help things along.  I get small fiber laxative pills from Walmart for around 2.00 a package which lasts me well over a month!  Try it - or see your doctor!~

In my 20s I had an emergency hysterectomy and have had lower digestive problems ever since. To avoid constipation I take an herb called cascara sagrada. It is available in the herb/vitamin section and is cheap, about 5 bucks for a bottle of 100. I take one capsule every night after dinner and go poo in the morning just like clockwork.

THE DOWN SIDE is if you are not used to it, it will act like a laxative and can give you cramps. I have been taking it for years and so my body is used to it, sometimes I even skip a night, especially if I am eating a lot of fruits and veggies which seem to act as a natural laxative. Also, drinking lots of water will make you go.

I know you already have lots of opinions, but this is what worked for me..

I have always had problems going.. i had to push hard and it hurt, or I just couldnt go when i needed to.. but I have recently become vegetarian (not trying to push my views.. just stating what worked for me) and since then I have been going every single morning and its all easy breezy haha.  Red meat especially just kinda rots in your intestines.  If you dont want to go veggy, I understand, but even cutting out more red meat, or replacing it for white meat could help tons. 

Hope you get things moving along soon.

I just tried the Smooth Move Tea that clairelaine suggested last night after not "going" for over 7 days and ..... IT WORKED MARVELOUSLY!!!  No cramping - No "urgency"!  Bless you clairelaine!

People seem to put very little emphasis on digestive enzymes. You need good friendly bacteria in the colon to avoid those issues. Fiber will do it too, but having proper digestion is more important. There are people groups that don't have any fiber in there diet, but don't have these problems, cause they have good digestion.

I'm guessing this is a one time thing, and not a life time situation (which it is in my case)

If this happened all at once and you are normally regular, GO TO THE DOCTOR. There could be something seriously wrong with your intestines which may need imediate care. It could be nothing also, but go and have it checked out. (they'll probably take an x ray and ask you questions about your bathroom trips and prescribe you something if you need it)

If you get constipated quite often and you normally go once every week or two, you should still check with your doctor and make sure that you don't have a blockage. Thankfully it's never happened to me, but my uncle had one when he was young and it was a very painful precedure (he was awake the whole time although it was in the early 80's).  If he didn't get the surgery when he did, he could have riped open his bowel and died. It can be serious if it's not taken care of soon enough.


I have a chronic condition that makes me stop going for weeks at a time, yes weeks if I don't take my medicine. I have been on hundreds of medicines prescibed by docotrs and otc, and one that has worked the best is what vicki said, lactolose but it is a perscription. My doctor prescribed me that along with miralax (now avalible over the counter).

 The miralax does work quite well, and doesn't give you bad cramps if you use the proper amount. Try this if more water and possibly more/less fiber depending on your current intake.

The best thing I can suggest is stay away from regular stimulant laxitives. do NOT take them. If you must use something over the counter try some stool softeners. They are non habit forming and will not damage the lining of your bowel. Drink a lot of water as normal, and use them as directed.

If nothing works and you really start hurting bad, go to the doctor immediately...

Hard to admit, but I know how you feel.  I actually get to the point where I feel like I am not digesting anything and I get an awful taste in my mouth.   I still feel full as if I can't eat anything, (this might be from the bloating, I can't be sure.)

I have used the 3 ballerinas and am trying to avoid dairy all together, but as soon as I feel like I am cleaned out, I start all over again...

Trying to keep the water intake up and just did an analysis on my food log and I see I am averaging 24 gms a day of fiber so I am going to try to up my fiber intake over the next couple days to see how it works.  I'll let you know.   

I realized after adding all the fiber, increasing the oil intake, practicing discipline and everything else? I know what worked for me. Vitamin C. I take 500 mg of Vitamin C every night after dinner, and I am able to pass, every morning. Its not hard either. I have gone back to my 25 grams of fiber, but the vitamin c still works!!! I am using the safeway brand. The Vitamin C has worked wonders for me. Since it is highly recommended as an antioxidant, I am happy I started taking it, as I have a cancer family history. I also noticed I have a lot of energy in the evening time, which was not the case before.

I don?t exercise regularly, just play some golf during the week and on the weekends, but I put myself in the light activity category because I cook whole meals and clean everyday apart from working. Indian cooking is very elaborate and takes an hour, sometimes more to prepare. Since I play golf a few times a week, I checked myself as light activity, not sedentary.

another thing that works like clockwork is milk of magnesia. It tastes horrible but it works amazingly and this is coming from someone who has dealt with this issue her whole life. Within 2 hours I am going to the bathroom with no cramps at all. And you can probably find it in the dolar store. It was even suggested by my vet when my dog couldn't go. He said that milk of magnesia was one of the safest medicines to use and non habit forming. 

After reading about vitamin C here on CC, I went to get it the next morning and also got the Activia yogurt; since then I am able to go at least twice a day!!  There is something about vit C.  I don't know if Activia would have done something by itself but all I know is that the combination of the 2 plus eating food high in fiber (at least 40gr/day) has helped me a LOT.  

Thans guys for the great ideas!!!

priya1  Wow, good info, I printed it so I could follow some of your ideas.

Thanks, Joan 

Hi there

I'm always constipated. The on going joke in my family is that everyone goes once or twice a day and I only go once or twice a week. (Its not funny if its you) I eat about 30 - 35 g of fiber and drink about 60 oz of water a day. Doesn’t help. Even drink Cetasil. My doctor told me to eat more fiber so I did I eat about 60 g fiber and 100oz of water per day for about week and it didn’t work, just made my co-workers look at me funny because I was peeing every 15 minutes and gave me very horrible sleep.

I used to like to drink 3 Ballerina tea about 3 times a week. However now I notice that the day after I drink it. I get this terrible bloating feeling and my stomach gets HUGE. Nothing relives this pain unless I lay down on my side and it’s kind of hard to do this since I work in a cooperate office 9 hours a day.

What is causing this? What can do I do to stop it. (Only thing I have found that works is to drink another cup of 3 ballerina tea. However I don't want to drink too much of this though. Any suggested would help out gratefully.

Marisa