Severe constipation

[Jessicka1234]

I'm a 26 year old female and I will go 5 to 7 days without having a bowel movement.. I want to know what will break it up at the exterior end? It is extremely painful to push it out which I have done in the past, I usually have to drink magnesium citrate for it to come out but most of it is huge, please help me I'm in excrutriating pain!!!

[TheLightSeeker]

Hey jessicka,

Some great advice, but please take it easy with the fiber, as it may worsen
the constipation, as geminigfirl1963 mentioned.
Also careful with the use of laxatives as high consumption may damage the muscular functioning of the bowel, deplete the body from minerals and vitamins and cause kidney stones.
Please pay Attention to the following:
Not only what you are experiencing is painful, it is potentially DANGEROUS!  
Having a bowel movement only  every 5-7 days can impact your health negatively in so many different ways.
Some potential problems:
1. Toxins and bacteria (including newly produced ones in the trapped stool
from the disintegration ) can leak into the blood circulation and cause
septicimia.
2. Hardened stools can prevent the intestines from absorbing important nutrients (such as Calcium - Osteoporosis would be the long term effect)
3. Higher risk of polyps and cancer.
4. Damage to the bowels and incontinence.
5. Overlooking the underlying cause and paying attention only to the symptom  (constipation is just a symptom)
Chronic constipation treated with prescribed or otc laxatives may leave a
more serious underlying condition untreated.

Coconut oil is the absolutely BEST remedy for your issues.
It is by far the ultimate oil to repair ad strengthen  the digestive/GI system.
It will keep the intestines lubricated and clean, it will fend off microbes,parasites, fungus, bacteria as it is anti-fungal, antimicrobial, anti-parasitic and more!
It will treat and prevent constipation, however, you need to explore the possible causes.
(If this persists or you develop other serious symptoms, you may want to consult with a gastro-enterologist)
I suggest you start with 2T daily -any way you like;raw or in cooking or added like butter, etc. Increase to 3T  in 3-4 days and up to 4T by week 2.
Don't take my word for this. The coconut research centre website fas tons of information.
The best kind is extra virgin and it is the only kind I consume.

If you need more info, let me know.
I hope you feel better soon.
Blessings,
Nikodicreta

[geminigirl1963]

You got some great advice above.  I can only add what I use and that is Phillips Cramp Free - I can't drink that nasty Magnesium Citrate stuff - it makes me vomit before it has a chance to do anything for the "other end".  The phillips is very gentle, non stimulant, so it doesn't give you that cramping that a stimulant laxative can/will and the best thing (for me anyway) is they are tablets, so no nasty liquid to drink!!  They not only help you go, but they also soften the stoof so it is less painful going.

I've never tried it, but I've also heard good things about MiraLax - but again, I believe it's a liquid so you may have the same issue with the taste.

As mentioned in the above answer to your post, increase your fiber slowly - adding too much fiber (especially too quickly) can actually make constipation worse.

[Jessicka1234]

Thank you so much for all the info I just drank a whole bottle of that nasty magnesium citrate I did go buy some fiber pills will that help?

[ggreg]

I'll try to help you, Jessica.  Before I tell you how to prevent constipation, let me give you a tip that should help A LOT with having all that waste ready to come out and it won't.  At the drugstore, pick up "BabyLax" or "PediaLax," it's a very small box of tubes of ointment, squirt two in the rear, and within minutes it'll come on out, and the lubrication in the medicine makes it hurt less.  If you do indeed have chaffing from all this, some PLAIN KY jelly in a blue and white tube, not the flavored kinds, put on the area after showering each day while you are uncomfortable will give you relief.

Now, if you have ordinary constipation, the three standard things to do to prevent it are:  Drink plenty of water (aim for six glasses), exercise regularly (even an easy walk a few times a week will do), and eat enough fiber foods (introduce slowly stuff like oat cereal, whole wheat bread, fresh or frozen cooked vegies, fruit as a snack, and salads).

Another tip that can't hurt and might actually be the key to better digestion for you is to consume "probiotics" for two weeks.  You can get Acidophilus milk or Activia yogurt at the grocery store, it restores the normal bacterial flora in the intestines.  Any yogurt that says, "Live cultures," or words to that effect, will work.  Also, if you don't care for those foods, you can get a pill form at the health food store, I think "Pearls" is one of them.

Also, some medications can cause constipation, even simple stuff.  The biggest culprits are:  Some vitamin supplements (switch to taking once a week or try another brand), opiate pain killers, antibiotics.  If you are on ANY medicine at all, have the prescribing doc review all side effects for constipation, or even one that says "dry mouth" is suspect.  Then adjust your meds as needed.  

But if you MUST take certain medicines, counteract it with enough water and enough fiber.  I take some powerful drugs, and every morning I have to eat Cheerios or I get stopped up.  At one point, I had to find some 100 percent whole wheat stone-ground bread to add for lunch in addition to my oatmeal or Cheerios.  Subway has wheat bread, and the lettuce and tomato (and onions) they can put on them, all work together to help digestion.  A salad every evening with dinner is another simple way to add fiber.

If NONE of this works for you, could be you have some sort of gastro problem that will need to be checked by your regular doc or an internal medicine doc, so he can refer you to a gastroenterologist, and they can do various tests (scan, colonoscopy, bloodwork) to make sure you don't have a shortage of digestive enzymes coming from your liver, or a benign blockage, or an infection from a diverticuli, just all sorts of things can go wrong.

Feel free to let us know how things work out for you, I hope you won't have to suffer with all this for too much longer, indigestion can really wreck your day! GG