Alright, here's an awkward topic but I need advice/insight

I've always had trouble and I know that, for me, it runs in my family. Fiber supplements make me worse. I can go 2-3 days without going at times. None of us have ever had any issues with it other than annoyance. If you are very concerned, I'd see a doctor. It is, quite literally, a pain in the butt.

If you've had a prolonged problem with constipation (I had a kid who did this once, sigh -- this is where I got my information), your bowel can get overstretched. It's a muscle, and when it gets overstretched it doesn't squeeze as well as it should, so, the problem becomes self-perpetuating.

The solution in my child's case was for her to have a bowel movement every single day until her colon recovered from its overstretched condition. At first this had to be done with enemas; then with suppositories, then finally she could go on her own every day without those, at which point the bowel was considered to be "recovered." If your problem is severe enough that you can *see* your distended bowel, I would guess that you are in similar condition -- you're going to need to keep it cleaned out until it gets a chance to recover. If it were me, I'd start with the Colace (the stuff they give you before a colonoscopy...), and then I'd use an enema or suppository (the mildest thing that will work) plus fiber and lots of fluids to make sure I went every single day, until I could do it without those.

Do not leave this untreated. If your bowel ruptures, you are in the... um... well. Take care of this. If your doc is not taking it seriously, go to the ER. This needs to be dealt with. It is potentially life-threatening.

I have the same problem. Im lucky if I can go once a week. My husband goes maybe twice a day. We make the joke about how food will make its appearance for him overnight and for me it takes about 5 to 7 business days. Lol. I would probably drop another 10 pounds if I could just freaking empty out. I sometimes find that coffee can help if I drink enough of it. Thats about it. Good luck!

Definitely see a doc - my friend suffered this way for a long time...turned out she has an intolerance with protein, her body couldn't break it down properly. They just kept telling her she must be eating something wrong and then the 'healthier' she ate the worse it got....cos she was eating lots of lean healthy protein!

Here's where I get all motherly: you should be moving your bowels at LEAST once a day. It's normal to be constipated every once in a while, but it sounds to me like you may have a chronic condition and I would highly recommend you see your doctor or ideally a specialist, although your GP would be a good place to start.

No offense to the people posting home remedies, but this is not a simple case of "Gee, I haven't pooped for a couple days."

Not trying to freak you out, but you want to be feeling your best, right!? Go see your doctor!

If you've had a prolonged problem with constipation (I had a kid who did this once, sigh -- this is where I got my information), your bowel can get overstretched. It's a muscle, and when it gets overstretched it doesn't squeeze as well as it should, so, the problem becomes self-perpetuating.

The solution in my child's case was for her to have a bowel movement every single day until her colon recovered from its overstretched condition. At first this had to be done with enemas; then with suppositories, then finally she could go on her own every day without those, at which point the bowel was considered to be "recovered." If your problem is severe enough that you can *see* your distended bowel, I would guess that you are in similar condition -- you're going to need to keep it cleaned out until it gets a chance to recover. If it were me, I'd start with the Colace (the stuff they give you before a colonoscopy...), and then I'd use an enema or suppository (the mildest thing that will work) plus fiber and lots of fluids to make sure I went every single day, until I could do it without those.

Do not leave this untreated. If your bowel ruptures, you are in the... um... well. Take care of this. If your doc is not taking it seriously, go to the ER. This needs to be dealt with. It is potentially life-threatening.

^^ THIS

PLEASE go to a different physician as soon as possible. Not having a bowel movement in that amount of time should concern you, but most importantly, if you can "see" your bowel protruding that should be extremely alarming to you! In fact, you should probably get off the internet on health issues like these and go directly to the ER

only advice I'd give is to go see a doctor ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!

If your doctor still just talks about your diet as for a referral to a specialist. After 3 days of no bowel movement you are medically considered constipated(especially if its been weeks and happens often) and the stool becomes hard in your colon therefore becoming even harder to pass.

While I believe everyones suggestions on laxatives, enamas, colon cleanse & stool softeners are given with nothing but kindness and support to help you situation I would avoid using them until you seek medical attention. People can become reliant on laxatives and stool softeners therefore the body becomes adapted to those medications in order to have a bowel movement. The term "if you don't use it you'll loose it" is very true here in the process of bowel movements. You body can forget how to have a bowel movement and forget what the "urge" is like if someone becomes dependent on stool softeners, laxative and ememas. PLus if there is something else going on that you don't know about, you never know if these remedies are creating more of a problem.

Best of Luck and Positive Thoughts in hope you have a bowel movement soon!

I used to be like that too..maybe go once every week / week and a half.... ..then i started drinking more water....i was already drinking alot..but i started drinking as much as i could....like at least a gallon/day ...or sometimes half my body weight...(ex.300 lbs = 150 oz/day)...that shot it out like a waterslide! Additionally off brand coffee makes it move faster... hope that helps!

The question isn't how many times a week, the question is how many times a day...

When you eat, and especially chew, it should trigger a natural contraction of your bowels called peristalsis which moves things through. This happens for me almost every meal.

The longer matter stays in your bowels, the more unhealthy it is.

If you have an open mind, go to this site:
https://www.herbdoc.com/index.php/Store/5-Day-Bowel-Detox-Program-Capsules

I've done this cleanse and it works miracles. All natural.

If you try it you WILL move!

Some people just have naturally slow bowels and it takes some waking up and exercise for them to act regularly.

I am sorry - but there is absolutely no need to do a cleanse and you do not need to "GO' multiple times a day.

