Constipation: What helps you?

Thank you all for your responses, of which I will be mindful , since posting , I have been to see a dietitian.
She recommended I try wheat free eating plan , …
2 weeks into it , bowel habits have changed dramatically and have become normal !!!!
Apparently gluten remains in the colon for 59 hours ? That’s a normal colon , so you can imagine in a long redundant colon it will be considerably longer!!!! Glueing everything up ……
Has anyone else any indication or information relating to same ?
Anyway it’s worth a try am sticking to it for at least a month to see if the improvements continue? And if so it will be for the foreseeable…..👌🙃
Watch this space……best wishes to all..Sheila

I have had constipation and all that goes with it since 1980. As you can imagine, I've tried everything including all things listed on this thread. I recently bought a supplement called EMMA. Google it. My question is, is anyone else using it? Does it help? I've only been taking it about 4 or 5 days. The advertising was so darned spot on when listing the symptoms that I experience so I want to give it a fair chance, but after 43 years of this, my hopes are always guarded. I know I am FODMAP intolerant but eliminating all foods that have them is virtually impossible. I can barely eat any fruits or vegetables (well not the wide range I used to eat). Meat and potatoes aren't a problem for me but I'd rather be vegetarian. I get the very real feeling my body just does not break anything down, and when it does, the motility is almost non-existent. Anyone have any new ideas for me?

Is the supplement, EMMA, that allegedly helps with constipation, safe?

Is the supplement, EMMA, that allegedly helps with constipation, safe?

Is the supplement, EMMA, that allegedly helps with constipation, safe?

I am just starting to use the forum and am really appreciating it. I always hesitate to share my personal experiences, don’t want to lead someone in the wrong direction but this area compelled me to write. Last summer, I suffered several personal losses as well as a very bad streak of Covid for my loved ones and myself and my body seemed to shut down on many levels. I didn’t have a BM for more weeks than you would believe. My pcp’s office would only say go to the ER bc I was going to die. With the Covid symptoms, they would only say again to go to ER. Our ER was terrible, 8 to 12 hours waiting time, full of very sick Covid patients, some patients throwing up and even people fighting. We finally turned to Patient First who tried many things and most,y reassured that I would eventually get through this. We were so grateful for them. I have always had to be careful about constipation so was familiar with many remedies and we tried them all, oftentimes at the same time, enemas, suppositories, stool softeners and kicked up doses of Miralax, laxatives, fiber supplements, prunes, prune juice and a very controlled diet. I also had prescribed meds and as a last resort telling me only one dose of something that I forget. I was given a few doses of it bc one dose couldn’t be pulled from the bottle with the dropper. It came with a warning to only take one dose and throw the rest away. I was so frantic that I ended up taking it all and still had no results! Shocking to me was that I wasn’t feeling terrible through this much time. I continued to eat very little but was enough to sustain me. I ended up going to a gastro doctor who tried to do a colonoscopy but my bp shot up to over 200 and anesthesia wasn’t safe. He did give me a sigmoid exam without any sedative which was negative. He prescribed Linzess and I finally started to move. I took regular doses for a couple of months and it seemed to become too harsh and I was able to go back to a supportive diet, prunes once in a while, and a half dose of Miralax first thing in the morning and the other half before bed. I figured it out that the two smaller doses worked better than the one larger dose which is what I still do. I panic if I miss a day or have trouble moving and kick everything up. I am sorry this got so long but hope it might help someone as I know how difficult it is.

I don't understand why a GI dr would even try a colonoscopy if you were constipated. Just doesn't seem right. Can you explain why the dr did that, or suggested it? Thanks!

Good question! He told me that he wanted to look for some kind of blockage.

Is the supplement, EMMA, that allegedly helps with constipation, safe?

I read your comment with interest as my husband took Linzess for years. He had chronic constipation due to pain med he was taking for back issues. I hope they have found the source of what is causing your problem. I have Crohn's which was first diagnosed at age 69 when I developed a fistula. After two surgeries I have now developed a colonic stricture. This is severe narrowing of the sigmoid colon. I take Miralax every other day and Metamucil every night. Balloon Dilation being done next month.