Anybody here have chronic constipation & pelvic floor dysfunction?

I have IBS and CPPD. I am also going to Pelvic Pain PT.

My gastroenterologist has advised me to take a double dose of Miralax every other day. It is working well for me. I have found that putting my feet on a small stool for a BM helps me empty my bowels. Probiotics and prebiotics help, too. Peppermint oil can help with cramps and gas.

My physical therapist is great. Kegels aren't recommended for pelvic floor pain. There is an exercise routine that strengthens your pelvic floor, ask your PT what exercises you should be doing. Have you tried the IC network? Jill Osborne has been a great pelvic floor pain advocate. Also, check out the podcast @dontkegelchronicles on buzzfeed. I would like to give you the links to these things but it won't let me do that.

There is hope. I hope that you feel much better soon.

Thanks for all the great information

What is your regimen. I am starting Motegrity but my doctor thinks my issue is pelvic floor and medication won’t really help. Do you get overflow diarrhea?

I had constipation for the first 51 years of my life and then discovered I had non-celiac gluten intolerance plus other food sensitivities. When I eliminated gluten for six weeks, I didn't really see a difference, so I had pizza. Within 15 minutes, I realized I DID have a problem with gluten. I was in so much pain, and I didn't poop for four days! Once I realized how my body responded to a food sensitivity, I started to recognize others, and I did a proper elimination diet.

If you have multiple sensitivities, you may always be eating something that your body doesn't like, so you're always constipated, but if you eliminate it for 2-3 weeks and then eat it, you see how your body responds to it. I ultimately realized that wheat, corn, soy, dairy, tree nuts, and potatoes made me constipated. Of course, this list will be different for everyone because we all have unique bodies. Basically, every food on the elimination diet was a problem for me except peanuts. I just discovered the potato problem by accident. I hadn't eaten any for a few weeks, and when I did, I didn't poop for 3-4 days. The only thing I could think of that I had not eaten lately was potatoes, but I thought that was impossible. I'd never heard of potatoes constipating anyone. But I decided to test it and see, so I didn't eat them again for a couple of weeks, and then I had a few potato chips, and once again I was constipated.

Originally I was so sensitive, I couldn't even eat something with soy lecithin or corn starch in it, but thankfully after a few years, I don't have to read every label before I eat something.

The other thing is that I need to take a magnesium supplement every day -- nothing crazy, just 100% of the RDA -- and I have my magnesium level checked annually to be sure it is still within the normal range, which it is.

So it sounds like food sensitivity testing might be something worth exploring…. Thank you. I have been thinking about seeing a functional medicine practitioner since Western medicine hasn’t offered me much help thus far.

I have not given my Gastro the go signal just yet. I’m 70, if we go back to only thing you can do is remove your entire colon I’m not sure if I can do it. I read so many issues without it.
My main concern is getting into a bad situation and I definitely won’t get surgery at Mayo. I’ll be stuck with whatever ER doctor puts me with. That is very frightening too.

I would recommend an elimination diet first. Most people wind up testing positive for 20+ foods on those tests -- including me. I tested positive for a lot of foods that did not bother me at all -- and I tested and re-tested by eliminating and re-introducing multiple times. Those tests usually result in overwhelming people because who can eliminate that many foods from their diet? So they do nothing.

Since I did it AFTER the elimination diet, it only helped me to zero in on some things that were more complex. For example, I thought chocolate upset my stomach, but I tested positive for vanilla, which is in most foods that have chocolate. I was able to find some chocolate bars that had no vanilla in them, and I could eat them just fine. Mind you this was a very minor complaint compared to the foods that caused me to go days without pooping. If your #1 complaint is constipation, the elimination diet will give you the info you need.

Did you do on your own or with help of a nutritionist?

I did it myself. I kept a food diary, writing down everything I ate, and I eliminated the most common food allergens ... wheat, corn, soy, tree nuts, peanuts, dairy, and eggs. After two weeks of not eating any of those foods, I would eat one. You could have a reaction up to a day or two, but I'd usually have a stomachache or reflux within 15 minutes and then not poop for 3-4 days. You need to wait until all reactions have stopped before introducing another food. Since I reacted to almost everything, it took me several weeks to reintroduce all the foods.

If you eat packaged foods, you need to read the ingredients and write down everything on the label. People would always ask what I could eat, and it's actually a lot ... all kinds of meat and seafood, all the vegetables and fruits, plus grains like rice and quinoa. This is also a pretty cheap and easy way to eat. Grill or bake meat or seafood and steam or stir-fry veggies. Plain rice is super cheap (not a boxed mix, which includes soy and corn derivatives). If you have salads, be sure to read the ingredients on the dressing because they can include corn and soy derivatives like corn syrup, corn starch, dextrose, etc. There are about 100 different food additives that are made from corn.

I have slow transit constipation and ibs. So I rarely have diarrhea. If you have overflow diarrhea maybe slow down on the miralax..this can cause lots of diarrhea as it is also used to prep for colonoscopies. But your issue may be different especially if you're not taking as much. But you can also cause diarrhea from doing a little too much of everything to try to get things moving. I'm not experienced as much with that area. A diet change, food sensitivity trial could be good but it can be overwhelming so I'd recommend a dietitian to help you. There are other certain diets you can try just look them up. Low fodmap diet, gluten diet, inflammation diet, ibs diet. Hope you figure something out! Remember to hydrate if you are having lots of diarrhea.