Pooper troopers! Any advice about lack of poopage while on medication?

Ouiser8
Ouiser8 Posts: 10 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi guys!

Obviously a TMI question, but whatevs, I've lost my dignity a long time ago. :p

I've been on a 1200 calorie since June, and I've lost 7 lbs so far. I'm keeping up with it, along with 40 minute workouts every day, and I'm really pleasantly surprised with my discipline thus far. One thing that I was hoping would get better would be going number 2. Going to the bathroom is always an ordeal, even before my diet. The output is hardly equivalent to the input.

Basically, I poop about a tablespoon of what's basically sludge every 2 days. Like that's all I'm capable of. But I NEVER feel constipated. My doctor and I have traced my bathroom issues to when I started going on Prozac, but because the meds were doing so well we decided to make a lifestyle change instead.

Well, the lifestyle change ain't amounting to zilch when it comes to poop.

For a solid month I've been drinking incredible amounts of water every day. Maybe like 96 oz, along with three glasses of Metamucil, a cup of coffee, and a cup of tea.

Zilch.

I started eating spinach salad with my lunch and dinner.

Zilch.

Breakfast is usually: turkey bacon, oatmeal, tea, metamucil
lunch: protein bar, salad, metamucil, cheese stick
dinner: reds burrito, salad, carrots, metamucil,veggie straws

So basically, I've dealing with poor pooping for 8 months. Methinks this is a Prozac issue. But I love my Prozac. It's saved my life. Is there anything else I'm missing, or that I can do to encourage regular poops, without switching meds? Sometimes I get paranoid about anything colon related as my mother died of colon cancer when she was 48 (I'm only 29), but my doctor already thinks I'm a hypochondriac, ha.

Thanks!

Replies

  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,745 Member
    Pulses? They work for me
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,244 Member
    1200cal is very little. There just isn't much to poop in 1200cals.
    My advice is what my gastro told me: eat lots more volume foods. He suggested carrots. I sometimes do cos I like shredded carrot salad with salt and vinegar and a dash of oil.
    If you are not constipated then no need to worry.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    What is your fat and fibre intake like? Lower volume in equals lower volume out. 1200 calories tends to not have much volume, although it can, depending on what your are eating.
  • Ouiser8
    Ouiser8 Posts: 10 Member
    Welp. I was a little stunned at how obvious the answer is. You're all right. The volume can't equal the output. Honestly I'm probably still in the mindset of when I was eating like 3000 calories a day, mostly fast food, and still not pooping, but I need to rethink things in the sense of my new diet. There simply isn't enough volume going in. Hm. I'm not too keen on the idea of upping my caloric intake, but maybe I'll start small with the addition of carrots and peas. Anyone have other recommendations of higher volume (but still light on the diary) foods?

    Thanks guys!
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    I would check your fat, you need fat not just for this issue but some vitamins need fat to be absorbed and used by the body.

    High volume would be most non-starchy veg excepting root veg and avocados (technically a fruit).
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,745 Member
    Not everyone even poops every day, you know.

    I'd be more focused on fixing the consistency than the amount. Maybe you are drinking too much. And that seems like rather a lot of metamucil. If your doctor is recommending that amount, fine, but if not, is it possible you're overdoing it?
  • Ouiser8
    Ouiser8 Posts: 10 Member
    CattOfTheGarage wrote: »
    Not everyone even poops every day, you know.

    I'd be more focused on fixing the consistency than the amount. Maybe you are drinking too much. And that seems like rather a lot of metamucil. If your doctor is recommending that amount, fine, but if not, is it possible you're overdoing it?

    Well the metamucil is only a teaspoon in a large glass of water, so basically it's three teaspoons a day- which is the recommended amount on the bottle. But is too much water problematic?
  • mitch16
    mitch16 Posts: 2,113 Member
    Have you tried prune juice? 2 oz a day is usually enough--microwave it for 15-20 seconds to warm it up a bit. I'm not going to say that it's pleasant, but it did the trick for me when I was on opioids after surgery.
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,745 Member
    Ouiser8 wrote: »
    But is too much water problematic?

    Not usually, but I'm trying to think of things that might be making it softer than you want, and that's one possibility.

    Tbh if your doctor is not worried, I wouldn't be worried, but you can experiment with things like this to see if they help.
  • Ouiser8
    Ouiser8 Posts: 10 Member
    CattOfTheGarage wrote: »
    Ouiser8 wrote: »
    But is too much water problematic?

    Not usually, but I'm trying to think of things that might be making it softer than you want, and that's one possibility.

