Does anyone have chronic constipation?

[HarryPotterDucks]

I do.

i can’t go what feels like weeks without going. When I was a child I never felt fully emptied.

I’ve tried extra fibre, fibogel and also lactulose. Breads and pastas I try and avoid. I’m trying to go lactose free and eventually reduce dairy. I only tend to eat butter and blue cheeses/goats cheese etc.

It is hormonal but that's quite interesting you mentioned that your period is the only time you're not constipated.

I wonder if you have a slow moving bowel?

Each month, just before your period begins, fatty acids known as prostaglandins begin to relax the smooth muscle tissues inside your uterus to help it shed its lining. But those same prostaglandins can have a similar impact on your bowels, leading to — you guessed it — more poop.

I don't have periods any more (hysterectomy - just one of the many surgeries I had which I was told would sort out my problems - it didn't) - but my constipation was definitely connected to my periods, and even now I can still chart the cycle. No doctor at the time was interested in the connection, as if it was all in my head.

The things I forgot to mention that really help:

Linseed every day with plenty of water.
Natural live yoghurt
Squat to poo, it makes all the difference as it puts your rectum in the correct position for emptying. I was taught that by my bowel consultant whose mother had had the same operation that he was proposing.

Yes have to take laxido every day. X

Me too. I also have a rectocele and prolapsed rectum just to add to the joy.

I use: Squatty potty (the stool to raise your legs), lean back and then forwards until something happens. I use fleet suppositories but they seem to be out of stock on Amazon so order them on eBay, they can take weeks to arrive. I use cosmocol, a double dose at once in a single dose twice a day if things have got really bad and I drink litres of water.

Sometimes I have to resort to putting my fingers into my vagina to push from the inside. If I eat prunes it does seem to ease it a bit but make sure they are organic and free from saltpetre which gives me stomach cramps. Fresh raw veg salads help (carrots, cucumber, tomatoes), and magnesium citrate (needs to be in this form to make it more absorbable by the body).

Sometimes I'll drink too much red wine and that clears me right out, but not recommended!

I swim and I walk, but right now cannot do either because of sciatica. I feel your pain.

Does anyone have it where it’s like the muscles just forget to work?

I've tried prucalopride - worked for a bit then failed. Grim side effects. My consultant knows about my 8-10 a day senna habit. It works. (Better than the 12 senna and 10 dulcolax I was on at one stage. )

I found limiting caffeine, drinking more water and eating more water dense food (vegetables) and taking magnesium in warm water at night really helped. If I have too much caffeine, not enough water and/or I am dehydrated from a night out drinking, I still have problems.

My DS in his twenties was hospitalised in Italy with severe constipation, after the enemas the doctor suggested eating 2 very ripe pears every day for constipation.

Daughter 39 has suffered for years. Sluggish bowel she thinks. What works for her is Slimma tea from Holland and Barrett every night to ensure the bowel gets cleared every morning.

Yes - and it started to happen post-hysterectomy. Bloody weird and unwelcome.

No 'need a poo' messages from my body. After having my kids I had everything prolapse. Had a hysterectomy but I still have a rectocele and cystocele.. fine to live with but I have had about 5 natural poos in the last year.
I have to use a suppository (daily) to go, and also take a small dose of senna. Every damn day. Too much fibre doesn't help me.. makes it worse plus horrible bloating as it just sits in my gut.
I so envy my husband who eats then poos!

A suggestion for lazy /slow transit bowels that don’t work is Ortis fruit cubes. Amazon seem to be cheapest at the moment. My mother has slow transit and has been told her bowels don’t work, after trying so many different medications from GP these are the only things that actually work for her. She takes one and a half cube every night with a glass of water and this keeps her moving.

I tried ortis as consultant recommended plus also some herbal thing which worked for many patients- nothing other than a lot of senna works for me. Terrible situation as I’m heading towards a shortened bowel

Hi any updates? I had an abdominal X-ray recently and the doc's secretary said I have colonic overload so I'm assuming it's this. I have also been suffering badly from constipation and am worried cuz I'm also on Nexium medication which I have to take for my gastritis.