Constipation and what works
Replies
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I agree that we ought not be taking a laxative or stool softener daily, but I can see where someone would get to that place without realizing... the mag chelate I take is a food supplement (like taking calcium). If I forget to take it, I'm not suffering drastically. I still get bound up occasionally, but I am the most regular I've been in decades. And I was doing everything dietary that people recommend, plus tons of water... I still do all of that, but the magnesium seems to be the key for me to stay mostly regular and not have to resort to things no one wants to talk about.
It is bad for you, long run, to have to strain and push for a bm. It's important to find a solution that helps you not have to do this, and to heal up from hemorrhoids, rectal prolapse, and so on. Plus I tend to think that the more you have to fight for a bm, the more damaged your rectum nerve endings and blood vessels become, and it's a vicious cycle.
So to sum up,
*Eat your fruits and veggies,
*drink more water than before,
*Get some exercise,
*Take magnesium as a supplement,
*When all else fails, (including otc remedies), a warm water enema can make you feel reborn,
*Don't give up hope.0 -
I'm doing well but my husband and son are both dealing with constipation issues.
Fiber One: It's much easier to get people to eat fiber packaged as a brownie.
High Fiber Bread: A lot of tasty bread has high fiber. I look for 20% RDA or more. Mission Carb balance has something like 60% and it tastes pretty good. Even corn tortillas can be surprisingly high fiber.
Beans: I try to put beans in food whenever I can. Ground beef or turkey cut with some black beans stretches the budget, adds fiber, and even picky eaters may not notice. Great in tacos.
Water: Yes plain water is best. But flavored water gets consumed more...I like adding some lemon or a flavor enhancer packet.
Exercise: When constipated you feel like just sitting on the couch but it's the worst thing to do. Get up, walk, do some mild twisting movements. Yoga and belly dance is really good if not in pain.
Popcorn: More fiber than you would think, and fits really well on MFP.0 -
I was chronically constipated, even though I drank about a gallon of water a day, ate tons of fruit and veggies, and consumed boat loads of fiber. I finally started using a powdered magnesium (mainly for my chronic migraines) and holy smokes....nothing stays in me. It's such a great feeling. Magnesium pills never did anything for me, but powder form, I guess my body just absorbs it better. It's been a miracle.0
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I'm going in for abdominal surgery (a partial hysterectomy) so making sure there is no..blockage is important. I've been prepping for that by upping my fiber game with Metamucil (must use cold water or it's heinous) it is a laxative but fiber based (so it both counts and doesn't apparently), the fiber X2 Nature's Own break (mmm mealy grains), dried plums (I don't care what the package says), and since Publix had them on bogo the Flat Out wraps which can have anywhere from 8-10g of fiber depending on the brand. I have some OTC medicines for when the time comes, but hey, fiber is important and I definitely had not been getting enough as it was.
Edit: The paperwork also said lots of water, and some walking around. I spiked a bottle of creamer I put in the fridge (it's noted in several places that creamer in fridge isn't public) with a bottle of milk of mag. so I like to think I'm helping someone out with their dietary issues.0 -
Sugar free Metamucil. It's not really a laxative, just ground up psyllium husks. It's the only thing that has ever worked for me. YMMV.
Edit: Oops. I didn't realize this was a really old thread that I've already replied to with the same advice.0 -
ronjsteele1 wrote: »ronjsteele1 wrote: »Magnesium does not work for me.
I had to go to the doctors. I have medication and sometimes THAT doesn't work. Sometimes even a laxative doesn't work. It feels horrible to not go for days and then have a laxative do nothing.
I didn't develop this problem until last summer. It *kitten* sucks.
I would highly recommend digestive enzymes at every meal. We had to start our girl out on two capsules of BioGest (no other brand worked for her) per meal. It took about 2-3 weeks for it to kick in with regularity but when it did it took care of her chronic constipation. We did that for a few years. After that we slowly cut back to one per meal, then just twice a day, etc. etc. Might be worth a try. Can't hurt anyway.....
like pro biotics?
t
No. Digestive enzymes are polar opposite of probiotics. They help breakdown the food you eat so it doesn't sit and clog your gut up. We found our girl just didn't digest her food well so her body couldn't push it through very easily. I would encourage you to try bio gest made by Thorne (they have several so make sure it's the bio gest) and take 1000mg of magnesium OXIDE (not citrate) per day. I bet taking two capsules of the enzymes per meal and the mag oxide at night will really help. Give it an honest two weeks taking both at the same time and see what happens. It can be a tough issue to overcome but with some experimenting you can get there. But I totally understand because our girl could go two weeks without going and it was awful!
