Constipation: What helps you?

SLIGHT CONCERN ABOUT MIRALAX OXER USE .........AND BLOCKAKE?

@peterose thanks..probably true that overuse of MiraLax, or any laxative probably is not a good idea( as true with most OTC things)….a good question, as so many people have chronic constipation, and need to deal with the root cause.

I have suffered with constipation my whole life, 3 weeks without any bowel movement is my norm. When it goes beyond that, I rely on Australian black licorice, only thing that works for me. I don’t know why but I swear by it. Just for reference, I was into my 4th week so I drank a bottle of magnesium citrate, drank smooth moves tea and took MiraLAX all in 2 days and nothing happened , licorice did the trick. I didn’t use that first because my stash was so low.

Whete does one buy Australian licorice? Just curious. As I have posted elsewhere. My constipation issues were “cured” with low fat kefir.

@flnance magnesium definitely helps…it comes in several forms, magnesium glycinate among them…research, and find the right one for you.

@barbaradh ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,AMAZON have......Australian black licorice

Forgot to ask .is anyone using Dulcolax® Liquid Gels..states NON HABIT FORMING !

There are plenty of foods which have a constipating effect on me but none that have a laxative effect. The only thing that works (and it only works once in a while) is to drink very warm almost hot water and drink it as fast as possible.

@peterose yes, that is usually my first go-to, as it is very gentle- take it before bed and have a BM in the AM…I’m lucky, it doesn’t take much to help.

I've been down so many of those roads you describe. Knew I had serious constipation around age 5 and I would not tell my parents because I didn't want to go to the doctor. Over the years it continued, with my visits to the bathroom being anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks apart. Awful. A CAT scan revealed that I have a tortious colon, and I was born with it, given how young I was with these issues. There have been periods here or there where I would get better (in my 30s) and then back to problems again. I am convinced it is controlled by diet. I would keep track and still get have this problem develop. But just in the last few weeks, I've discovered something. It seems to matter if I'm eating soluable fiber or insoluable fiber, with the latter helping me so much more, and the soluable making me more constipated. Based on this information, I risked consuming a regular serving of macaroni and cheese (which is insoluable fiber). Never got sick (and I will get sick if its the wrong thing). Obviously can't eat just that...and it would eventually lead to constipation! But now I'm watching this. Its not about high or low fiber, but rather soluable versus insoluable. HARD to find any charts or info on this. But I did find a thin book with food lists for this (IBS-IBD Fiber Charts....I have no connection to this publication). And wow, so far, its working. I feel great. No digestion pain like I might have otherwise. Make sure you exercise or walk, make sure you drink a lot of water. Don't confuse this with FODMAP, which hasn't helped a thing for me. Certainly you can't just stuff yourself with insoluable fiber, but it makes a difference, at least for me, to be eating a lot of it. Build up slowly if you try this. I have been in agony more or less all of my life and so far so good. I'll write on the blog again in another couple months (I'll try to get through the holidays) and see if this is still working or not for me. Best wishes. I understand your pain and frustration.