Hello @sherry59,

I would like to add my welcome to you as you have recently joined Mayo Clinic Connect. I read, with interest, your question about chronic constipation. As I've had three surgeries of the upper digestive tract, I have a lot of experience with something called "slow transit constipation."

Your diet and activity level are most important. Fiber supplements are usually very helpful. Have you tried any probiotics? I make a smoothy with Kefir. Kefir is a liquid product similar to yogurt but with lots more probiotics. It has a very sour taste so it needs to be mixed with something else (I use half of an Atkins shake but you could use Ensure or other flavored protein drinks). Then I add to that half a banana (a frozen banana makes it very frothy) and other fruit that I may have on hand (including dried prunes). I mix all of this in a blender at a high speed. It makes a high protein, high fiber drink that works quite nicely for constipation.

There is also a powdered product called, "Calm." It is a powder that you mix in water and take at bedtime. It has a lot of magnesium which is very helpful for constipation.

I hope you have developed some new ideas for this chronic problem. Will you keep in touch and update on your progress in dealing with this?