Help me poop please
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WholeFoods4Lyfe
Posts: 1,518 Member
I posted about poop before. Following a LCHF diet I apparently am not getting enough fiber and only poop every 3-4 days. I'm eating between 1200-1500 calories per day, so I should be going, but I'm not. I take Psyllium Husk in tablet form, I'm up to 5 tablets twice a day (the max dosage I think) and it is not making any difference. Any suggestions? I never thought I'd say this, but I miss pooping.
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Bulk laxatives take an onset of up to 7 days to work consistently. Mg-Citrate 200mg per oral @ bedtime is a good starting dose; lots of people on LCHF supplement with Mg2+ ideally in the more highly bioavailable forms Mg-citrate, Mg-Glycinate, Mg-Threonate, etc. For more acute relief, dose 1/2-1 bottle of Liquid Mg-Citrate per oral @ bedtime.
Got to follow those hyperosmotics with plenty of water though. Or alternatively, just put more low carb fibrous vegetables into your diet.0 -
Are you drinking enough with all that fiber? Are you actually uncomfortable from not pooping, or just it "feels wrong?" Because only going every 3-4 days is not a problem unless it is causing you discomfort, and from what I understand can be an effect of the LCHF way of eating - less bulk for your gut to process is less waste to eliminate.
If you ARE uncomfortable from it though you might buy a small bottle of Miralax (or generic) and using it till you go. I take narcotics daily still and get seriously constipated unless I take Miralax daily, which my doctor gave the OK to. He even said up to three times a day is safe (although it does cause a lot of rumble-gut!)2 -
You were probably told this the last time you asked about it, but there's nothing actually wrong with going less often if you're not experiencing any digestive discomfort. If there's no discomfort, then there's no problem. There's simply nothing much to get rid of.
Another thought is that is taking all that fiber hasn't given results, it seems to me fiber isn't the answer then. Maybe do the opposite and reduce fiber... Up until a few weeks ago, I had to be mindful of my cheese and protein consumption because it seemed to back me up to the point that I did have discomfort. I averaged about 5g of fiber a day at that time but as long as I didn't eat too much cheese or protein, I had no issues. I went about 3 times a week I guess. Then I decided to try carnivore with the challenge this month. So I'm getting no fiber at all. I seem to be able to eat all the cheese and protein I want without any issues anymore and I've actually started going every day again. So it's possible that fiber is just slowing things down. Even the tiny bit I was getting from just vegetables.
Other things that seem to help move things are higher dose of magnesium (choose oxide or citrate) and eating more fat. Also, coffee, but for me it actually only seemed to make a difference with actual espresso. Regular coffee doesn't have that effect on me for some reason.3 -
Get some MCT oil, and chug a tablespoon or two.2
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Two words-- Brussels Sprouts.1
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The first day or two without pooping I feel fine, but by the third day I have the constant urge to go, but nothing happens. When it finally does happen, it's like a whoosh and I end up pooping like 3-4+ times that day and then the cycle starts over again.
I drink 24oz coffee most days. After my morning coffee I drink water all day. If I feel dehydrated I will add some bone broth or pickle juice. When I'm eating a SAD diet I go multiple times per day usually and I'm all over the board with whether its firm, diarrhea, etc thanks to a Hx of IBS. My diary is open, but I'm not getting a ton of fiber through my food, so I'm trying to focus more on high fiber veggies when I do eat them. I don't eat any fruit except for occasionally, maybe once a week. I'm on a 1200 calorie plan and manage on average 85g of fat per day and usually keep my carbs under 50g, protein fills in the rest.
Of recent note, I'm 40 y/o. I had my gallbladder out in November and was also recently diagnosed with NAFLD. I take pills twice a day for reflux/gerd. As for supplements, I take a probiotic, Vit D, Calcium. I do occasionally take Narcotics for back pain, but not daily, maybe twice a week. I also take Lexapro 20mg daily. I don't exercise much, I walk an average of 7-10K steps per day.
I think if I just could get to the point of going every other day, I wouldn't get to that point of discomfort. It's not awful, but it's enough that I just want to poop!1 -
I browsed through a week or so of your diary. To me, it looks like you are all over the place in terms of fat content. Some days are kind of low, and some days are where I would expect them to be for LCHF. Can you try to be consistent for a week or so and see if that mitigates the problem? Maybe stick to 80-100g per day and see what happens. The more fat I eat, the more regulated I am, especially if I start the day out with 2-3 eggs cooked in butter.2
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I browsed through a week or so of your diary. To me, it looks like you are all over the place in terms of fat content. Some days are kind of low, and some days are where I would expect them to be for LCHF. Can you try to be consistent for a week or so and see if that mitigates the problem? Maybe stick to 80-100g per day and see what happens. The more fat I eat, the more regulated I am, especially if I start the day out with 2-3 eggs cooked in butter.
