For context, I'm the type to need 5-6 laxative pills instead of 1-2 to get any action. I can drink senna tea like it's lipton, and nothing happens. My blood is 50% artificial sweeteners; ace k, aspartame, sucralose, erythritol, allulose, and monkfruit are consumed daily, none of them give me the squirts. Miralax, phyllium husk/metamucil, Citrucel, they barely give me any results.

I think I hit the trifecta this morning -

1 big cup of coffee, which usually doesn't have an effect on me, but on rare occasions it get things moving.

3 fresh plums. It's been years since I've had plums and they were on sale. Plums + coffee was my breakfast.

Big serving of black bean soup for lunch. I eat beans daily and they've had absolutely no effect on my bowels, until just now.

The only new addition to my diet was the plums, and I've shit 7 times this morning. My colon hasn't been this empty in ages.

I’m experiencing chronic constipation again after 8ish years of not dealing with it. For context, I’m 25, and when I was 14-17, I dealt with SEVERE chronic constipation. I would go 3 weeks without going after trying Miralax, Dulcolax, Ex-Lax, etc. Enemas barely worked. I got diagnosed with IBS, but the colonoscopy was normal. I ended up getting colonic treatments as a last resort, which worked but always made me feel so bloated and sick, and it was obviously only a temporary fix. I also had an eating disorder throughout these years, and as I started recovering, my constipation naturally improved. I still took stool softeners nightly for a few years until I rarely ever had constipation.

Since then, I’ve dealt with occasional constipation, especially while traveling, but it hasn't been chronic, and it usually resolves on its own or with laxatives. About 3 weeks ago, I started getting constipated again and only going about once a week after several days of Miralax, other laxatives, & stool softeners. I’m honestly really scared I’m going to be chronically constipated again. I recently moved across the country, and I’ve been fairly stressed trying to figure out my work situation, but I’m definitely not as stressed as I was in my previous job, and I was going regularly then… My diet is pretty much the same as it was before I moved. The only thing I can think of is that I had to quit all 3 of my medications because my health insurance got canceled and I ran out. One of them is birth control specifically for endometriosis. I was diagnosed with endometriosis in 2023, and my surgeon found endo on my rectum, so that could maybe be related to the constipation. My new health insurance starts this month, so I’m working on finding doctors so I can get back on my medications. In the meantime, I would appreciate any advice! I’m currently taking Miralax, a stool softener/laxative combo, magnesium, and colon cleanse pills daily, and I’m still only going about once a week. I’ve also started eating at least 1 kiwi daily, and I eat avocado and broccoli at least a few times a week. I’m thinking about trying Psyllium Husks/fiber capsules or Amla capsules, but I don’t want to keep buying things unless I’m confident they’ll work.

*see picture* has anyone been this swollen due to constipation? This is almost unbearable so much pressure.

Also has anyone experienced other parts of the body swelling, such as legs/feet?

I'm going a tiny bit the past 2 weeks, it's basically individual hard rocks.

I took Mirafast chew on Sunday. Another half a Mirafast chew yesterday. A cup of hot Senna tea a few hours ago. I've had 2 very small bm's that seem to be a bit more hydrated but still hard rocks.

I had a lung operation 7 weeks ago and I’ve not been right since on and off. My stomach was making crazy sounds, I started going fine so just thought my stomach needed to calm down. But just this last week it was going even more crazier, it even woke me up in the night one night! I went to the doctors and he didn’t seem too concerned just said take laxatives.

For the past week I’ve started with stomach cramps above my belly button, it is on and off and I’d say mild pain. Then my stomach sounds have nearly completely stopped? Yet all this time I am still going to the toilet but it’s not much. I’ve taken Laxatives for 3 days and the little that I am going is now soft (I’m guessing that’s the laxatives) yet I was expecting I’d go normally yet it’s a small amount. I am eating loads still and just hardly anything is coming out. I’ve been twice today with just a bit each time. I am also still passing wind, but again I normally pass more.

I am worried I’ve got a small blockage and I will need to go to the hospital? I fear about losing my job if I need more time off. I’ve just had 7 weeks off and I got a promotion just before I had the time off. I can’t afford to not be at work right now. Does this sound bad or do I need to be patient? I’ve never been like this in my life.

I was already taking magnesium, eating plenty of fiber, etc., etc. But amla made a huge change in eliminations, no longer a struggle.

