Oh This is So Gross!! (Blushes)

I posted about a week ago, that I had hit a particularly nasty plateau. Well, I'm still there, and I think I know why....

(drum roll)

I've realized that I haven't done a #2 in what could possibly be...a month or so. Since I started my diet about two months ago, I lost about 20 pounds and then it just stopped the scale. It's really frustrating, because I've got another 60 or so pounds to go. I guess in all the frustration, I didn't realize that I was eating, but no byproduct was coming out. Could this be why I haven't lost any weight?

How do I fix it? I want to go to the doctor, but my husband and I just got married and are without insurance until he goes through basic training and post training. That's several, several months. He said it was because I'm not getting enough fiber, but I'm eating a lot of leafy greens, rice cakes, cereal, oatmeal.

When I was anorexic (I am not now!) I used to do salt water flushes whenever I stopped "going." I'm wondering if I should do it again, or just buy some laxatives.

Please help.

Someone I know very well has problems every once and a while and he swears by prunes.  He buys some dried prunes, soaks them, eats them, next day - problem solved.

Two months is a long time.  Are you in pain?

~k

Fiber, Prunes, maybe a colon clense from like GNC? Though if you are not having BM's it may not be safe... Maybe some Xlax...

I'm a nurse (almost, I'm in my 4th year of training) and I say.....get it out of you!  A month without a BM in the hospital you would have been given SOOOOO many enemas.  Are you sure it's been a month?  Cause that's really, really not good.  Even people that are all tubed up and not eating have BM's more often. Ok, here's some ideas:

-a salt water flush probably isn't a bad thing.  when you were anorexic you were doing it for illogical reasons.  Now you are doing it so you don't perforate your bowel.  Same action, different reason, don't let it get inside your head.

-FIBER-all bran buds, prunes, any sort of dried fruit.  Have you tried psyllium husks? 

I'm still having a hard time with this month thing.  Please tell me you're exaggerating.  I'm worried for you.

Umm.... I would go see a doctor ASAP.

The only pain I feel is stepping on the scale and it not budging, lol. Both my husband and I noticed that I just completely stopped losing. I upped my exercise to help, and it didn't work, I tried manipulating my calories, like getting more than I needed, then less, than regular, bla bla bla. That also didn't work. I'm CONVINCED this is the reason, and I find it pretty gross that I take in all this food and it's not going anywhere, or...(shiver) is getting reabsorbed.

As for prunes, how many would I need to eat for it to do anything? I'd rather just eat more fiber dense food than take a laxative, because I now have this fear that that too will get stuck in there, haha.

You have to be in some serious pain.  Long-term constipation would mean no passing gas, hard and distended stomach, nausea, loss of appetite, back ache, etc.  Provide some more info - Height, weight, number of calories consumed a day, etc.  Could be that you are not eating enough to generate waste. 

The foods you listed aren't necessarily high in fiber.  If leafy greens = lettuce, then there's not much fiber there.  Dark, leafy greens like spinach and kale are much better.  Don't buy laxatives or do salt water flushes unless advised by a doctor.  In many cases, a laxative will cause more problems for your system in the long run.  If you can't afford a doctor, talk to a pharmacist.

If you have some of the symptoms I listed above, go to a doctor.  If you have an impacted bowel, this could lead to serious complications.

Original Post by eatlesslovemore:

I'm a nurse (almost, I'm in my 4th year of training) and I say.....get it out of you!  A month without a BM in the hospital you would have been given SOOOOO many enemas.  Are you sure it's been a month?  Cause that's really, really not good.  Even people that are all tubed up and not eating have BM's more often. Ok, here's some ideas:

-a salt water flush probably isn't a bad thing.  when you were anorexic you were doing it for illogical reasons.  Now you are doing it so you don't perforate your bowel.  Same action, different reason, don't let it get inside your head.

-FIBER-all bran buds, prunes, any sort of dried fruit.  Have you tried psyllium husks? 

I'm still having a hard time with this month thing.  Please tell me you're exaggerating.  I'm worried for you.

