Constant Constipation - Norwich,VT

Dear S., I tto had this problem for years. Yes Activia is OK but you may need a more potent probiotic. I use a product by Natren that I get in a health food store. It is called Trenev Trio and contains many live freindly bacteria. You can look it up www.natren.com , it is a California based company. My best, Grandma Mary

Hi. Have you tried Fibercon instead? I take 1, not 2, a day, and that has helped me tremendously. I have IBS, so I get all the symptoms when I don't watch what I eat or am stressed. However, I find that the Fibercon helps keep me regular. I tried Align, but that did not help me and went back to Fibercon. Also, I find that exercising regularly has helped me. I've been going to the gym for a year now, and this has helped as well (along with all the other benefits that result from exercising). Feel better!

I would suggest making an appointment with a gastroenterologist. If this has been a longterm problem for you, perhaps you have IBS or some other condition, for which there may be some treatment.

You might want to try triphala, a safe and effective Ayurvedic herbal formulation. You will probably need to use it at higher than maintenance doses at first, but should be able to taper it to lower doses as your issues subside.

I would try Florastor for at least two weeks then you can take a regular probiotic on a daily basis. I don't know what else is in Activia besides cultures, but Florastor is a great natural product you can take everyday, get at drugstore.
Also, do you have any allergies? Vitamin deficiencies? I think Magnesium is needed for proper peristalsis( bowel movement). And even hormones affect your digestive system, I find I have different issues depending on where in my cycle I am.

Sounds like you have IBS. There's no cure for that except to watch your diet. I live with that as well and I've had to keep a food dairy of what i've eaten and note what caused me discomfort. If I eat something that causes me constipation or gas I usually drink a bit of prune juice at night. I've also been resorting to something that is strange in amercia but not in other countries like japan where their toilets just have it. What i'm talking about is like a "anal douche" you squirt a little bit of a water and it flushes your system out and prevents that smell.

Hi S.,

I recently saw a GI doc who said I must start taking a fiber supplement, whichever one I could tolerate the taste of. I bought Benefiber because it said it was tasteless. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it is actually tasteless! I mix it into my coffee in the morning and I don't even know it's there. It also has added calcium so that solves the problem of having to take one more supplement. Hope this helps!

The very first thing you should do is get a colonostopy to make sure that there are no blockages in your colon. This is very important, because if you have polyps, they can grow into cancerous tumors so they need to be taken care of right away. If there are no blockages, then you have to get plenty of exercise and fruit. The ingredients for the perfect poop are soluable fiber, insoluable fiber, and fat. This means that your diet has to be balanced. Excercise is important, because that is what keeps your body functioning the way it should.

Try a capful of Miralax (it's over the counter), in a glass of orange juice every morning. Your problem will be gone immediately. After my fourth child, I had nerve damage to my intestines, and suffered from terrible constipation. Like you , I tried everything. When I finally went to the MD, he advised Miralax. You will feel so much better.
God Bless,
L.

Try Mirolax, it works well for my son. It is for adults and children.

Good luck.

V.

You also need to eat a lot of fiber. Lots of fruits and vegetables. I am a rep for a product called Juice Plus+. It is 17 raw whole fruits and vegetables in a capsule. One of my new customers started it for this very reason and she came up to me the other day and said she couldn't believe that she is now going to the bathroom and that she would never stop taking this supplement. You can check it out on my website (lswiftjuiceplus.com) and feel free to call me with any questions. JP+ is not prescribed for constipation, however, it seems to help many of my customers with their stomach problems and constipation. Good Luck and I hope you feel better.

i have the same problem the only thing that works for me is senokot-s i know you dont like laxitives but if i dont use them the pain is worse than giving birth.. i hope this helps...

i have the same problem all my life too,what horrible thing,but now i am better since i go to the doctor ,he give me a vitamin b12 ,i take every day one,its take time but eating vegies and fruits and the vitaminin is work,but is take time,like a few weeks then star to work,the vitamin call SUPER B-COMPLEX,also have vitamin c and folic acid,and also walk is very good,and dont eat to much meet,eat only whet breat,no white breat,drink cold milk,like in the morning is very good, is no easy but u have to tried,well good luck...

I have chronic constipation and have been dealing with this for several years now. It is not IBS (in my case). I did go see a GI doctor and he recommended Miralax. It works WONDERS! Keeps me very regular. I asked my doctor if it is harmful to take for a lengthy amount of time and he said no, it is very natural. I have a cap full each morning with my Juice. It has helped a lot! You can get it over the counter. If you find that it works for you, you can get it at Sams Club for CHEAPER!! Just a little FYI there.

Good luck!

I find that just eating lots of fruits and vegetables keeps you very regular. If you're not a fan of veggies, I would suggest steaming and pureeing them and then mixing them into a tomato sauce with pasta. Good luck!!

I can tell you that for me, when I have issues "going", I make hot lemon water...not only does it get things "Moving" for me, it's also good for bloating....I personally try to go a more natural way first then try the over the counter/prescribed meds.....

Try eliminating dairy and see if that helps, then try eliminating wheat and see if that helps. Keep a food diary and try eliminating things that seem to irritate your condition until you identify what truly adds to the problem. Conversely, try adding foods like probiotic drinks to see if that helps.

I also highly recommend taking a long walk daily or better yet, trying a beginner yoga class. You could try a DVD at home but a live teacher would be best. It's a little embarassing but releasing gas is very normal especially at the beginning of the class. You can even ask your teacher to suggest poses that would benefit your digestive system. You would not be the only one tooting away in class! I think the gentle movement helps push the gas through your system and it helps you feel much better overall.

It seems here you have good advice, but here's my opinion. I believe leafy things like baby spinach, and romaine lettuce is good for that besides eat a lot of fiber which is GREAT for constipation. Also, coffee is not good because it dehydrates your body along with soda. I am reading, studying and learning about alkaline and acidic foods and what fiber and green leafy foods do for us and etc. I know that too much peanuts, chocolate can constipate a person and also bananas can do that to a person....that depends on the person. Eating fruits and vegetables is important, especially if you can eat them raw, I heard you are supposed to eat something like 60% of raw vegetables a day and I don't if we all can get that much in but eat salads and you'll get that in that way...if you can eat salads. I have allergies and sometimes a salad I have to be careful what I eat. So, I make my own knowing what I can eat and how much. Avoid dairy for about a week and once everything is regulated, you can add dairy slowly and see if changes if so and not for the better, it may be dairy. I would say see the dr, but they just want to pop meds into you before you try something natural so if you go to have tests done to make sure there is no problem with your bowels, do the tests but do those natural things first. I do and things are back in order. One dr wanted me to take Vitamin D because it was deficient and I didn't but ate foods and drank things naturally with vit.D and that helped and boost it back up and this was during winter time because of lack of sunlight. Hope this helped, S..

The fact that Activia worked for you for a while is an indicator that your gut flora might not be in a good state. I would go to Whole Foods or The Vitamine Shoppe and get a high-potency multi-strain probiotic and take it every day. See if it makes a difference after taking it for about a month.