I'm slowly identifying what type of foods help me. And only eat those. Sooo farrrrr soo good! Having a BM everyday, sometimes 2-3 times. Soft, toothpaste type of shits. (I'm glad 🥹).

But the issue here is, i can't identify the urge. I sometimes feel like i have to shit, go and sit on the toilet and boom, there's nothing. I'll give it a minute or two and suddenly there's a small pebble coming down 🚶🏻‍♀️ it doesn't come down or go in, stays here, i try not to strain, but it doesn't even move 🫠 once it falls, i expect to bleed or see a rock, but man that's soo soft looking shit 🫩

I leave and go for a walk for 30mins. But there's a constant "full, aching and burning feeling due to poop.???

I'll try again, boommm, there's everything coming! With zero pain!! wdym it was all soft and type 5 stool, but wasn't coming out before?? And now even with the soft stool, i end with a lot of ache inside 🫩

Is it me not identifying the urge properly and straining even if the poop isn't ready to come out? or is it slow motility? A lot of fibre?

Whatever it is, it's eating me 😭

(Sorryy for the bad english, English isn't my first language 🚶🏻‍♀️)

Had an episode of constipation and this I may have strained more than I should have as by this point it was frustrating me and I wanted it OUT.
Anyone strained really bad and move around a lot? Like shuffle side to side, front back?

Worried I’ve given myself a prolapse now because I definitely think I pushed too far.

How long do you all strain for? Think it was easily 10 minutes! Fed up of this now, think I’d rather not eat than worry about it all the time.

Is it normal to have weeks where it works and weeks where it doesn’t? It worked for my first week and I had to pause, but now it’s on and off. I’m back on it for 11 days now and have some good days and some bad, but the bloating hasn’t gone away like it did the first time..

​

I just turned 20, and I’ve been dealing with constipation since I was around 14-15. I had a CT scan of my abdomen a 3 years ago because of the constipation /hemorrhoids, and my doctor said I have slow-transit constipation. He also told me the hemorrhoids probably won’t fully improve until the constipation is under control.

The constipation started after I had some pelvic/lower abdominal discomfort that eventually went away. Since then, I’ve had hemorrhoids for around 4 years. They’re not nearly as painful as they were when my constipation was severe, but they never seem to completely go away. Hemorrhoid creams and suppositories didn’t help.

My bowel movements are usually every ~3 days, sometimes more often. They can be dry and painful, or relatively soft but still feel incomplete. Sometimes I’ll feel like I urgently need to poop, but when I sit down, nothing happens. I also get rectal burning afterward, and occasionally there’s blood, which makes me wonder if I’ve developed fissures as well.

I’ve tried increasing fiber (oatmeal, vegetables, etc.), drinking more water, and exercising. Weirdly, when I was eating a very high-fiber diet, I sometimes felt like my constipation got worse. I’ve also tried laxatives, but I stopped because they seemed to make me have bowel movements too frequently and the aftermath was painful. They’re also pretty expensive for me.

At this point, I mostly just try to ignore it and go when I naturally feel the urge, but I’m getting really tired of dealing with this. Even walking for a long time can make my hemorrhoid area feel like it’s burning and irritated.

I know I probably need to address the underlying constipation rather than just the hemorrhoids, but I honestly have no idea what’s causing it or what I should be doing differently. So, if anyone has advice or has dealt with the same thing, I'd appreciate your input.

My doctor prescribed Miralax until I have my gallbladder surgery next month. I've been on it all month long and I'm getting bad cramping and gas so I'm wondering if should start weaning myself off of it now. What's the best way to do this?

I've suffered IBS-C for many years, and was diagnosed with PFD. I have taken every known prescription, and my present regimen is Trulance, Motegrity, and twice daily Miralax. Regardless, I end up having a constant urge to go and end up having 2-3 Bristol 7 BMs every morning. I may end up getting relief, but this really sucks. I just want to get rid of everything in one trip to the can. Anyone have a similar issue?

There are cases of constipation associated with dysautonomia, a disorder of the autonomic nervous system that can be investigated by testing for various antibodies. Has anyone here been tested for these antibodies to see whether dysautonomia might be the underlying cause of their constipation?

i've always been constipated. like bowel movement once a month and even if it's less than a month (1 week at the very best), the poop is so big and dry and hard like a rock. every time i go, i clog the toilet and spend hours unclogging it. like it's really really hard and big. i spend at least half an hour trying to get it out and i feel like i'm passing out from the pain. i always have painful anal fissures. i can't go to the hospital. what can i do that will help?

