I just can't poo and my DR was of no help

AMamaLana · January 2015

All of those Google search results tell you the same stuff "it's your medication, you're pregnant, not enough water, not enough fiber, etc." Most websites tell you pooping twice a week is "normal". I really don't believe this, I personally think about once a day is closer to "normal". I'm lucky if I poo twice a week now, this has been going on for 6 weeks at this intensity.
These aren't helping me. My primary care doc was absolutely useless and just kept trying to give me referrals all around the state instead of answering my questions.
I realize you won't have much food diary to look at. Especially as I have lowered my caloric intake, using the diary can be really hard for me. Touch of OCD, unmedicated ADHD, I try to use it for a few days here and there to make sure I am not really off track counting calories again (I know I know, everyone has calorie counting errors) but I have to walk away from it because I get over-stressed about what/how I eat and just end up breaking down and stuffing my face full of 12 donuts...just doesn't work too well for me hahaha.

Monday through Friday I am awake at 6AM, eat/coffee and 6:45, have kids out the door at 8:20 and I have scheduled into my routine adequate time to sit on the porcelain throne and relax. We walk a block, drop one kid off, walk a quarter of a mile to drop other two off, and I walk home to speed clean or walk to errands around town, grocery store, etc. At noon I walk to get one child, return home. At 2:50 child and I walk the quarter mile to retrieve other two kids, and walk home again. We live on the fourth floor and city is all up and down hills, so while I may not be getting a true cardio workout, I do not sit on my tush 10 hrs a day either. Just going up my stairs makes you huff and puff a bit, never mind when I gotta carry a kid or groceries up!
I go for long hikes (several hours, several miles) when I can, we haven't a car at the moment.

Most days (at least 5/7 a week) I get 6-8 8oz cups of plain filtered water in. Some days worse, some better, it is my current big area of focus to make sure I drink as I thought maybe that's the poo problem. I've maintained this for over a month, it didn't improve the problem, but yes I will continue to focus on water anyway.

I've thought for a long time that I have dairy and wheat sensitivities and I do believe my serious eczema bouts are related to diet that includes these foods. I try to watch how much I eat, and/or eat alternatives. Stuff like corn, wild rice, barley, quinoa, etc doesn't seem to bother me so most of my food stuffs got switched over. So, I don't think it is a lack of this type of fiber. If I have had lots of wheat or dairy, my belly gets constipated, bloaty, maybe really loose poo and it is very uncomfortable/painful and then the eczema flares bad. When my diet has wheat and dairy alternatives mostly, I have been constipated and bloaty but it doesn't HURT...if that makes sense? Does it count as constipation if it doesn't hurt?

I am stingy with juice at home, because if I think of drinking something besides a coffee or two a day and my water, I won't want to drink my water (the kids are bad influence here too.) I canned hundreds of jars of organic local fruit produce last summer (used recipes without added ingredients, so not sugared up peaches), we've been munching down a few jars per week for snacks or a dinner side, even as desserts. I usually have some fresh fruits available as well, we're in a New England city so this time of year is not good for fresh.

We have a big serving of veggies with every dinner, I even mix veggies into one dish meal type things like casseroles, and have found many ways to disguise cooked spinach that I otherwise wouldn't eat haha.

I do not take any medications.
No supplements, no prescription pills, no magic capsules, no fairy dusts, nada. My birth control is a NON hormonal IUD, there is nothing released from it and I've had it for years. Rarely do I take painkillers, Benadryl maybe a few times per month to settle down some of the extreme eczema/skin reactions I'm prone to.

Currently, I haven't had a productive bathroom visit, and trust me I've been trying, since mid last week. Mid last week I had a trip that resulted in a disappointing amount of success, as I hadn't had poo success for four days previous of then! I've been watching the scale every few days. Three weeks ago I was 123# and very excited to be 5# away from goal weight. In three weeks, calculating my calorie consumption ups and downs, I'd expect to be about 121# right now but I'm 127#...because I'm full of ****...

Please tell me some more useful info than Google and my DR could

CObluegrass · January 2015

how is your oil/fat intake? for me, if it's not lack of water, it's because I'm not getting enough oil in my diet so I'll try to cook something with olive oil to get these moving along. If all else fails, a night of cheap beer and fast food usually works too. :-)

kwjager · January 2015

Citrucell, in large quantities, may help.

Icandoityayme · January 2015

CObluegrass wrote: »

how is your oil/fat intake? for me, if it's not lack of water, it's because I'm not getting enough oil in my diet so I'll try to cook something with olive oil to get these moving along. If all else fails, a night of cheap beer and fast food usually works too. :-)

I find sometimes when I eat something greesy that does the trick.

icrushit · January 2015

Fat in your diet is supposed to be very good for lubricating things..