The form of the nutrient is indeed important. For example:
- I take magnesium aspartate daily for something else and have no laxative effects whatsoever. Many people find iron supplements to be constipating, but I don't have this issue with the ones I take, currently iron bisglycinate.
- Many other forms of iron did nothing to improve my iron or energy levels.1 -
I gaurantee that this trick works and you don't have to go out any buy a supplement or anything like that!!!...The solution is boiling HOT plain water. I sip one large cup in the morning and one in the evening. You can even add one cup at lunch. Stay far away from cold, ice water. It does not help at all with digestion.
As an added plus you should increase fruit and vegetable intake and decrease animal protein slightly. I personally try to have one animal protein source a day and get my other protein from non-animal protein sources.0 -
MeredithDeVoe1 wrote: »I agree that we ought not be taking a laxative or stool softener daily, but I can see where someone would get to that place without realizing... the mag chelate I take is a food supplement (like taking calcium). If I forget to take it, I'm not suffering drastically. I still get bound up occasionally, but I am the most regular I've been in decades. And I was doing everything dietary that people recommend, plus tons of water... I still do all of that, but the magnesium seems to be the key for me to stay mostly regular and not have to resort to things no one wants to talk about.
It is bad for you, long run, to have to strain and push for a bm. It's important to find a solution that helps you not have to do this, and to heal up from hemorrhoids, rectal prolapse, and so on. Plus I tend to think that the more you have to fight for a bm, the more damaged your rectum nerve endings and blood vessels become, and it's a vicious cycle.
So to sum up,
*Eat your fruits and veggies,
*drink more water than before,
*Get some exercise,
*Take magnesium as a supplement,
*When all else fails, (including otc remedies), a warm water enema can make you feel reborn,
*Don't give up hope.
I'd add adequate fat to the list.
I'm talking some giant blob of the stuff as a cure, but a consistent moderate, adequate amount throughout one's day, ideally from food, as a matter of routine.
It seems like I've seen this "too little fat" problem more frequently here on MFP, probably because some people falsely believe they need to eat as little fat as humanly possible in order to lose weight, but they also start eating larger amounts of fiber-containing foods at the same time.
Ultra low fat is not a good strategy for one's excretory system, and it doesn't help one properly absorb all the available micronutrients in other foods, besides.1 -
It's magnesium citrate, by the way, but yes, 400 mg of that will fully activate the nerves operating peristalsis. Another thing I've found is that 10 mg Chia seeds daily have a good regulatory effect. I add it to pizza some days, yogurt others.
Speaking of chelate (greek for "to grab"), phytic acid chelates magnesium and several other beneficial minerals. That's a bad thing. Phytic acid is in the cell walls of many vegetables and grains, but especially so in oatmeal and whole wheat. Do some research on that.0 -
Smooth move tea works for me..2
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kshama2001 wrote: »ronjsteele1 wrote: »ronjsteele1 wrote: »Magnesium does not work for me.
I had to go to the doctors. I have medication and sometimes THAT doesn't work. Sometimes even a laxative doesn't work. It feels horrible to not go for days and then have a laxative do nothing.
I didn't develop this problem until last summer. It *kitten* sucks.
I would highly recommend digestive enzymes at every meal. We had to start our girl out on two capsules of BioGest (no other brand worked for her) per meal. It took about 2-3 weeks for it to kick in with regularity but when it did it took care of her chronic constipation. We did that for a few years. After that we slowly cut back to one per meal, then just twice a day, etc. etc. Might be worth a try. Can't hurt anyway.....
like pro biotics?
t
No. Digestive enzymes are polar opposite of probiotics. They help breakdown the food you eat so it doesn't sit and clog your gut up. We found our girl just didn't digest her food well so her body couldn't push it through very easily. I would encourage you to try bio gest made by Thorne (they have several so make sure it's the bio gest) and take 1000mg of magnesium OXIDE (not citrate) per day. I bet taking two capsules of the enzymes per meal and the mag oxide at night will really help. Give it an honest two weeks taking both at the same time and see what happens. It can be a tough issue to overcome but with some experimenting you can get there. But I totally understand because our girl could go two weeks without going and it was awful!