I'm not exaggerating it's been 1 month and five days and nothing not even something tiny. I'm terrified because I know it's going to try and force itself out soon. My ass won't open up more than the size of the center of a cheerio. This thing is too damn big and hard. The hospital here is the worst I've been to ever. (I'm in the US.)

This is just about the hospital you can skip it. This is all over the place I'm sorry I'm too nauseous to think straight. Some of this might not even be relevant.
(Last time I went they didn't help me at all. They didn't listen to a single thing said they acted like I was just exaggerating and must've only not gone in a couple days instead. The nurse kept lying to me saying they would give me certain meds that they never did but still charged me for. The 3rd enema she gave was massive and when about 3/4 of it was in me I was in so much pain and something felt terribly wrong. I told her and she didn't listen she did the rest and it all immediately came out and I started puking this vile awful bitter liquid that also tasted metallic. I was completely soaked and left like that for over an hour. I was there the whole night and sent home with no shit successfully coming out and in worse shape than I was in coming in.)

I don't know what to do at this point. I feel like I have no room left in me. Like if someone tried to give me another enema I would explode. My dad is retired and wants all the money for himself. Right before going to the hospital 9 months ago I was sobbing and quietly yelling in pain. It just pissed him off. He's going to kill me if I have to go somewhere again. I know this sounds ridiculous but I'm terrified of bathrooms now and I'm terrified of help because of how bad they hurt me last time. Sorry that this post is such a mess the last few days as this gets worse I feel like it's getting harder to think properly.

I know the reason why this is happening I just need help getting it all out. I feel like I need surgery. I wish they could knock me out it is unbearable being awake.

Around 2 weeks ago I started to feel a weird rock internal feeling in my lower left abdomen right where the pelvis and torso connects. I thought nothing of it until it became a constant pain. I went to urgent care and they x rayed me and found 3 ft worth of poop. I went in today and got another xray and now they say it’s better. I still feel the same and i can’t sleep

Hello all, I have always had issues with constipation, especially when it comes to pooping anywhere that isn't home. I could stay at a friend's house for a week and I won't get the urge the whole time I'm there, but the moment I walk into my house I get bad stomach pains and immediately have to go.

I have this issue when I stay at my boyfriends house too, despite us being in a relationship for almost a year now. He is very open about pooping and will tell me if he has to go, I've been told I should do the same but I don't know how I can when I don't even get the urge to go in the first place.

I have tried uping my fibre intake with high fibre foods, but I find that it just makes me feel extremely bloated and that's it. Despite eating high fibre food at his house I still don't get the urge to go. The only time I've been able to go while at his house is when I was running a bath with the door locked while he was out in the garden with his brother. I obviously can't wait for him to do that all the time, so how can I get the urge to go in his home?

The doctors have prescribed me laxitives in the past, but they just made me vomit. No poop, just puke and immense stomach pains. I haven't tried anything over the counter because I'm afraid I'll just end up vomiting again.

If anyone has any recommendations for things I could get over the counter in the UK that would be really helpful, or even just food recommendations would be helpful. I've tried the classic fibre foods like oats, almonds, avocado, I've even tried the fibre bars and brownies in the supermarket and nothing. I can eat an entire box and I still don't get the urge to go in his house. If I ate all that stuff in my own home however, I'd be pooping all day! :/

How do you swallow this monster??

Quick background - I have had constipation my entire life. Even as a kid, I ate bran cereal every day. Now that I am in my 60's, my problems are worse. I eat super high fiber cereal (homemade - 30 grams of fiber per bowl) almost everyday and usually salad or beans (or both) each day. But high fiber alone didn't solve my problem.

Most days, I feel like I am passing a "golf ball" when I start to go - if I even *can* go that day. If I don't go each day, it is much, much worse - so I try to go each day. When passing the "golf ball", I get rectal bleeding that rarely heals on its own, so I have to use steroid creams for that to heal. Not good either!!

I tried several medications (linzess, etc.) with fiber, but that didn't solve the "golf ball" problem. I tried Miralax (which adds liquid to your bowels) - without linzess, but that was too much liquid, and still didn't solve the problem, and it was very messy.

