So ... does anyone else have a lazy colon

magglett

It's embarrassing but I'm going to throw it out there anyway :blushing: I've suffered with a lazy colon for most of my life ... I thought it was because my eating habits were so terrible but now I eat very well. Oodles and oodles of veggies and fruit are included every day now. I still only have a BM every few days (if I'm lucky) I've used metamucil in the past and it helps with "function" but I feel so bloated from it. I'm hoping I'm not alone and someone has some wonderful suggestion to help me with this.

keiko

Sorry, no help here. Mine is still lazy:laugh: I get between 25-35 gr of fiber a day from food. No supplements. Drink lots of water. Exercise. Still my regular is only a few times a week and that's on a good week.
I was told that as long as I'm not feeling constipated it's ok and that's my regular.

kandyjo

Well, sorry...I don't have any suggestions, but I have this problem also. Not as bad as you...I at least have one every two days. But, it is frustrating. Sometimes I feel kinda icky...don't really know how to describe it...
Everyone tells me drink lots of water...but I DO. I drink tons of water....
ANYWAY, maybe someone else will have some good advice that you and I both can take and use :happy:

gemiwing

I go every other day usually. I don't feel bloated so I don't worry about it much. Plus I know that I drink 10 glasses of water a day, and mow down on any fiber not nailed down. Or if it is nailed down, something that I can nibble around the nails.

Prunes baby, prunes. You could power an atomic plant with the 'energy' these can give you.

goochinator

If you feel the need to move things along, you could try something like psyllium husk powder- mixng int in with a beverage or juice. It works well. I got mine at Whole Foods, but also at trader Joes as well. Many natural stores have it as well.
Basically like taking lots of fiber, but its very natural.

Channing

I hate fiber supplements. I've taken them in the past and they make me feel terrible as well! Your best bet is to get fiber through food, whole grains, veggies, etc. But I also take a probiotic I found at Whole Foods which promotes stomach and intestinal health and I swear it's made a huge difference in my digestion. Good luck! :flowerforyou:

Poison5119

It could take a while to change, so there's always that. Given enough time, things changed for me.
I was told that if it really bothered me, to take three tablets of magnesium, and you will produce within an hour, with no pain. Something in magnesium relaxes muscles, and there you go! :laugh:

ChaChaMommy

So I'm not the ONLY one!!!! :blushing: My doctor also says if every 3-4 days is regular for me then its "regular" and not to worry....but my hubby still thinks I'm weird! I sometimes take sugarfree Citrucil in the mornings and that helps as long as you keep up the water consumption too! Uncle Sam's cereal (lots of flax) is one of my stapes, but even with all the veggies, water, Citrucil and exercise......every other day is about all I can hope for!:sad: .....and I know how sluggish you feel! :yawn: Just do all the right things and realize how much worse it could be with bad diet etc.! Good luck!

keiko

It could take a while to change, so there's always that. Given enough time, things changed for me.
I was told that if it really bothered me, to take three tablets of magnesium, and you will produce within an hour, with no pain. Something in magnesium relaxes muscles, and there you go! :laugh:

I have heard that if you are taking calcium supplements it can really slow you down to the point of stopping you and that to counter act it you should always take magnesium with the calcium.

keiko

So I'm not the ONLY one!!!! :blushing: My doctor also says if every 3-4 days is regular for me then its "regular" and not to worry....but my hubby still thinks I'm weird! I sometimes take sugarfree Citrucil in the mornings and that helps as long as you keep up the water consumption too! Uncle Sam's cereal (lots of flax) is one of my stapes, but even with all the veggies, water, Citrucil and exercise......every other day is about all I can hope for!:sad: .....and I know how sluggish you feel! :yawn: Just do all the right things and realize how much worse it could be with bad diet etc.! Good luck!

my mom still thinks if you don't go everyday something is wrong. She doesn't eat enough food or drink enough water ever. So for her she is always taking something to make her go and then something to stop it. I've tried to talk to her but it goes nowhere.

I felt so much better when I found out I wasn't the only one. I'm glad you found a dr who recognizes that regular does not have to be everyday.

vrdz3215

I don't go everyday either and I find that usually the only time I REALLY have to go, it comes on during the middle of my long run...which is frustrating in itself but I guess it makes me run faster! LOL :laugh: Does anyone else have this problem?

chrissyh

You could try oatmeal ( old fashioned not instant) for breakfast, a cup of warm water when you first get up - both help me.

spease21

I too have this problem. My whole family does, I found a herbal tea called the The Slimming Tea works for me. I will only take it if I have not gone in a couple of weeks, and yes that is almost normal for me. It has a natural herb called Seena. I would not recommend that you drink it all the time.

