For what it's worth, I've suffered from constipation most of my life and all evidence points to Irritable Bowel Syndrome / Constipation. After seeing a gastroenterologist, I have used both Metamucil and Fleet glycerin suppositories for some years now at age 79 currently. Half the time I have daily success, but sometimes only after two days and always very firm stools (no diarrhea). This remedy may not be recommended by doctors, but it's worth a try for the more typical IBS constipation cases in my opinion after trying many other remedies. My colonoscopies have been negative. One note is that the intestinal tract seems to be closely linked to the brain and emotions etc in some individuals.

Hi there, I too have had stomach issues. This Jan. I had a high grade bowel obstruction n had to have surgery. The same surgeon did couple other surgeries on me in the past yrs. A sigmoid and a Subtotal Colectomy. Nope I don’t have a bag. He did take out a LOT of dead colon. Since this Jan. I’ve been n the hosp w 2 other bowel obstructions. I swear I’ve passed food that I ate 2 weeks ago. I too toot stinky n it’s bad. I get that embarrassment feeling as well. After I eat a few bites n it could be couple crackers I get a pain at my center chest. Sometimes it can be over on either side of ribs. The Gastro Dr says since I don’t have an I.C Calve anymore I’m more acceptable to having more blockages. He says to take the Senicot tablets so I’ve been taking 2 every other day. It’s helping a lot better than the Metamucil. I used to pour that n my drinks but it gave me cramps. I’m having a test this week where they put the nasal tube down to your stomach, called Esophageal manometry. Not looking forward to having the tube back n my nose to stomach 😔. I have regurgitation I’m hoping this test can pay off n solve my issues w my bowels/colon. I told the Dr about how I’ve been passing so much gas n that I’m passing foods that I ate 2 weeks prior. Looks like I’m gonna be taking baby steps for awhile. Ya know I used to take the Senicot years ago n it didn’t work as well as it is now. Even the Metamucil started to be a problem for me. Guess I’m sticking with the tablets for a good while. I feel like I’m passing gas about 2-3 times every 5 min. - calculate that.. my family says I’m malnourished. I’ve lost 170 pds on my own, walking n cutting out carbs. I’m 64, with some health issues but they don’t mess with other illnesses. I’ve been struggling with this new Colon issue of being gassy for the last 6 months. I’m just hoping this next test will resolve I’m just tired of hiding. I wanna get out n do things again. I told the Dr it’s like something crawled up in me n died. I get what a lot of you r struggling with. But like I said try diff stool softeners, eat slower n smaller bites. Hope there’s something here that helps with ideas. Happy Holidays Friends ⛄️🎄God Bless 🙏

What happens if your body doesn't function the way it should to produce a bowel movement. It has been weeks and weeks since I have had one. How long can you go without a "normal" bm. Is my system just not working.
How long can you live if your body doesn't process food so it becomes waste

I have to give myself an enema every other day, or I won't have a bowel movement. Anyone else have to do this?

A small dosage of murals every morning in coffee helps. Constipation is the pits!!

I've been constipated for maybe 40 years. Since I'm overall healthy most doctors would just tell me to eat healthy, eat more fiber, take some metamucil, and drink plenty of water. Well it's all meaningless if there's something really wrong so I finally got a doctor to listen to me any prescribed Linzess. I've been taking the 290 for about 8 months now. I don't have to go to work anymore so I don't mind going to the bathroom for a couple of hours in the morning. I've tried different times what I've concluded now is that I wake up and take it at 03:30 so that when I get up a couple of hours later I am processing. The doctor seems to think I have chronic constipation with no known cause, and/or IBS, but whatever it is I am really glad after decades to not be plugged up everyday. I had to look up that "chronic constipation with no known cause" cuz it didn't sound like something real - but I reckon it is. Fascinating. Ask your doctor about Linzess - it's ridiculously expensive so I'm lucky to have good coverage but it's worth asking

I have had the same problem the past couple of months. Have been on lactulose for years but seemed to stop working. My doctor increased my dose from 30 ml to adding 15 ml in the morning and 30 ml in the evening. Worked for a few days and then started back to constipation. I added spring valley 50 billion probiotics with pre biotic once a day and that seems to be working.

