Constipation: What helps you?

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.

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.

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