I found out from another doctor that Miralax alone causes other problems. The main issue for me is that the hard stool spends too much time in the colon because the colon reabsorbs too much water from the stool. So the other doctor suggested to add psyllium fiber (Metamucil) to the Miralax. Psyllium fiber increases the speed of material through the colon and it binds the stool together, thus helping with the absorption problem and it isn't messy.

Now My Solution: So now I take a dose of psyllium fiber in the morning with breakfast, then a dose of Miralax mid-day, then a dose of psyllium fiber at dinner. Before bed, I take 2-3 tablets of Colace (OTC stool softener) before bed. When I wake up around 6 am I take a dose of linzess. Then when I get up (around 9 am), I usually go right away, with no "golf ball" issue. Then I usually go *again* sometime in the afternoon. It is a lot to manage, but it is MILES better than what I had before. I also make sure I drink about 50+ ounces of water each day, and I still eat a lot of fiber.

I hope that this helps someone. It took me a long, long time (and a lot of pain) to get to this point. I am still experimenting so I will edit this post with any updates.

EDIT: I did forget to mention that I was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Constipation (IBS-C) around 2021.

Hi, so I’ve been struggling with severe constipation since March and my doctor recommended a SIBO breath test. I took it, but strangely only tested positive for hydrogen overgrowth, not methane, and as far as I’ve read the hydrogen bacteria are mostly responsible for diarrrhea, not constipation, which is weird, since I don’t have any. Now I’ve been prescribed xifaxan antibiotics and I have no idea if it’s worth even taking them, since my test was kinda on the border of positive and the meds are kinda expensive.

Anyone has been in similar situation?

Literally have no one to tell. So thought I’d just share here. I can’t live like this anymore . It’s horrendous. I’ve tried everything seen everyone waited on waitlists wasting away loosing every aspect of my life. I’ve been reduced to a invisible disabled blob who looks fine from yrs outside so must be, obviously. I’ve lost my job, had to give up university, move back into my childhood room in my abusuvd parents home because I have no where else to go. I can’t live in shared living because my days are spent shoving fleet enemas up my ahh and overdosing laxitives which barely even work anymore. I’m done. I’ve lost my friends. I’m so incredibly depressed and alone and I just can’t anymore. So many years I’ve lost. I just want to be free. But I’ve tried everything. Fkn nowhere. Over and over and over. Any ending up in the ed for impactation over and over and over. But no one can do anything for me. I just rot away in my childhood room running to the bathroom alll day. Then having to put thru so much washing. I go thru so many pants. I’ve seen 10 gi doctors , literally 10 gps, colorectal surgeons, gyno for endo investigations. Nothing. I hate my body. And I’m tired. I’m tired of having to manually squeegee my insides out all day everyday because it’s a full time job. Completely debilitating and I get no days off. I’m tired. And I’m done. Thanks for reading if you made it here:/

Has anyone got to their root cause for chronic constipation and if so what was it?

Also did you heal/how ?

i was a person that poops at least once a day , ideally after every meal my whole life until 1 month ago im suffering from chronic constipation i used laxative and Stoll softeners they work once im off it goes back to this i feel like i wanna poop but nothing comes out and i can't sit for long because i gave myself hemoroid im drinking water and incorporating fiber in my meals it doesn't seem to work is there a meal or food or trick to help i feel uncomfortable and bloated all times and ly want to eat or socialize just decreased significantly....

Just putting it out there. I was put on this drug for other reasons (pcos) and hormone issues, not diabetes, and not for constipation.

After a month I had REGULAR bowel movements, not diarrhea.

I’m 4 years in and still regular. (I had 15 years of constipation of 10+ days of not pooping routinely).

I also have over the years tried a lot of things.

Some things that helped a tiny bit:
- insoluble fiber (kashi go lean cereal)
- blueberries regularly
- not getting an IBD-C flair up (cooking all my raw veggies helped)
- L. Plantarum probiotics

and I also tried fiber supplements like psyllium husk (which actually I am mildly allergic to so had to stop).

Also, my bowel issues seemed to get better a tiny bit after I took a round of Absorica LD (isotretinoin) for my severe cystic acne. Very odd as to why, I’m still perplexed about it. Could be because anxiety was less because I wasn’t stressing about my looks anymore after the acne went away. (Anxiety/ new experiences/ vacations always made me more constipated).

I hope you all get better soon 🦋