Fiber daily (Google fruits and vegetables high in fiber) and add chia seeds to yogurt or smoothies, drink water but with electrolytes added twice a day ( drink at least 8 glasses of fluid every day (for every cup of coffee, drink a glass of water, for every alcoholic drink, drink a glass of water (coffee and alcohol are dehydrating), take magnesium - I take 4 pills at bedtime plus it helps with sleep. And EXERCISE if you don’t at all - even if it’s just walking. Sitting most of the day is a killer. We were not meant to sit all day. Walk 2-3 miles a day ( you don’t have to do it all at once. You can break it up to 1.5 two times a day or 1 mile 3 times a day.) And if you are not used to walking, just start and start small- go around the block and keep adding a block every couple of days until you’ve worked your way up to 2-3 miles. Your body will thank you!

have had same issue for 20 years. Have been to gastroenterologist, meds they have tried quit working within a week. Miralax helpful off and on but if I take it daily, I get nauseous. Want to be sure you know that there is a diagnosis of IBS-C for the constipation symptoms. Here are the things that have helped my Physicians Formula probiotics I get on Amazon, I don't take it daily. Akkermansia is a probiotic that is very helpful, I take it daily for 3 weeks then a break. Most important things I do is drink 12 oz of cold water on awakening. They recommend 16 oz as it will stimulate the gastro-colic reflex to poop. Another very helpful thing is Sunsweet makes a bag of prunes that are individually wrapped. I sometimes eat 2-3 prunes, other times I cut them up and put them in Trader Joe's Organic Raisin Bran Clusters, along with blueberries. The RB cluster cereal has 10gr of fiber. It has more calories than I would like so I only use 1/2 cup. Laying on my stomach doing deep slow breathing and focusing on relaxing my lower abdomen seems to be of help. There are exercise videos on YouTube for constipation. I take 2 stool softeners every night and 400 mg Magnesium oxide capsule, have done this for years. I found Metamucil just compounded my issue. I finally realized it was the dosage. My GI MD likes benefiber so I told her I would start with 1/4 TEAspoon. I gradually built up to 1 teaspoon and can't go higher because it seems to increase my constipation. I avoid broccoli and (sadly) cabbage, both vegetable are gas producers and this seemed to exacerbate my issues. I find that an apple helps more than just about anything. There are exercises I do for my back that help expel gas, I read one article that said squatting was best exercise for constipation, hence the squatty potty. Netflix had a documentary in last year about your gut, 1 thing I got from it is laying on L side helps expel gas. Very occasionally I use Magnesium Citrate. They used to have you drink a bottle of it (6 oz. I think) to clear your bowel for colonoscopy. The liquid is clear, as is the bottle. It costs like a dollar, you can get it at grocery store. I usually take a few ounces, it works within 6 hours. It's strong so a few ounces works, I make sure I am home for it. There is a tea you can buy at Target or grocery stores called Smooth Move, occasionally I drink a cup of tea. A Hospice nurse told me about the tea. Another medication that I find very helpful is Pepcid complete. Check the ingredients, it has 160 mg of magnesium. Some of the Pepcid products don't have magnesium. It also has benefit within an hour to relieve gas. I hope this was helpful. I feel confident that you can manage this enough to get out of house. Obviously I drink a lot of water during the day, I avoid any drinks with bubbles because the bubbles are gas.

I should add that when I take my Linzess I also take a probiotic at 0330. I really don't think probiotic is doing anything but I started taking them before I got the prescription for Linzess that's why I just kept taking it.
As far as PRUNES - I haven't had to eat prunes in a while but if I ever feel like I am feeling constipated and need to "evacuate", then I will sit down and eat 18 prunes or so with a big glass of water and within a few hours though be emptying myself out. If I eat one or two prunes it doesn't do anything at all. I like Prunes so it's pretty easy. Just don't plan on going anywhere for a couple of hours. Works really well and it's a fairly gentle.