Right. I only go the bathroom once every other week and I don't need to clean anything out?

Going multiple times a day is extremely healthy. What's not healthy is having fecal matter stuck in your bowels for weeks on end.

But I'm just one voice in a sea of people who, individually, know everything.

Here's what's helped me and some others on this diet....

Here's some ideas for getting past constipation:

* Green tea is KNOWN to be constipating. Back off on it or eliminate it completely (I don't drink it as it constipates me and it's not impacted my loss at all)

* Eat more fiber-rich foods.

* Make sure you're getting a *minimum* of 64 ozs of water

* You can add some flaxseed meal to your yogurts -- this has helped *keep* me regular

* Someone recommended 250mg of magnesium twice a day -- this took care of the problem for me

* Over the counter laxatives like Benefiber or Citrucel per Dr. Mike

HTH,
Simmie

only advice I'd give is to go see a doctor ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!

If your doctor still just talks about your diet as for a referral to a specialist. After 3 days of no bowel movement you are medically considered constipated(especially if its been weeks and happens often) and the stool becomes hard in your colon therefore becoming even harder to pass.

While I believe everyones suggestions on laxatives, enamas, colon cleanse & stool softeners are given with nothing but kindness and support to help you situation I would avoid using them until you seek medical attention. People can become reliant on laxatives and stool softeners therefore the body becomes adapted to those medications in order to have a bowel movement. The term "if you don't use it you'll loose it" is very true here in the process of bowel movements. You body can forget how to have a bowel movement and forget what the "urge" is like if someone becomes dependent on stool softeners, laxative and ememas. PLus if there is something else going on that you don't know about, you never know if these remedies are creating more of a problem.

Best of Luck and Positive Thoughts in hope you have a bowel movement soon!

Very good advice.

The question isn't how many times a week, the question is how many times a day...

When you eat, and especially chew, it should trigger a natural contraction of your bowels called peristalsis which moves things through. This happens for me almost every meal.

The longer matter stays in your bowels, the more unhealthy it is.

If you have an open mind, go to this site:
https://www.herbdoc.com/index.php/Store/5-Day-Bowel-Detox-Program-Capsules

I've done this cleanse and it works miracles. All natural.

If you try it you WILL move!

Some people just have naturally slow bowels and it takes some waking up and exercise for them to act regularly.

I am sorry - but there is absolutely no need to do a cleanse and you do not need to "GO' multiple times a day.

Right. I only go the bathroom once every other week and I don't need to clean anything out?

Going multiple times a day is extremely healthy. What's not healthy is having fecal matter stuck in your bowels for weeks on end.

But I'm just one voice in a sea of people who, individually, know everything.

I did NOT say every couple of weeks is OK so I am not sure where you got the idea that I did.

I used to suffer chronic IBS with constipation. It never got as bad as yours sounds but I "fixed" it with tons of fiber and TONS of water each day. Now I go comfortably twice a day. A real gastrointestinal Dr. will be your best bet. You really need to see a specialist to make sure it isn't food allergies, obstructed bowel, etc! Please go to a specialist. A primary care can help but won't have a real answer for you.

The question isn't how many times a week, the question is how many times a day...

When you eat, and especially chew, it should trigger a natural contraction of your bowels called peristalsis which moves things through. This happens for me almost every meal.

The longer matter stays in your bowels, the more unhealthy it is.

If you have an open mind, go to this site:
https://www.herbdoc.com/index.php/Store/5-Day-Bowel-Detox-Program-Capsules

I've done this cleanse and it works miracles. All natural.

If you try it you WILL move!

Some people just have naturally slow bowels and it takes some waking up and exercise for them to act regularly.

I am sorry - but there is absolutely no need to do a cleanse and you do not need to "GO' multiple times a day.

Right. I only go the bathroom once every other week and I don't need to clean anything out?

Going multiple times a day is extremely healthy. What's not healthy is having fecal matter stuck in your bowels for weeks on end.

But I'm just one voice in a sea of people who, individually, know everything.

I did NOT say every couple of weeks is OK so I am not sure where you got the idea that I did.

But you did say, you don't need to cleanse, which seems ridiculous since the entire point is to eliminate (cleanse) the fecal matter from the bowels.

And you did say you don't need to go multiple times a day. While technically this is true (proven by the fact the OP is still typing after not having had a BM for two weeks), the fact still remains that having frequent bowel movements is healthy, and it IS the body's natural reaction to try to eliminate waste after eating. Sometimes that reaction is just slowed down by dietary and hereditary factors.

"Cleansing" (aka, eliminating the festering fecal matter) using natural products can strengthen the bowels and make future, regularity possible, because it stimulates the peristalsis response.

Seeing a doctor is a great idea. They will, however, most likely treat your symptom and leave you with a sluggish bowel.

@17DayDietGal Green tea is commonly used as a laxative. Don't know why you would think it causes constipation:

Benefits of Green Tea

Green tea has been connected to cancer prevention, lower cholesterol and diabetes control. Green tea also is used to treat inflammation of the bowels, especially in patients with Crohn's and colitis. In ancient and traditional medicine practices, green tea is used as an astringent and diuretic. Because of the caffeine content in green tea, it promotes excretion of bodily fluids, including urine and stool. Consult with your physician before using green tea to treat a medical condition.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/481474-is-green-tea-a-laxative/#ixzz1tDLY66Sc

Decrease caffeine, increase water intake, take fiber supplement, move your body, like at least walk 30 minutes day, warm soak in a tub each day.