CJisinShape · January 2015

Green tea, green tea, green tea. Did I mention green tea?

CObluegrass · January 2015

from experience, I also found that a long walk is helpful. Apparently, the further you are from home, the more things get moving. $:\$

JenniferIsLosingIt · January 2015

Yes, but how about prunes or other pooinducing things. There is also magnesium supliments that will help in this department as welll

successgal1 · January 2015

Can you open your diary to public? I've had issues like yours. Dairy will bloat me, its the lactose. Yogurt not as much and homemade kefir not at all, because most of the lactose is gone. I stopped drinking skim milk and switched to almond or cashew milk for my coffee. Reduced fat kefir, not fat free. Other then that I've pretty much eliminated dairy. Even with eating lots of veggies etc, I don't get enough fiber for me to poop well. LOL I add unflavored psyllium to my morning smoothie. I added fat back to my life in the form of coconut oil. I either add a bit to a smoothie, but I also saute my kale with it, fat helps absorb the vitamins. Try magnesium too. I've also took grains out almost completely, even whole ones. I'll have beans with my kale for lunch. Bush's makes some really good chili beans of various varieties that I like. Oatmeal is my only other grain, an instant packet a day in a pumpkin smoothie. VERY high fiber and like liquid pumpkin pie!

Anyway, adding psyllium to my diet, along with the veggies/beans works for me, and don't eliminate all oil.

If that doesn't help in a couple of weeks, you may want to try a cleanse. If not a full out cleanse, I keep this around for occasional use http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/renew-life-cleanse-more-dietary-supplement-capsules/ID=prod6090973-product?ext=gooVitamins_ampersand_Supplements_PLA_Cleanse_prod6090973_pla&adtype=pla&kpid=sku6082107&sst=61c6dbae-cfca-25e9-6aef-000035b753b8&kpid=sku6082107#descriptionNamedTab

But I haven't had to use it since I started with kefir/fruit/veggie smoothies with psyllium.

lisaw19855 · January 2015

I had a similar problem for the first 4 weeks of my diet, not pooing for days then struggling to poo. Turns out I'd dropped my fat too much, had a KFC cheat me and BINGO had a poop once a day since x

Francl27 · January 2015

Find another doctor. Have you been tested for food allergies?

sjaplo · January 2015

I'm sure you'll "work" it out....

VeryKatie · January 2015

Hmm.. wheat, dairy and eczema... you sound like me. For me, I usually have to limit all grains (some is fine, but not more than usually once a day) as well as all dairy. Then eating higher fat helps (higher fiber I find does not help me) and water. Coffee can also be my best friend at times. Pound back 3-4 cups of that and 45 mins later you can't keep me out of the bathroom haha.

Best of luck! Try some prunes.

agal129 · January 2015

Have you really calculated how much fiber you are getting?

What about eating a big bowl of beans? Oatmeal with flaxseed?

successgal1 · January 2015

It also sounds like you could have problems with gluten, I'm not expert though. Is your doctor a DO? I prefer DO's to be more into nutrition and prevention.

TheVirgoddess · January 2015

Yes to the fat. It makes things go.

I'm on several medications that make pooping more difficult - I make sure to get enough fat/fiber, I take a daily magnesium supplement, and I use a stool in the bathroom to put my feet on (this sounds weird, but it's been INCREDIBLY helpful).

I would not recommend a cleanse. My pharmacist had me do 2 weeks of stool softners once a day when things got really bad - that helped regulate things, too.

Good luck. I hate, HATE when I can't go. It makes me so grumpy and miserable.

hipyogacat · January 2015

Have you looked into FODMAPS? Some people have difficulty digesting certain types of carbohydrate, leading to constipation, diarrhea, or alternating. Here's a link to two charts. Look at the second one (the red one) to see if you notice a pattern with foods that are triggering symptoms (both milk & wheat are FODMAPS, btw). http://www.ibsgroup.org/brochures/fodmap-intolerances.pdf

cheshirecatastrophe · January 2015

"Have you tried eating prunes. Eat prunes and come back in 30 days if they don't help."

"Oh. Prunes didn't help? Take Metamucil and come back in 30 days if it doesn't help."

Blah.

Here are things I have tried. Some of them worked for me for a period of time, some of them didn't but have worked for other people.