The lower fat (under 80g) days are when I'm just not hungry overall and struggle to hit 1,000 calories for the day, but I'm still close to my goal of 60% fat. The days where I'm more in the 1,200-1,500 calorie range I have an easier time getting more fat. I do IF, so I think that sometimes effects my overall appetite.
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michelle172415 wrote: »I browsed through a week or so of your diary. To me, it looks like you are all over the place in terms of fat content. Some days are kind of low, and some days are where I would expect them to be for LCHF. Can you try to be consistent for a week or so and see if that mitigates the problem? Maybe stick to 80-100g per day and see what happens. The more fat I eat, the more regulated I am, especially if I start the day out with 2-3 eggs cooked in butter.
The lower fat (under 80g) days are when I'm just not hungry overall and struggle to hit 1,000 calories for the day, but I'm still close to my goal of 60% fat. The days where I'm more in the 1,200-1,500 calorie range I have an easier time getting more fat. I do IF, so I think that sometimes effects my overall appetite.
Interesting. Well, I'd still try to mix things up, maybe put IF on hold, cut out dairy, or up the fat to 65 or 70% for a while. Never hurts to try new things, I think. It's all about experimenting to find what works best, and as your body changes, different things might work at different stages.0 -
Psyllium never helped me. Seemed to make it worse.
200 mg mag citrate am & pm, lots of water took care of it. More if needed, but typically went too far the other way.
Any change in diet results in bowel changes. Takes a bit of time for a new normal.
Also 1,000 cals a day is pretty low. For anyone.2 -
BPC helps me go!0
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Homemade fermented foods5
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Are you drinking enough with all that fiber? Are you actually uncomfortable from not pooping, or just it "feels wrong?" Because only going every 3-4 days is not a problem unless it is causing you discomfort, and from what I understand can be an effect of the LCHF way of eating - less bulk for your gut to process is less waste to eliminate.
If you ARE uncomfortable from it though you might buy a small bottle of Miralax (or generic) and using it till you go. I take narcotics daily still and get seriously constipated unless I take Miralax daily, which my doctor gave the OK to. He even said up to three times a day is safe (although it does cause a lot of rumble-gut!)
When my mum was going through months of chemo, which constipated her, drinking lots of water (for her it was 2 litres a day = 8 cups), taking a stool softener each morning and night, and taking miralax for three days (it always made things works after 3 days) worked for her, then she would discontinue the miralax; but continue the rest until the next time she ran into problems.
I also agree with the others who suggested to get your fat increased on low days. Pecans and Brazil nuts worked for me.
Hope you feel better soon. ~ Elizabeth Maryam1 -
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Oh, and how many grams of psyllium husk are in those 5 capsules? I've taken capsules before and they didn't help at all!
Now I have 20g of psyllium powder every day, which keeps me regular as clockwork. Within 10 minutes of waking up every morning
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I just started with the constipation after 70+ days on LCHF. If I eat a big salad and drink plenty of fluids it is not a problem. But my secret weapon if all else fails is mineral oil. Within 3 hours I'm on the pot. I keep it around for my sheep in case of bloat. But it's great for getting everything moving again too.
Some people don't like it because it is not a natural product. I wonder if 2 TB of olive oil or coconut oil would do the same thing?0 -
I would usually take a stool softener when I run into a problem. Works rather well. I drink 80 oz.'s of water a day. Plus green tea. Just don't get why I run into a problem at all.1
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Just stopped in to say:
Best Thread Title Ever!4 -
Hello,
I too was worried about my lack of BM, but I started drinking a kind of BPC. I had 8 ounces of coffee, 4 TBS HWC, 1 TBS MCT oil, and 1 TBS Kerry Gold Butter blended together and I have had a BM every morning I drank it. I also took 1 TBS MCT oil by itself and shortly after that I also had a BM. Give the MCT oil a try, it might help.1 -
I take 400 mg of magnesium citrate and 8.6 mg of sennosides (1 senna tablet), before bed, and it's been working very well. I also take a Bifidobacterium infantis probiotic twice a day. I eat enough fiber, and my problem predates being on a low carb diet. Eating a lot of fat didn't help.1
