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Any suggestions for easing constipation? (Please, no jokes)

I never had this problem for my first 73 years.

But now I'm old and it's become a real problem.

Anyone here figure out how to change this condition of bowels that feel like I'm packed with cement?

The last time I posted a question about this was when I had to give up keto dieting because the keto diet causes constipation for me. I got a series of jokes and smart remarks. Please don't treat this as a joke. It is a very painful condition for me. Really, it's not a joke for those who suffer from it.

Here is what won't work for me, so don't bother to suggest these ideas:

I hesitate to take a laxative. I live in a rented room in a roominghouse with several people sharing the bathroom with me. If I have to use the toilet suddenly, I may not be able to get into the bathroom in time. So taking a laxative could be a mistake.

Legally, in my town, social workers inspect roominghouses and if they find a portable toilet, or any kind of potty, they can close down the entire house and I'd be out on the street looking for a new home. You can only have a portable toilet in a specially licensed señior care facility here. So putting a portable toilet in my room isn't the answer.

I eat a lot of veggies in my diet, and I love salads which I eat every day. I also drink a lot of water.

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AJ023 · M

My mom uses an enema on me for constipation and it seems to do the trick

AJ023 · M

Then you need to go to a doctor or to a hospital

Nimbus · M

Pears!

Pears have everything you need to remedy this.

View 3 more replies »

Nimbus · M

@greenmountaingal No, raw.
Conference pears are especially good and large.

greenmountaingal · 70-79, F

@Nimbus OK, will try it!

greenmountaingal · 70-79, F

@Nimbus Thank you. I will definitely buy a bunch of pears next time I shop. Do canned pears count?

cherokeepatti · 61-69, F

There are little probiotic drinks that have two different probiotics in them. Very good for digestion. They are often sold in the yogurt sections of grocery stores especially in Mexican markets butI have found them at some Walmart’s, Winco, and local stores. They sell in 5 or 6 packs for about $1. There is another brand that costs about $3, I go for the $1 ones and take one a day on an empty stomach and eat something about 30 minutes later with a little bit of sugar in it to feed the bacteria, fruit is good. Golden flax meal is good for your liver, about a tablespoon per day. Helps to get things moving. Broccoli or other veggies from the cabbage family should be consumed daily, broccoli seems to be the best though. Beets or beet juice is helpful because it contains betaine which also helps the liver. I went on the keto diet and had to stop for the same reason. Also get more resistant starches in your diet, they will form prebiotics and aid digestion.And if I feel like my food is not digesting well after a meal I will eat a raw carrot and can tell a difference within 20 minutes.

greenmountaingal · 70-79, F

@cherokeepatti Could you give me an example of a "resistent starch"? I've never heard of that.

cherokeepatti · 61-69, F

@greenmountaingal there are at least 5 types, you need to google and read up on them. One type is rice and potatoes. When they are cooked and cooked overnight and eaten cold the resistant starch levels increase greatly.

PoetryNEmotion · F

Prune juice works. You might have to drink a lot. Better than prunes. It unclogs your bowels. You may need to try a suppository inserted rectally. Dulcolax works. You can take Colace daily or Senekott daily. This helps keep you regular. Warm drinks help. Even coffee or tea-both are diuretics-you urinate more. Try those. If worse comes to worse, try an enema. You can insert it carefully. Hold it in. Lay upon your left side. And then you will feel the urge to go. Good luck to you, girl. It can be really painful. I have had patients who have gone 10 plus days with no bms. Very painful. You don't want to take liquid laxatives-but a bowel preparation like those for before a colonoscopy would work too. They tend to be hard upon your system though.

curiosi · 61-69, F

There is a tea available at Wal-Mart. It's called "Slim Tea, I believe it is in the diet/weight loss isle. It will make you go. I suggest until you get used to it you make the tea weak.

cherokeepatti · 61-69, F

@curiosi Hot green tea with lemon is helpful too.

Nunlover

A little piece of soap into your bhole and go for a walk, gran made us do it as kids, it works

MrsRachelEvans · 31-35, F

@Nunlover I got that as well!

Nunlover

@MrsRachelEvans worked wonders for me

MrsRachelEvans · 31-35, F

@Nunlover it did work!!