No, I'm totally serious. It had to be a month at least. I know I've tried, little has come out, and then given up. I don't feel sick or anything, but there hasn't been any change in my appearance.

Yes, a month is a very long time between BMs. The longer the stool stays within the colon the more water is removed, so constipation can result in very hard stools. This is not a good thing for your body as there is a greater chance of tearing the anal walls causing a fissure or causing hemorrhoids. You do not want this. You definitely need to get yourself on a more regular schedule.

Adding more fiber can definitely help. Prunes are high in fiber. Another thing to think about is picking up some Metamucil. A few tablespoons of that in water every day (maybe even twice a day) does wonders for your regularity. Metamucil is also easy to use regularly and you don't have to keep looking at the fiber contents of your bread/cereal/other foods and try and estimate if you have had enough for the day.

If you want to hurry the process immediately, you can look into laxative pills, though they often take up to 12 hours to work. Another option is to go pick up glycerin suppositories. This will make you go in about 5 minutes.

If you have a painful BM or see blood in your stool, please go to your doctor. This could be an indication of hemorrhoids or an anal fissure.

Im not a expert but that could be why you are not loosing also not going to the toilet is really really bad for your health hun,all i can ask is are you drinking enough and eating enough? have you started taking any medications? are you eating any binding foods ie eggs ,also iron tablets can cause it so if your taking vitamins that contain them its may not be helping

Ive read that fiber suplements can help as you may need more fiber.

Ive lood on some of the free sites we have in the uk as doctors are free here and its said that diets can cause it and you need more fiber 20 to 30g daily more fluids and more exercise also that for a short time you can use a laxative to re motivate your system.

I really hope ive helped a bit i was so concerned reading your post as not going to the toilet can have bad effects on your whole body

take care and let me know how you get on xx

If you're getting plenty of fiber, you also need plenty of water to flush it out, so that may be one problem. Like some else has said though, try prunes, and overnight laxative, and something that works for me is things with lots of seeds like flaxseed, pumpkin seeds, and raspberries.

good luck

Original Post by pavlovcat:

You have to be in some serious pain.  Long-term constipation would mean no passing gas, hard and distended stomach, nausea, loss of appetite, back ache, etc.  Provide some more info - Height, weight, number of calories consumed a day, etc.  Could be that you are not eating enough to generate waste. 

The foods you listed aren't necessarily high in fiber.  If leafy greens = lettuce, then there's not much fiber there.  Dark, leafy greens like spinach and kale are much better.  Don't buy laxatives or do salt water flushes unless advised by a doctor.  In many cases, a laxative will cause more problems for your system in the long run.  If you can't afford a doctor, talk to a pharmacist.

If you have some of the symptoms I listed above, go to a doctor.  If you have an impacted bowel, this could lead to serious complications.

Hmm...the only symptom I've noticed, but could be something else, is bloating. I get anywhere from 1200-1700 calories a day, with little or no activity (desk job 10 hours a day, and being purely lazy. I do walk a couple times a week, and jump rope after for about 10 minutes). 1200 is pretty low for me, but I've been trying to boost my metabolism from doing something like this:

Day 1: 1200

Day 2: 1400

Day 3: 1400

Day 4: 1600

Day 5:1200

Day 6: 1900

Day 7: 1400

That hasn't really worked, but I'd like to give it more time. Oh, and I'm 5'6 and 207 pounds.

Original Post by rainbow270:

Im not a expert but that could be why you are not loosing also not going to the toilet is really really bad for your health hun,all i can ask is are you drinking enough and eating enough? have you started taking any medications? are you eating any binding foods ie eggs ,also iron tablets can cause it so if your taking vitamins that contain them its may not be helping

Ive read that fiber suplements can help as you may need more fiber.

Ive lood on some of the free sites we have in the uk as doctors are free here and its said that diets can cause it and you need more fiber 20 to 30g daily more fluids and more exercise also that for a short time you can use a laxative to re motivate your system.

