Constipation - any tips to move things along?

[ilovedjasondonovan]

For the first time in my life I've got constipation and its not nice.

Any tips/advice on how best to get things moving along????

Prunes
Dried apricots

Plenty of water

Firstly, lots and lots of fluids - orange juice particularly good.

Oranges, grapes, plums/prunes, kiwis.

Don't eat bananas or eggs.

yes plenty of fluids, prunes, prune juice, veggies, wholemeal bread/cereals (but important to keep fluids up or they can have the opposite effect). If you want a quicker fix, or those don't work, glycerin/glycerol suppositories from the chemist work quickly and effectively.

Boiled water cooled down with some brown sugar disolved in it.

Plums and pear slow stewed in a little water. Drink the juice and eat the fruit. Eat with a little live yoghurt to help the friendly bacteria multiply.

Cranberry juice is a good one to have. Also, plenty of fibre.

All of the above, plus put your feet on something like an upside down washing up bowl or a low stool, so that your knees are above your hips. Sounds daft but it really works. Good luck! :)

If it happens often, go to health food shop and get some linseeds / flaxseeds. Helped me when I was pg and was easy to get into the habit of adding a spoonful to cereal/soup every day and still do it now as they're so good for you.

But they definitely have to be ground as i took the advice of a friend to put a spoonful of them (whole) into water and it did NOT work at all. Too much bulk IYSWIM.

Hope these all help.

Apricots, orange juice - all of the above. Lactulose also v good and gentle.

Prune juice definitely!

Sometimes even the best organic wholemeal wheat bread can cause this (any wheat does it to me). I 2nd linseeds and prunes but eat fruit on an empty stomach.

coffee, especially filter coffee always gets me going!

Lentil soup

all the above, and black coffee.

I'm regularly constipated due to the pain relief I'm on ATM, but I'd either have a dose of lactulose or a glass (or two) of Movicol in 5mins. Lactulose can be bought OTC in Boots. Stronger lactulose and Movicol can be prescribed by your GP.

Movicol is great because where other laxatives will draw fluids from the body to soften faeces, Movicol keeps more fluids in the body to avoid dehydration as much as possible.

If all that fails, I dissolve 1-2 tsp of Epsom Salts in a glass of warm water and drink, again, within 5mins. This takes (for me) about 10-30mins to work and I do this on a day where I don't have to go out at all as I need to be close to a toilet.

Hope you manage to get rid of this as there's little more uncomfortable that being stuffed up.

The best remedy I find is Milk of Magnesia. It works a treat. Nothing fixes it as quickly as that, I'm talking a few hours!

Oranges work well and almost immediately for me.

Fibogel - also particularly good for that 1st post-birth poo!

linseeds are great, I add some to my cereal every morning...

Second vote for Fybogel, also loads of water. Tea always works for me too, may be the caffeine. I'd say no to bread type foods though, they'll clog you up more!

Would it be really bad to suggest the following which always work for me:
A cigarette (I don't smoke)
Chocolate (I don't eat this normally either)
Looking at houses on rightmove - seriously this seems to work for me - must scare me or something!

fresh pineapple eaten in larger quantities than normal is a natural purgative(laxative).
i made the mistake of eating about 3 slices and the world fell out of my bum.
i really thought i had caught an horrendous tunny bug until i ate the rest of it a couple of days later. what a bowel cleanser!!!!!!!!!!!!
who needs colonic irrigation

This was me a few months back so i understand your dilemma OP!

I actually did go down the route of colonic irrigation but that really only works when you are cleaned out and it's not something i would do again in a hurry.

The health food shop advised this powder called Lepicol which you add to a pint of squash and as it is natural you can take it daily unlike lactulose and other similar products ( as your bowel gets lazy and cant perform without them).

I did try the powder and it worked but made me feel so full and bloated and couldn't imagine taking it daily but the best thing i came up with was a glass of chilled prune juice every morning first thing followed by some linseeds stirred into a yoghurt (to soften them and swell them) and i have been every day like clockwork which is a miracle for me. I have had to have a bowel op and so was told never to get constipated and this was my cure.

Things work differently for different people so try each way and find one that suits you (and your pocket).

All the best from a fellow ex sufferer