The form of the nutrient is indeed important. For example:
- I take magnesium aspartate daily for something else and have no laxative effects whatsoever. Many people find iron supplements to be constipating, but I don't have this issue with the ones I take, currently iron bisglycinate.
- Many other forms of iron did nothing to improve my iron or energy levels.
Yes. Very true on the form! You are well informed. Most people don't know (or maybe don't understand) about iron supplements either. Iron does NOT have to be constipating if one takes the right form of it. I have a DD that is really sensitive to magnesium digestively but she's also deficient in mag. We found that mag threonate (sp?) does not give her loose bowels and deals with her deficiency. Oxides tend to be the least absorbable. Chelates are better. Glycinates are one of the more absorbable forms. Always good to check when one is needing a supplement because what good is it to take if it's not going to do what you need it to (in the case of constipation, you need it NOT to absorb)?0 -
Green tea helps me. Though I read somewhere that it has never been scientifically proven to ease constipation so maybe it's just a coincidence.
I saw someone mention Quest bars. Those are actually what ruin me. 15g of fiber in one sitting is just too much for me, even though I drink a lot of water with them. Getting fiber from fruits and vegetables seems to be a better option for me. I eat way too much of what I call "fake fiber" like Quest bars, Halo Top, Fiber One bars. It's something I'm working to improve.0 -
Coffee and Miralax.0
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JeromeBarry1 wrote: »It's magnesium citrate, by the way, but yes, 400 mg of that will fully activate the nerves operating peristalsis. Another thing I've found is that 10 mg Chia seeds daily have a good regulatory effect. I add it to pizza some days, yogurt others.
Speaking of chelate (greek for "to grab"), phytic acid chelates magnesium and several other beneficial minerals. That's a bad thing. Phytic acid is in the cell walls of many vegetables and grains, but especially so in oatmeal and whole wheat. Do some research on that.
I have drank a whole bottle of magnesium citrate. Nothing. Nada.0 -
JeromeBarry1 wrote: »It's magnesium citrate, by the way, but yes, 400 mg of that will fully activate the nerves operating peristalsis. Another thing I've found is that 10 mg Chia seeds daily have a good regulatory effect. I add it to pizza some days, yogurt others.
Speaking of chelate (greek for "to grab"), phytic acid chelates magnesium and several other beneficial minerals. That's a bad thing. Phytic acid is in the cell walls of many vegetables and grains, but especially so in oatmeal and whole wheat. Do some research on that.
I have drank a whole bottle of magnesium citrate. Nothing. Nada.
Mag. Citrate is more absorbable. For constipation you have to take mag oxide. It goes through instead of absorbing.0 -
JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
Ignore my previous post, please.0 -
ronjsteele1 wrote: »JeromeBarry1 wrote: »It's magnesium citrate, by the way, but yes, 400 mg of that will fully activate the nerves operating peristalsis. Another thing I've found is that 10 mg Chia seeds daily have a good regulatory effect. I add it to pizza some days, yogurt others.
Speaking of chelate (greek for "to grab"), phytic acid chelates magnesium and several other beneficial minerals. That's a bad thing. Phytic acid is in the cell walls of many vegetables and grains, but especially so in oatmeal and whole wheat. Do some research on that.
I have drank a whole bottle of magnesium citrate. Nothing. Nada.
Mag. Citrate is more absorbable. For constipation you have to take mag oxide. It goes through instead of absorbing.
Yep, i second this!0 -
Poopy issues are awful no matter which way you suffer. I suffer from short bowel syndrome due to a missing gallbladder and have for 20+ years. I finally came across something that works extremely well for me (and by association my hubby who does suffer from constipation). I eat granola, pumpkin, hemp and chia seeds (approx. 1 tablespoon each) every morning with a small amount of yogurt and a cup of warmed blueberries. It has literally changed my (poopy) life. I can tell when I've missed a few days but when taken regularly - wow. Give it about a month to really make a difference. Wishing you tummy comfort in your future ....0
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flaxseed. It has a mild nutty flavor, and can be added to many things. I like adding it to my oatmeal in the morning.0
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I suffer from this while dieting. I use detox tea before bed a couple nights a week.0
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drinking water, eating green leafy veggies and fruit like apples contain lots of fiber, warm lemon water at night before bed, daily probiotics, peppermint tea, etc.0
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