SW-User

Pickles and even drinking the pickle juice helps when in a pickle..

revenant · F

drink salted water. It works very well. Not tooo salty that it makes you puke though!

greenmountaingal · 70-79, F

@revenant Good suggestion, I've heard of that cure for it. I will try it.

revenant · F

@greenmountaingal works every time !

cherokeepatti · 61-69, F

@revenant that does work

Om2014 · 31-35, M

You are eating lot of uncooked food?, its hard to digest maybe saute or boil it, steam perhaps.
Also psyllium husk, wood apple, aloe Vera will totally help try them. And early morning as soon as u wake up drink Luke warm water and walk around while massaging your abdomen area, it can do magic try it. Also one more tip, change the posture while you go for number 2. Umm google it, sit in Indian style.

greenmountaingal · 70-79, F

@Om2014 The toilet here is not built with enough room around it to use a squatty potty or any other way to allow Indian style sitting.

Nobody00 · F

Prunes in Costco, castor oil on Amazon

greenmountaingal · 70-79, F

@Nobody00 Any kind of strong laxative is out of the question for me because I share a bathroom with 5 other people in a roominghouse and if I suddenly need to use the toilet here I might need to wait 20 minutes (sometimes people are using the shower). I've tried strong laxatives and wound up having to get down on my arthritic knees and scrub the floor. Very painful and depressing. So I'm looking for somethimg gentle but effective.

SW-User

It’s quite possible it’s due to just dehydration which is more common with age. There’s different types of laxatives and most people think of the severe type. But there’s a gentle one that just sends more water into your bowel making you regular without the usual laxative effect so that could be one to consider.

greenmountaingal · 70-79, F

Can you give me a brand name so I can look for it in the drugstore?

PepsiColaP

Coffee ,certain breathing techniques seem to be helpful,exercise ,hot water w lemon n honey,worse case scenario would be an enema or laxatives lol. But you dont want to do those often because from my understanding you become dependent on them in order to have any bowel movement after a while

PiecingBabyFaceTogether · 31-35, M

I had similar problems for years till a friend from my moms family told me about a medication that I kept taking twice a day before meals for 4 months. Though lately I had to stop it because of an allergic reaction to it but now my bowels are functioning very well it's like my body got used to working properly.

MrBrownstone · 46-50, M

Bran flakes the higher the fiber the better.

SW-User

I'm prone to constipation as well and always have been. I've had good luck with probiotics recently (after no longer wishing to use stool softeners) in conjunction with a diet high in fiber (my problem was made worse by a poor diet that I've since improved).

nevergiveup · M

I use microlax they work well for me

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Ian123 · 61-69, M

Are you going through any stress, that’s one of the main reasons. If not it’s probably your diet. Bran or fibre is considered a good idea or plenty of exercise. Good Luck 🤗

greenmountaingal · 70-79, F

@Ian123 I swim. And yes, I am going through stress. Might start bran cereal, but that would mean I couldn't use the keto diet.

Ian123 · 61-69, M

If you’re eating well it’s certainly possible it could be stress. Try to relax a bit more and if you need to go to the doctor and see what they can prescribe @greenmountaingal

greenmountaingal · 70-79, F

@Ian123 I can't get to my doctor now. Too sick to drive the 20 min. to the local Kaiser facility.

JaggedLittlePill · 46-50, F

Stool softeners. High fiber foods. Prunes or prune juice. Lots of water.

Stool softeners are not laxatives. Just don't take too many.

michelle44 · 56-60, F

That is really tough ,not being able to use a portable toilet ,it is really painful (mine is due to medication) ,the only way i can manage without laxatives is to eat mainly cereal and fruit ,but that gets boring after a while

CuriousCuckold · 61-69, M

Try an enema. It might not seem like something you would want to do but they really work for constipation. I had them when I was a kid. I always felt great after having one.

greenmountaingal · 70-79, F

@CuriousCuckold Not a possibility where I live. I share a bathroom with 2 other people here. It's not always possible to get into the bathroom when you need it.

SW-User

I’ve used colace after medical procedures. You won’t have any anal explosions but it seems to work.

Suppositories are embarrassing but they really do work.

SW-User

I use to get constipated a lot I ate beans and mixed this powder laxative in apple juice and it always works for me

Penny · 46-50, F

have you considered trying a suppository if it's that bad?

greenmountaingal · 70-79, F

@Penny Anything that could cause a sudden intense urge to go would not be a good idea at my house since I share a bathroom with several people.

Penny · 46-50, F

@greenmountaingal well, i swear by that diet tea stuff that curiosi mentioned. drink a double strength cup before you go to bed and get relief in the morning. its very gentle, if you have to wait youll be okay. not sure about suppositories. also , if it's like a chronic problem strong probiotics might help