Chronic constipation ruining my life

[Puel]

Had CC for years. I’ve had all the blood tests, had the camera up the bum - no reason ever found. If I take movicol I end up looking 9 months pregnant and passing small amounts of diarrhoea. I’ve upped fibre - this causes bloating and no result. Drink shit loads of water - no difference. The only thing that works is bisocodyl which I have to take once a week just to make sure I have at least one poo a week - however you’re not supposed to take it regularly so I worry I’m doing even more damage to myself. I’m so fed up. Dr isn’t interested, says all tests are clear.

Anyone else had CC with no cause??

Squatty potty definitely helps.
Add seeds to your meals, crushed bran-flakes, reduce carbohydrates, my Dsis has a immune disorder, chronic constipation, she changed her diet to a vegan diet, cut gluten, sugar she's much better.

2 cups of coffee don't get things moving, wow.

Do you gets lots of exercise, equivalent of at least 1 hour walking outside every day at brisk pace?

I think OP said she consumed "too much chocolate" but also didn't list chocolate in her daily diet example. So ... what else is missing? Just how much chocolate do you consume daily?

Why would you only have meat & veg for tea? How many veg and how big is the meat portion? Is the bread for sandwiches wholemeal or white bread?

Ferrous fumerate... Doesn't that often cause constipation?

Also, be careful with how much porridge you eat. Too much can actually cause constipation. www.behealthynow.co.uk/nutrition/can-oat-porridge-oatmeal-cause-constipation/

Then I'd focus on eating more healthy fats - olive oil etc. We need fat for bile production which in turn helps our colon.

Just generally, I'd honestly say if you're serious about fixing your constipation then you need to get radical. I know most people have sandwiches and crisps and are just fine, but you are not fine. You are suffering. Perhaps what's necessary for your body is extremely healthy eating, at least for a while to reset.

I'm sure you have tried all these and mine isn't chronic but this is what I have found.
Bread (including gluten free), potatoes & processed food make me constipated so I don't eat them often. Try to identify the foods that make it worse for you.
Drink a decent amount of water every day.
A quarter lemon squeezed into an inch of water and taken just before bedtime helps me a lot.
Grapefruit as part of life helps things keep moving.
When I need extra help prune juice is great.
Movement like yoga where you are bending and stretching your stomach helps move things. General physical movement is good too.
Massage of the stomach when things are bad helps me.
Iron supplements make me constipated, some types of iron are worse than others.
Look into magnesium supplements, some forms of magnesium (you'll need to research which) help act as a laxative.
Aloe vera juice helps to keep things moving too, just a shot in the morning.

Hope things get better for you.

Edited to add I also don't eat meat or dairy, I believe they slow digestion. Do some reading on whole food vegans and how often and easily they eliminate waste. There are some threads about it, I think on reddit. If I was you I'd be changing my diet entirely for relief.

Your diet is stodgy, if your constipated, replace sandwich with a vegetable soup with a wholemeal roll. Eat plenty of nuts too, a handful of nuts a few times a day will help.
Replace your daily chocolate with chocolate nuts, Brazilian nuts cover in chocolate are delicious. Chocolate causes constipation.

Immunoglobulin A level 2.18 g/L [0.8 - 2.8]
Tissue transglutaminase IgA level (UOM = U) < 1.0 U [< 5.0]

this was my coeliac test results

How many grams of fibre do you get per day in your diet ? Doesn’t matter if you don’t eat fruit as long as you get the grams in

have you tried elimination - common things like dairy for a month and see what happens

are you getting lots of vigorous exercise

id find a shop bought vegetable soup no good at all - a sandwich can be fine but depends on the quality of the bread ( we tend to make our own wholemeal bread )

Exercise. Running has made me super regular.

How active are you?

3 kiwi fruit a day- game changer. Can’t get my head around the fact you haven’t been eating fruit.

I'm sorry you're suffering. I rarely get constipated but when I do it's miserable.

You said you don't eat fruit (I don't eat much) but it looks like you don't eat much veg either - you really should try to have some fruit and up the veg intake markedly.

I know a sandwich is quick and easy, particularly if at work, but it's not doing you any good or helpful in any way towards managing the constipation.

And one glass of prune juice in the evening is not enough - have some at breakfast as well.

As for tons of sparkling water - replace some of this with hot tea/coffee/lemon water.

Good luck.

Lactose intolerant?

long term constipation can be a warning sign for Parkinson’s. Have you had this investigated?
Presumably you have tried a fiber supplement by Metamucil. Have you tried ground flaxseeds ? could add them to your porridge.

Your lunch alone is very constipating, especially if its white bread.

Wholemeal and brown grains everytime plus FRUIT and no crisps. Avoid sugary foods and anything processed. Lean meat. A spoonful of seeds on the porridge plus fruit. I would say your diet is a big factor.

Just some suggestions

Breakfast; swap a chopped Kiwi for the honey. Add Flaxseed.

Lunch; swap veg crudites, carrot, celery, apple etc for the bread in the sandwich. I find bread causes me constipation

Dinner; I also struggle with too much meat. So much so that over the last few years I have removed it from my diet, focusing on fish and vegetarian alternatives.

Evening; another Kiwi.

I have resolved my life long slow transit using swaps like these.

Mine is an overachiever 😆

You’re not eating anywhere near enough fruit!!

I take nutrition geeks three in one magnesium every night before bed regular movement in the morning this is what's in them

It's easy to make a large pot of vegetable soup, it'll last a week, if you leave the vegetables chunky, it feels like a meal.
Definitely cut out shop sandwich and crisps.

Most fruits are lactose free. Lactose is found in dairy products.

You're thinking of fructose i suspect...

Why is it a European approach?! It's a more medical approach if you're really struggling and tried everything else and your GP/pharmacist recommends a suppository etc etc

Europeans don't willy nilly shove suppositories up our bums, not unless we really really really really have to 😅

OP I'm not making a stupid haha joke about the shape of those vegetables but I swear by carrots and cucumbers. Every evening I have 3-4 carrots and a whole cucumber, it helps that I absolutely love the taste, dunno how it'd work if you hate them! Just with a bit of lemon and salt on the carrots, and a bit of salt on the cucumber, no dressing or anything. Then a cup of mint tea before bed.

By the second cup of coffee in the morning, I'm whipping out my squatty potty and I'm ready to roll 😎

Raising my feet on a small footstool when sitting the loo definitely makes a difference to me

I also have to drink ~2L of water a day or I strain when opening my bowels

This advice is used for children but it explains everything really well

https://eric.org.uk/advice-for-children-with-constipation/

Sounds OK but it'll be better if you add more fibre and more fat in your diet. Definitely add a big salad drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. Add dried prunes as well.

Prucalopride has been life changing for me!