Chronic constipation ruining my life

My Mother suffered from constipation all her life. None of the prescribed remedies worked. She had a motion every 5 days and it was really painful I advised her to try cutting down on white bread, she did and replaced it with Warburton's seeded batch. Two small slices for breakfast with marmalade and she increased her fluid intake (drank more tea). After a few days she started going to the loo every morning and her stools were soft. She was delighted.

You really have to take aperients. You cannot suffer constipation like that. It isn't just the discomfort.

The goodness in the food you need are absorbed by osmosis and the waste products need to be got rid of. If they stay in the gut too long the toxins are liable to be reabsorbed like osmosis in reverse. That makes your liver and kidneys work overtime trying to get rid of them. That is what makes you tired,

I suffer too. You can take any of the aperients on the market or ask your GP. There is a powder called Laxido which my GP recommends and which you can easily increase the dose without too many after affects.

I haven’t rtft but I just wanted to say 800 mg of magnesium citrate was a game changer for me. It’s above the recommended amount but it worked and then I reduced the daily dose.
it took a couple of weeks

Do you take the iron with vitamin c?
tinned pears help me, drink the juice too

I know you have been given a lot of advice and to echo what others have said, the ferrous fumarate will likely be contributing. I see it all the time in my line of work. Do you have low iron?

Coeliac disease

Do you get regular exercise, and I mean exercise where your blood is pumping, not just a slow strole?

This works but even better is if you can put your feet up on the seat

Regular Psyllium Husk (I take up to 4 a day) and a strong coffee 😂

Thats all that’s worked for me but I’m going to try magnesium based on the thread! Thank you and good luck OP 🙂

Yes they are brutal aren’t they? I have them too, oh my, the texture and that
”earthy” taste”’🤮🤣

You need to be eating three portions of fruit and four of veg a day. If veg is hard to manage up the fruit. Banana, satsuma, apple, strawberries or raspberries, grapefruit every day.

Drink 8 glasses of still water at least.

Cut out all crisps and processed food. No peanut butter, no white bread. All bread should be brown and make pasta and rice wholemeal/brown. Nothing with a cheap white flour eg pizza bases.

Eat prunes - four or five a day, get them in a bag from the dried fruit section.

I use a stool, and I have a glass of kefir every evening. Lots of veg, some fruit. Keeps me right.

@Enigma54 yes, they are awful but they really work. Hence the reason I chop them into small pieces with a knife 😂😂

Take 5 x your body weight in pounds of magnesium, (so, for example, if you are 140 pounds, take 700mg a day). Oxide is wonderful for constipation, but try to get as many bioavailable forms as you can to increase absorption; so epsom salts baths; magnesium lotion/cream/spray oil on your skin (soles of your feet is fab for getting it into your system quickly). Magnesium glycinate is great for sleep and threonate good for mood.

Be very careful with fibre as it can do the opposite of what you are needing it to do and just bloat you and cause discomfort.

How is your gut? Look into probiotics to get your microbiome in check.

I would advise you research Mega Mag by Trace Minerals and read the reviews. please be careful with it and go low and slow as it will cause diarrhoea if you take too much too soon. It is expensive but potent.

Finally, ensure your diet contains lots of good fats.

My daughter suffered years of constipation - all investigations were clear and they concluded a slow moving colon. She has a magnesium protocol now and is completely fine (with probiotics and other supplements to ensure mineral balance).

Chai seeds as the PP says are excellent. Take daily, 2 table spoons (drink plenty of water as chai seeds absorb loads of water (which is a great thing for constipation)) and agree re fasting. Absolutely brilliant to rest your gut.

Hope this helps.

Have you had you thyroid tested?

Don't want to scare you but partner had this for years. Eventually turned out to be a symptom of a Parkinson's type disease. Other symptoms included disturbed REM sleep and disappearance of his sense of smell. No one put the symptoms together until he started to have serious falls and other parkinson type symptoms. If you really can't fix it the usual ways it is worth checking for possible more serious causes. I am only mentioning this because I wish we had known earlier and wouldn't want anyone else to dismiss these apparently unrelated symptoms.

Have you given birth vaginally before? Could be pelvic floor dysfunction, worth seeing a women’s health physio.

If you go on the Linwoods website they have lots of recipes for flaxseeds which make them not horrible.

Prune baby food pouches. If you’re not going anywhere for a couple of days you could mix one of them into some chia pudding and wash it down with a double espresso. But it’s not for the faint-hearted.

Are they the Ortis cubes? The ones which stick to your teeth?

Recent research indicates it could be your gut bacteria, you could try the SEED probiotic and prebiotic tablet.

Im quite bad too could be days. I upped my fluids more fruit etc. I cant drink loads as help on school bus with kids! Had colon checked last year. Suggested better eating and water

Chia seeds are my saviours. A couple of table spoons mixed with enough milk to cover them and 3 tbsp of natural yogurt; topped with fruit. Leave it for a couple of hours so the seeds rehydrate. Works without fail!

Hiya,
The raised foot posture has a positive impact here, knees need to be higher than pelvis ideally.
Have you tried anything bacteria-based like a probiotic such as BioGaia or Symprove? Symprove is fairly expensive but worth looking into, there tend to be deals for a 3 month trial. For me it worked initially but didn’t maintain the same effect but everyone is different. BioGaia drops have been positive so far for my little girl who also had issues with constipation.
Dad used to have results with apricot juice.
Hope you find your answer.

Absolutely!
As soon as I had to stop running due to Achilles issues my constipation returned despite eating well and strength training. Brisk walking, jogging and running all stimulate the intestines and speed up transit time through the bowels.

Honestly, glycerol suppositories.

Pop one up the bum, lie on your bed for 15 minutes and you'll be cleared out in no time at all.

They're dead cheap on Amazon and work amazingly.

Harmless as it's a sugary solution that loosens the stuck stools up and makes your poo soft and easy to come out.

Might seem alien at first, but I use one straight away if I'm ever constipated.

I feel your pain.

Have you tried fruits and fibre from Holland and Barrett? It's a fruit tablet with natural ingredients. I take half every day and it has kept me regular.

If you do try it, remember to cut it into smaller pieces. The taste in my opinion, is not pleasant but small pieces make it better, I also choose not to chew it, just squash it and swallow lol.