**********************Talk to me about constipation please***********************

[Connieconsti]

I have never really been constipated other than once or twice whilst i was pregnant and for the last 2 months out of nowhere i have become constipated.I am on a healthy eating diet but have only been for a month so it cant be that as im eating lots of fruit ,veg etc.
It is really starting to bug me now as i just seem to have lost the urge to go and my bowel seems to be asleep.Every 2 or 3 days i go but not much .
I have taken Senna and Senna Plus a few times without much effect and dont want to get in the habit of using laxatives.
I dont eat meat so there is a possibility that i could be anemic but can this cause constipation?
Dont want to see my Gp unless absolutely neccersary.
And yes i have namechanged for this
HELP!

Are you drinking plenty of fluids?

I find a big bowl of muesli every morning does the trick. And drinking lots of water would probably help too...

Blardy painful, that's what it is I only had it after both dc (caesareans and lots of pain killing but bowel seizing drugs) Lactulose really helped (it's a stool softener) but it takes a few days to kick in. You have my sympathies.

Probably not drinking enough water but never do and hasn't been a problem before ,will give it a try though.

Thanks for the sympathy.

It is awful feeling 'bunged' up all the time.

Drink, drink and drink more! Are you breastfeeding? Drink more again. I also find that if I've had muesli and not drunk enough that bungs me up - as a good friend put it, it hardens like cement! I find porridge is a good way of eating oats as it cooks them and makes them gentler on the gut. The senna stuff isn't something you want to use lots of, and nor is lactulose. I used to work in an old people's home and one of the nurses told me that once you're on it it's hard to come off because you need more and more of it.

Tried eating rhubarb? Tis the season and it does good things! Try a few days of drinking 4 pints of water (I try one at each meal and one in the evening) every day. And go to a good independent health food shop and ask for some advice.

HTH!

Agree with DevonDoris. Drink loads. Also bowl of All Bran every morning (mix dried fruit, muesli or other cereal with it to liven it up).
HTH

I too suffer from a lazy or, if you prefer, sluggish bowel. Endless fruit and water, all the usual things work but not very 'effectively'. I used to use laxatives to help me but i have now discovered Oxypowder. It is sold in capsule form and is bought online. It is amazing stuff. It's like having a colonic irrigation but without the tube .
It's well worth a try.

Have you considered reflexology? Not a cheap solution but very good for getting your bowels working if a bit sluggish.

I was very lucky to get this free from local maternity unit (reflexology rather than constipation ) during my last pregnancy and it certainly seemed to help with my pregnancy constipation!