Daily fibre supplements for constipation without relying on Laxido?

[Gennyg]

I suffer from constipation. Am trying my best to change up my diet to include more fibre. But im wondering is there any supplement that people have found works that I could take daily?
I do take laxido every so often but don’t want to rely on it

Have you tried fybogel? Which is basically ispaghula husk with orange flavour, portioned out into sachets. Or you can just buy ispaghula husk from a health food shop and add 1 or 2 tsp to a glass of water/juice twice a day. Make sure to drink lots of water with this. Or you can add it to mushed up raspberries to make a jam like consistency which you can eat with yogurt for example. This is good because raspberries are high in fibre too.

Or chia seeds? Again lots of water is needed. You can make a chocolate moose like pudding with them, or add to a smoothie, or just add to water and drink

But if you just eat things like porridge, apples, pears, raspberries, broccoli, peas, cauliflower, beans, lentils etc you'll probably get quite a lot of fibre without needing to supplement. Drink lots of water too and move more

Sorry, I can’t remember the spelling: Sennocides or Sennoside? It does what you’re asking.

I would certainly not recommend this as a daily supplement. It stimulates peristalsis in the gut and long term use can cause dependency.

Maybe go chat to your GP or a pharmacist OP

Be careful with fibre it can actually do the opposite sometimes and you may need a time on non fibre ! Counter thinking I know !

Magnesium citrate works for me!

Ground flaxseed. It's been absolutely life changing, I have struggled with constipation all my life, despite eating lots of vegetables and fruit. I started taking this when following the Zoe programme.

Start small - half a teaspoon a day, and build up to about a teaspoon a day but do make sure you drink plenty of water or it can have the wrong effect. I stir it into yoghurt, it's tasteless and almost unnoticeable but you could put it in soup, sprinkle it over your salad, anything that will have a bit of moisture to soak it up.

Try this, I take it as on medication which causes constipation. It's the only thing that works reliably.

3 kiwis a day - look it up new research out and a constipation guideline

Not sure about three but one definitely works for me and I have had a serious problem in the past with this.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lepicol-Original-Formulation-Contains-Travellers/dp/B002FON178/ref=sr_1_2_pp?crid=2FIC0EWXI0ZSS&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9._It_PxDxh4jqA1KZZNQUzS9I2fzWjmWV3wYtWfJFWNlnIcOg-0VanZhUdi58qhJFD7MLW6uI3Vire5JyDhxyWOTijbVMZG-NUzZ6t20bSiB_u2k961vkN_PNP8j5qbgtprLN24BiB_k5MZ4eYDuR1m9k07VD1cPrEwUgIAeKDv8m6uqzZGKwjpjV_HJz-B4rGQiTEdIhyNQ4re9glblY4PKV22m3uuGphMwpFHHFLnAoHzA3t0I5IGNtCNFCGG0P.UD7JJ2LD37mIGX7Zqhw9rKZMRbv8Y6BoRlAF_ZBj2FE&dib_tag=se&keywords=lepicol&qid=1778619104&sprefix=lep%2Caps%2C545&sr=8-2

sorry for the horrible link - it also sorts your gut health :)

I took fenugreek for breast feeding and found that it’s also good for constipation. I just bought the aweds and swallowed them by the tsp with a drink of water.

Mango is also a natural laxative.

I take psyllium husk. I've never been constipated but I am definitely more regular and movements are easy.

Two prunes a day either tinned with some yoghurt or I put dried ones in a glass with hot water and let them soak them I drink the water and eat the prunes! It's important to keep up your water intake with any fibre though or you are just making the problem worse.

Flaxseed in my porridge in the morning, medjool dates.

psyllium husk - as a powder. I was taking the capsules but powder seems better (probably as I am having a larger dose). I have quite an err reluctant bowel though so i have the husk powder, chia seeds and flax seeds in my fruit for breakfast. That may be too much for most people but works for me - but I am someone who could eat a tin of prunes and nothing would really happen.

@ToSayYouHaveNoChoiceIsAFailureOfImaginationcould you direct me to the evidence for this? I’m not being contentious: I support young people with disabilities in a residential care home and 2 have been prescribed Sennocides. One has been taking it for a year and it appears to be working. The other is about to start taking it. We wouldn’t want them to be dependent on it in future, but need evidence before asking their GP to stop prescribing it.

Psyllilum husk
Cheap as anything and gives you a good 'clear out' every day

Chia seeds, ground flaxseed and prunes. I have all 3 at breakfast.

I’d recommend psyllium husk, slippery elm and prune juice each morning

In 2020 I think the gov updated the safety warnings on Sennosides, and reduced the amount you can buy OTC to prevent misuse. https://www.gov.uk/drug-safety-update/stimulant-laxatives-bisacodyl-senna-and-sennosides-sodium-picosulfate-available-over-the-counter-new-measures-to-support-safe-use#:~:text=Stimulant%20laxatives

Senokot is the brand sold OTC. This is from the information leaflet inside:
It may be harmful to take too much of this medicine or take it for too long.
This is because it may lead to:

• lazy bowel, where the muscle in the bowel becomes too relaxed. This means that bowel emptying

happens less often.This can lead to long-term constipation. https://assets.hpra.ie/products/Human/23631/0a3b214d-37ee-4a33-94ec-2dd3c3ac25da.pdf

My advice was for the OP who is wanting to daily self medicate. The advice is to try diety changes, excercise, then bulk forming laxatives and then osmotic laxatives. Then try self medication with a stimulating laxative like Senokot, but only short term. Not as an ongoing daily supplement.

If a person is taking it daily under advice from their GP, that's different, because hopefully the GP will have recommended the first line alternatives, which the patient will have tried and failed with, then the GP will have made sure there isn't an underlying cause of the constipation. The the GP will have balanced pros v cons of treatment and perscribed sennocsides for daily use, because the risk of fecal impaction is worse than the potential for dependency on this medication

Magnesium citrate, as someone else has mentioned and drinking plenty of water, at least 2L per day.

Prunes and dates, kefir, chia seeds but all of this needs water to work so really increase your water intake and reduce caffeine if you have it at all.

I'm on Mounjaro and recently started with constipation. I got chia and golden flaxseed and take a teaspoon of each in yoghurt or cottage cheese every day. All back to normal.

The adverts I'm seeing on this thread are for Mr Muscle sink and plughole unblocker. Just thought I'd share that because it put a smile on my face!

Apple every morning, and 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed in something like porridge or a smoothie. It really promotes being on the move.

Every meal should be 75% vegetables

Personally, I find a lot of meat really blocks me up. In your circumstance, I would aim to eat a whole food plant vegan (ie not processed!) for at least 80% of the week

Every day -

Magnesium going to bed.
Breakfast - Weetabix, milled flax + chia (must be milled not whole), + oat bran. Mix with hot water (yep), add mushed fruit and top with greek yogurt. The best thing ever. Also keeps me full for hours!

The fruit mix is made ahead and frozen in portions for the brekkie. Berries, pears, kiwi and avocado. You could add prunes, but I don't need to now.

Every morning without fail, I have a satisfying "performance" 😊