One thing that holds VERY true for me is, I can't let myself get backed up more than 2 days or I am TOAST, nothing's happening no matter what. And some days, I just need the solid glycerin suppositories to get things moving. (I have needed them to trigger actual diarrhea before, even when I'm near tears from the cramping. My GI tract is weird.) They don't work all the time, but they are an essential tool in my IBS kit. For the super heavy hitter times, I need a mineral oil enema followed by a normal saline one. (Or the doctor-prescribed colonoscopy prep stuff, GoLytely...yum?)

--Canned pumpkin (this worked well for so long that my fingers turned orange from carotenemia/Vitamin A poisoning!)
--Magnesium supplements
--MiraLax (worked like magic for about a month, seven years ago, and hasn't worked since)
--More green leafy vegetables than you thought could fit in your stomach
--Avoiding wheat
--All artificial sugar, all the time
--Almonds (my current magic for switching from an IBS-C to an IBS-D phase. This might fall under the fats heading, but honestly, cashews and macademia nuts don't have nearly the same impact)

When I was little my mom used to have me drink prune juice at night (prunes do nothing for me, but the juice can help), but she says it was always a gamble because what if things were on their way to a change the next day...

_Zardoz_ · January 2015

lanashirley wrote: »

My primary care doc was absolutely useless and just kept trying to give me referrals all around the state instead of answering my questions.

Maybe he was trying to refer you to someone who could help you and answer your questions. They are General Practitioners so not experts in everything when they feel it appropriate they will refer you on to someone more specialised. Your Dr obviously thought you needed to see someone so why not take his advice rather than just asking random people on the internet

MrTolerable · January 2015

eat nuts, beans, and more water bro

Azexas · January 2015

Have you seen a Gastroenterologist? That's their specialty.

I also agree with others to open up your diary. What does your daily intake of fat and fiber look like?

successgal1 · January 2015

_Zardoz_ wrote: »

lanashirley wrote: »

My primary care doc was absolutely useless and just kept trying to give me referrals all around the state instead of answering my questions.

Maybe he was trying to refer you to someone who could help you and answer your questions. They are General Practitioners so not experts in everything when they feel it appropriate they will refer you on to someone more specialised. Your Dr obviously thought you needed to see someone so why not take his advice rather than just asking random people on the internet

Yes, this. I thought for some reason your GP was not sending you to appropriate help. Take the darn referrals. Especially if there's a nutritionist involved.

azulvioleta6 · January 2015

If you have access to a nurse hotline (for example, through your insurance) that is probably a good resource. You could ask a pharmacist too.

Make sure that you aren't consuming a lot of constipating foods. These include cheese (especially hard cheeses), white rice, green bananas, chocolate, and red meat.

You need 25-35 grams of fiber in your diet daily, so add prunes, beans, flax, chia (or other seeds) and tons of veggies. Pears are good, as a pomegranate seeds and other fibrous fruits. I agree that not getting enough oil/fat could be an issue. This doesn't have to come from cooking--taking daily fish and flax oil caps can help.

If you are really stopped up, a one-time enema could be the solution, followed by dietary changes. Taking Colace might help too. Colace is super gentle, so it won't immediately solve your problem. Both of these things are available in any pharmacy.

cheshirecatastrophe · January 2015

I have, if anything, *worse* experience with gastroenterologists than PCPs/random doctors in other specialities I have begged for any solutions they might possibly have come across.

yopeeps025 · January 2015

Try a long duration run for you OP. That should gets things moving in the right direction.

WednesdayJanuary07th2015 · January 2015

Wow you seem almost like me, I sometimes only go #2 once every 2 weeks yet I don't suffer from constipation, it's as if my body just absorbs everything; I eat. Although I also have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome & therefore assume that I don't produce enough energy, for my body to be able to digest; rather than absorb most of what I consume. I have been like this since I was diagnosed with CFS, nearly 20 years ago. The only problem that I have with it, is that it's hard to lose weight & it's very easy to gain, I have to diet; to even just maintain my weight.

azulvioleta6 · January 2015

yopeeps025 wrote: »

Try a long duration run for you OP. That should gets things moving in the right direction.

Good point...OP, are you getting enough exercise? Do you wear a step tracker? I wonder if the quarter miles that you are walking here and there actually add up to much distance. If you aren't wearing a step tracker, that might be something to consider.

azulvioleta6 · January 2015

cheshirecatastrophe wrote: »

I have, if anything, *worse* experience with gastroenterologists than PCPs/random doctors in other specialities I have begged for any solutions they might possibly have come across.

Yeah, it's the kind of question that doctors tend to foist off on nurses. Still, he should have at least pointed you in the right direction.