FireMonkey

Your doctor is right; not everybody is on the "once-a-day" schedule. If you feel okay and you don't have really hard and uncomfortable BMs then just continue to eat healthy, drink lots of water and exercise.

graegirl

I don't have this problem ALL the time, some weeks are better than others---but on a bad week, I drink a cup of senna tea before bed, maybe two days in a row. WARNING: Because senna stimulates the colon, the results can be a bit explosive at first. Follow the directions on the box. One to try: Super Dieter's Tea

stjohngirl

I have had this problem for so long and it's frustrating. The only thing that works religiously for me is to take a stool softener with a mild laxative. It's two pills in one (docusate sodium and sennosides 8.6 mg). I get it at Walmart and I know it's safe to take every day because my aunt had colon cancer and the GI doctor told her to take it every day because he wants her to have a BM every day. I tried everything else and nothing worked but this does. It's not one of those things that hits you all of a sudden either - it's very controlled.

I know they say it can be unhealthy to take laxatives but it can't be any unhealthier than having your system all backed up.

Try it and let me know. Good luck!!!

pannellkat

laxative tea. Smooth Moves. Works great!

Jennplus2

My family always joked that I was weird because I only need to "use it" once every two or three days. So glad I can rub it in their faces now! Well not IT, but the fact that I am normal. :drinker:


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magglett

This is great everyone, I was a little nervous about posting this in the first place but now I'm glad I did. Look at that ... I'm normal. :laugh: Who knew? I'll not worry about it unless it gets too painful (which happens sometimes). I often get a back ache from this situation. When that happens I'll try some of the natural teas you've mentioned and give it a go (no pun intended) Thank you all for your responces and I hope it keeps going ... nice to see so many others with the same situation. Happy Losing to you all!:flowerforyou:

femmerides

okay...so the ONLY thing that has helped me was when I went RAW for 7 days. All I ate were raw fruits and veggies and I was going daily. I usually only go like every 2-3 days. But after I finished my RAW cleanse it went back to "normal." lol. so i guess if it's your norm, then that's the way it's supposed to be. I've considered taking like a daily laxative but said no because my body knows what is right and I know that I'm eating all the right food. So every 2-3 days is just perfect for me. :bigsmile:

thumper44

I would like to share my experience and knowledge.

There's 100's of thousands of people that have the same problem. Comes from our north american diets. I used to have the same problem, and been taking digestive cleanse herbs for years on and off. (while I was eating greasy fast food) to help me elminate.

I'm afraid to say, Doctors don't always know what's best. Even though some people don't go every day, you should have at least 2-3 bowel movemenst every day and usually 1 in the morning upon waking up.
Think about it this way, when we're babies, we are constantly going. Pets are going throughout the day. When we were younger, we were going throughout the day, it's not until we get older, our colons get lazier, we get compacted fecal matter in our bodies.

I've read that our food takes 24 hours to get processed by our bodies. Since we are eating several times during the day, the food is constantly moving, and so should your BM's.

Ever wonder what happens when you need to have a BM and ther'es no where to go, you don't like using the public washroom, so we hold it and then magically later on, most people don't have to go anymore.

When it backs up the pipes, now your big intestine and small intestines are getting backed up. I saw another thread on here about colon cleanse that it's not needed. I disagree. People were saying that since they had a colonoscopy and saw nothing that the 'large colon' isn't backed up.
Unfortunately it's the small intestines that back up as well.

Without getting into too much detail.

There's little villa (like little fingers) that are on the inside walls of the small intestine. They process the nutrients out of the food. When your waste is backed up in the pipes, it starts sticking and coating the inner walls. Like other piping in the body, when it get's plugged up, you become constipated.
You also aren't possibly getting all the nutrients of your food, as part of the villa can be covered up.

Small intestines are 2.5-3cms in diameter. Just like your stomach can stretch, so does 23 FEET of small intestines in your body. What's worse is that once it starts to stretch there's not ample room for it to fully increase everywhere, so some area's the intestine can get crimped, causing cramps and constipation.

I started to wonder about this years and years ago. How come that person has skinny legs, and skinny arms, no extra fat in other places, but has a HUGE BELLY. It's not always the stomach. I would bet money for sure. That person had a problem having BM's.

Just because you have 1BM every day or every other day doens't mean it's healthy.. Your finally getting rid of dinner that you hate 4-5 days previous.

Laxatives are only temporary, as they basically act like drano in your pipes and create an opening that usually only liquid waste can go through. Then it gets clogged up again.

Over 10 years ago, I was eating dinner, having 2nd helpings for dinners, and I believe it was Xmas time when I realized that I ate so much food, yet the next day, I would have BM that was no where near the amount of food I ate. I then noticed for a few days and realized that I wasn't getting rid of anywhere close to the amount I was eating, I'd get bloated, gained more weight, something had to be done.

I found out about a herbal cleanse, and you can take it as a tea, or as a capsule, and when I did.. Bam. I was having at least 2 BM's, and started to remove alot of matter that was decomposing in my body.

E-mail me if you are interested in finding out more about this product.

It does contrain Physillium husk and I have heard before that this herb has been great for promoting BM's

Elvis Presley before passing away bloated up with weight. When passed away, he had lots of his favorite sandwich undigested in his system. Deep fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches.

From snopes.com : Elvis's colon should be about 2 inches in dimater, however it was at least 3.5 and some places 4.5-5 inches in diameter and was jam packed .