Chronic constipation ruining my life

Magnesium and also porridge oats for soluble fibre

I've been advised to take Laxido by gastro which does help. Up to four a day which I get on prescription. And soluable fibre. I can't tolerate much fibre at all now. I'm having a SIBO test next. There is some thinking that it can be about the vagus nerve - something about the links between the brain and the gut. There is help with this via the NHS now. Gluten makes mine worse, I know but I test negative for celiacs. It's very difficult to find how to improve it.

I was loving the underachieving thyroid. Poor thing.

Colorectal were brilliant with me. They did alsorts of tests to check my back passage and for me it was from child birth.

Try liquid paraffin and senokot. Glycerin suppositories if that’s not enough. Constipation needs treating promptly and aggressively. Going once a week isn’t ok.

I've had this due to slow transit, only thing that works for me is seeded brown toast every morning.. If I don't eat that I don't go.
Flaxseeds did work at one point, the odd coffee.. Lactose definitely stops everything up so I can't have too much dairy.

One strong caffeinated coffee once in a while clears me out, I usually drink decaffeinated coffee.

Olive oil.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qfXymRn1EJ0

Really strong coffee in the morning. Proper ground coffee, not instant. It's the only thing that makes me go!

Have you seen the colorectal team? They had a constipation clinic when I was under their care for other bowel problems.

I was diagnosed with slow transit constipation about 30 years ago and unfortunately i'm now looking at surgical intervention as my bowel is slowly becoming paralysed despite taking everything that's been thrown at me.

Are you under Gastroenterology at hospital? Might be worth asking your GP for a referral.

My daily regime is 8 to 10 sachets of laxido, bisacodyl and lecicarbon suppositories, Anal irrigation system and now picolax once a week.

I thought the picolax would be the magic bullet but it might work the next day and only with mediocre results.

2 litres of prune juice will work but I can't then leave the house for 3 days. It's all or nothing with me.

I feel for you, it's pretty bloody miserable.

To be fair I have an underactive thyroid and it feels like it’s underachieving me being skinny.

Lots of cooked carrots, salad, pulses, lentils, porridge, figs, prunes, fresh pineapple, lots of fluids. Not too much meat. You have to really work hard to include as many of these foods in your diet every day. You may need to continue with a stimulant laxative, but you should be able to gradually reduce the dose. Allow time to eat breakfast and have a couple of mugs of coffee or tea every morning, then go to the loo in peace if you can.

Two table spoons of chia seeds a day (soaked for 10 minutes in yogurt or some other liquid) helped me.

I also second the squatty potty recommendation.

But honestly, your constipation sounds extreme and probably needs quite extreme measures to fix. Have you gone down the gut microbiome rabbit hole? It might help.

Loads of fermented foods, cut out all processed food (including bread, pasta, sugar etc) for at least several weeks, take good quality probiotics, experiment with no dairy or no gluten.

You might even consider trying intermittent fasting. It can apparently help your gut and improve digestion.

Really hope you find something that works. Good luck.

Surgeon friends recommend 2 tbsp linseed a day (soak a5 mins in boiling water first)

I find psyllium husk very helpful - a tbsp a day for me - but as above, ensure you're drinking lots of water

And agree with poster above - I've now got a very healthy gut from dietary changes - years since Ive had constipation

Underachievers 😂 I’ve got one of those thyroids too!

I always have hot water and lemon juice on an empty stomach first thing in the morning to trigger the urge to “go” or I can struggle.

I know it’s very basic advice - but it’s cheap and won’t do you any harm
so worth trying if you don’t already.

Squatty potty helps a lot imo. Most of the mass of poop is gut bacteria. You need good gut health to produce good poop so aim at it from that direction - lots of pulses, whole grains, nuts, seeds, fermented food like kimchi and kefir - but watch the dairy as high calcium can increase constipation. Lots of water. Chia pudding is good for fibre but chia seeds unsoaked can cause problems. Do you use ispagula husk or psyllium husk? ime these type of fibre supplement can make things worse if you don’t keep on top of water intake but are helpful if you do. Prunes help me enormously #traditional.

Plenty of soluble fibre in your diet? Regular prunes or prune juice?

Relative was the same. Had to take fybogel and lactose daily plus watching diet.

Similar here OP. It's miserable. Movicol just bloats me and even 4 sachets a day barely works. Lactulose helps a bit but gives me terrible wind. Bisocodyl does work eventually.
I now have a daily glycerine suppository (prescribed) along with the lactulose and usually bisocodyl once a week. I never have any sensation of needing to go .. think probably nerve damage from childbirth.

I've finally managed to get a referral to colorectal consultant to see if there is anything they can do to help... frankly if they offered me a colostomy I'd be happy, it's that bad.

But I do second the squatty potty/step stool... it does help!

I suffered with this in my younger days and had an anal fissure in my teens as a result—which was excruciating. After my second baby it was even worse than my labour pain. 😢
I am plant based now, whole foods as much as possible. Raw as much as possible. The more fresh fruit and salads I eat the better. Constipation is now a thing of the past.

Oh yes some people swear by kiwi fruit but eating it skin and all.

Absolutely it makes a massive difference IMO! It straightens the colon out!

You can use those plastic, kiddy steps, bricks or anything to raise your feet up as much as possible. There is an actual 'squatty potty' brand, but also lots of fold up versions which can be stored away till needed.

allbran, and linseeds and lots of water