MKEgal · January 2015

"Normal" is different for every person. Some people normally poo once a day, others twice a week.
The thing to be concerned about is a sudden / recent change, esp. if it's causing pain.
If you're normally a once-a-day person & you've recently become a twice-a-week person, figure out what changed & change it back if you can.

Things which usually help relieve constipation:
- exercise (walk more)
- water (drink lots more, 48 oz isn't nearly enough; in the summer sometimes I have 3L)
- fiber (fruit, veggies, beans, lentils, whole grains); the 9 oz of blackberries I had with breakfast had 13g of fiber, which is about half the normal daily recommendation

My doctor assures me that it would be perfectly OK to take both miralax & metamucil every day, so try a dose of each every day for a week or two, until things get moving. Put them in separate glasses, with 8 oz of water each, so you're getting even more water.

jgnatca · January 2015

It looks like you've got lots of ideas to try. I agree with lots of them. I personally find that Premier Protein constipates me. Every time. So I try and follow it up with flowing foods.

A revelation for me is that there are two types of fiber and only one helps with constipation. Read and learn.

http://www.nutritionmd.org/nutrition_tips/nutrition_tips_understand_foods/fiber_types.html

AMamaLana · January 2015

Wow, thanks for all the replies so quick.

So I do cook everything in EVOO, or a slap of butter for select foods.
I have a blood disorder, long complicated thing but basically boils down to permanent not-fixable anemia. I can improve my iron/anemia levels with health conscious and diet conscious choices to alleviate/keep off symptoms. And so, 75% of all our foods at home get cooked on/in cast iron and that has made the single most beneficial change for our blood disorder struggles. No, it is not possible that my iron will EVER get high enough to cause constipation via cooking on cast iron.
My normal breakfast is two large eggs "fried" in a dab of olive oil and 16oz coffee. Mmmm fat, I actually find myself craving the egg yolks sometimes and it is hard to resist eating more than two eggs. I've been eating this for breakfast for nearly a year.
My coffee USED TO make me poo like clockwork, maybe miss up to two morning poos if I had too much dairy or wheat the days prior and such was an obvious association, but I would always resume to regularity with coffee. Doesn't matter how much coffee I have now or how often, nothing happens not even an urge nor a gurgle.
We eat red meat about once a week, mmm iron but usually eat fish and chicken or another protein like beans on occasion (few times a month?) Most dinners are baked with a tad of EVOO under the seasoned fish, or pan seared or steamed with a bit of EVOO.

I went through the business of a GI specialist with my boys. I couldn't even handle tracking their daily food intake for a few days, and there's no way I could do mine (just like the diary on here, and I literally have no more mental energy to expend to these kinds of things right now.) All three of my kids are special needs. And without childcare or a car, it is out of easy possibility to make more appointments for myself. The closest GIs taking my insurance were 30min drive. My primary didn't know of any allergists less than 30min drive that took my insurance.

It crossed my mind that I could be burning up/using more of what I consume (so less poo) because I am still trying to limit caloric intake while walking kids to school in bitter cold temperatures. I'm that person that needs slippers and sweaters in the summer, 5* weather walks several times a day definitely leave me hungrier, more tired, grumpier, etc. and always COLD. I know that takes more energy to keep you warm, but my belly definitely is swelling in an unpleasant constipated manner regardless, so that isn't the sole issue

I do treat myself to some dark chocolate in the evenings. It is my "reward" for surviving another day of children hahaha. I am mindful of serving sizes listed on package, am trying to still lose weight after all. I'm generally not eating a candy bar, it is usually a square of a finer rich dark chocolate.

I LOVE cheese and would eat some with every meal if I could. Alas, between the dairy sensitivity (my coffee must have some creamer, so that takes up some of my daily dairy servings) and migraines that are triggered by too much cheese, chocolate, and hormones, I don't eat much cheese anymore.

We did have a good heaping portion of home made oatmeal (from dry oats, no sugar or stuffs) cooked in apple cider and topped with dried cranberries for Saturday's breakfast. No productive bathroom trip that day, just a sugary tasty breakfast.

We substitute our cow milk for almond milk. Some nice nut fats in that. I don't drink it in a cup, but it is used to replace any milk I would cook or bake with, I even make things creamier with it like soup, noodle stuff, mashed potatoes.

If I eat cereal it is usually with, or I add, nutty crunchy granola mix things. I do enjoy nuts, sometimes I eat a scoop of peanut butter with some other snacks for my lunch.

I am allergic to pomegranate.

I just can't poo and my DR was of no help

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