I really hope ive helped a bit i was so concerned reading your post as not going to the toilet can have bad effects on your whole body

take care and let me know how you get on xx

Thanks so much for your concern, all of you! I'm not on any medications but birth control, but I take a multivitamin, biotin, green tea capsules, and apple cider vinegar capsules.

As for Metamucil, I think I've tried it before. Or it was something similar and I couldn't get it down. It was orange flavored and wouldn't dissolved, so it felt like I was drinking sawdust floating on water that tasted somewhat similar to orange.

I poo like a champ when I make a simple fruit smoothie: one banana and some frozen fruit (my fav is cherries and blueberries together) and some water so it blends. One of those a day and you'll poo like a champ, too. I PROMISE

It's some kind of miracle that you're not doubled over in pain!!  You mentioned that you don't exercise much - exercise can DEFINITELY help relieve constipation.  I'm wary of laxatives because, for me, they result in cramps and diarrhea at first and then more constipation.

If I were you and I couldn't afford a doctor, here's what I'd do...

1. Drink at least 5 or 6 large (12 oz) glasses of water every day
2. Do a vigorous workout every day
3. Make some oatmeal cookies (oatmeal cookies ALWAYS make me go for some reason)
4. Eat a raw kale salad (another sure bet)
5. Eat a lot of nuts
6. Eat Shredded Wheat
7. Drink something caffeinated - that will sometimes stimulate my digestive tract

Avoid cheese, meats, etc.  I would say ignore your calorie count for a couple days and focus on eating foods that'll help get your system moving until you have a bowel movement. 

You know what helps me - a heat pad.  Not hot, just soothingly warm. 

You could also try one of the oldest remedies - mineral oil or cod liver oil.  I think a lot of dieting women have an occassional miss because we dont get the oil we used to.  Sure we are getting better oil, but not the way we did when we ate greasy cheese burgers and fries.

Any way - try a heat pad.  It works really well and is low tech.

One thing that i know can help is a tea called smoothe move, brand im not quite sure..maybe traditional medicinals?

i could be completely off on that...and another thing that can help is flax seed...if you buy it ground you can put it into just about any food and it doesnt alter the flavor any. i put it in yogurt everyday. it is a great way to get fiber into your system...and out!

Hope this helps!!

I really hope you're ok! seriously, how is a months worth of food waste able to be stored in a body? I would be in agony.

If I miss going even for one day I feel sluggish and ill and bloated.

Try eating flaw seeds that have been soacked overnight in liquid (eg. put them in muesli and soak overnight in milk) - really helps keep things regular! Also coffee, dried fruit, water and vegetables cooked until they are very soft (not so good for their nutrition value but good for moving things along)

Keep us updated

I poo for Australia.  You need to get some high fibre untoasted muesli, check the labels.  Throw half a cup in a bowl.  Add a handful of sunflower seeds. Chop up a banana and chuck that in.  Put in about 5 or 6 very soft prunes.  Spoon on some good quality yogurt (I like low fat fruit, but plain would work), and top with low fat milk (I use soy).

You get three types of fibre - soluble, unsoluble and resistant starch, plus the cultures in the yogurt do wonderful things to your intestinal flora.  Eat this every morning.  Tastes better than any dessert, and if this doesn't get things moving within 3 days I suggest you head to your nearest hardware store and grab a plunger.

if u can find it get some Miralax from the drugstore or grocery store or walmart has it! buy the big one, (youll need it to get regular again) take it daily in a smoothie or orange juice until you go then KEEP TAKING IT  until you go regularly then switch to every few days and as needed. 

Original Post by dvstevenson:

...Another option is to go pick up glycerin suppositories. This will make you go in about 5 minutes....

I was going to suggest the glycerin suppositories.  I used post partum when I  suddenly realized it had been a really long time ....The package said to use them and that they would work within 15-20 mins.... YEAH RIGHT...2-5 mins is more like it!  after you put it in, whatever you do, DON'T leave the bathroom

I could not believe that experience...I won't go into details but suffice it to say it was no wonder that I was so uncomfortable...