    Tbh if your doctor is not worried, I wouldn't be worried, but you can experiment with things like this to see if they help.

    That's a really good point! I feel like my number 2's are lacking... substance, lol. I'll try cutting back and increase the pulses and see what changes - thanks!
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,486 Member
    Sorry, 1200 cals isn't the problem.

    I am regular as clock work, and even when I was on 1200, (my sedentary maintenance isn't much more) I managed a good 8" with a caboose of 3-4".
    Now it is 2 a day.

    I often wonder where all mine comes from.

    I do eat a good amount of salad, and veg in general, and am not at all afraid of fat, so I'm well lubricated.

    Wow, was that ever me at my best TMI!

    Cheers, h.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    middlehaitch wrote: »
    Sorry, 1200 cals isn't the problem.

    I am regular as clock work, and even when I was on 1200, (my sedentary maintenance isn't much more) I managed a good 8" with a caboose of 3-4".
    Now it is 2 a day.

    I often wonder where all mine comes from.

    I do eat a good amount of salad, and veg in general, and am not at all afraid of fat, so I'm well lubricated.

    Wow, was that ever me at my best TMI!

    Cheers, h.

    This just made my night!
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    middlehaitch wrote: »
    Sorry, 1200 cals isn't the problem.

    I am regular as clock work, and even when I was on 1200, (my sedentary maintenance isn't much more) I managed a good 8" with a caboose of 3-4".
    Now it is 2 a day.

    I often wonder where all mine comes from.

    I do eat a good amount of salad, and veg in general, and am not at all afraid of fat, so I'm well lubricated.

    Wow, was that ever me at my best TMI!

    Cheers, h.

    Some TMIs are worth reading more than others. I agree that 1200 doesn't necessarily mean low volume, but it could, depending on what OP is eating. Lots of veg and consuming enough fat would be the way to go (pun was a happy accident).
  • Ouiser8
    Ouiser8 Posts: 10 Member
    edited July 2017
    amyrebeccah wrote: »
    Are you on any vitamins or supplements other than the prozac? Vitamin D supplements, for example, affect my poopage.

    No I'm not, except for fibre (metamucil), do you find Vitamin D positively affects your poopage?
  • Ouiser8
    Ouiser8 Posts: 10 Member
    middlehaitch wrote: »
    Sorry, 1200 cals isn't the problem.

    I am regular as clock work, and even when I was on 1200, (my sedentary maintenance isn't much more) I managed a good 8" with a caboose of 3-4".
    Now it is 2 a day.

    I often wonder where all mine comes from.

    I do eat a good amount of salad, and veg in general, and am not at all afraid of fat, so I'm well lubricated.

    Wow, was that ever me at my best TMI!

    Cheers, h.

    Thanks for the laugh!
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
    I get backed up if I don't supplement with vitamin D and magnesium citrate every day. Otherwise it's like trying to poop chalk.

    OP, glad to see you taking care of your mental health.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    OP how many grams of fibre and fat do you get everyday?
  • brockhampton
    brockhampton Posts: 211 Member
    edited July 2017
    Honestly, I was born constipated. I've heard so many horror stories about my infanthood regarding how much effort it took my whole family to coax some poop outta me it's not even funny. I basically pooped an average of 1-2 times a week from birth until adulthoood.

    I've tried fybogel which gave me crippling stomachaches, I've tried coffee which is way too addictive and stopped working after I got used to drinking 6 espressos a day on my last job, I've even tried anal douching which is extremely uncomfortable and makes me feel a bit too much like a pornstar wannabe.

    I have a relatively healthy pooping habit now through a combination of:
    1. Probiotics every morning
    2. Fiber (whole wheat/grain/meal errthang)
    3. No dairy (the cheese thing is super hard because I lovelovelove buffalo mozzarella and goat cheese but I give myself 1-2 days a month where I get to cheese out, I've never liked milk so that was easy for me)
    4. Hydration hydration hydration (at least 2.8 liters of liquids a day)
    5. Pooping stools (y'all westerners have been pooping all wrong)
    6. Set a regular time frame for your every/every other day poop - mine is set to within the first 3 hours of waking up in the morning
    7. YERBA MATE I CANNOT BEGIN TO TELL YOU HOW MUCH I LOVE MATE IT MAKES ME LESS DEPRESSED IT HELPS ME BE LESS FULL OF S**T IT MAKES ME FEEL FANCY AF AND HOLDING ON TO THAT GOURD MAKES ME REACH MY TARGET LIQUID INTAKE EASILY IT

    EDIT: oh I also swapped cereal/oatmeal for muesli (:
    TMI: i just had a glorious poop
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