I'm 36F.

Basically my whole adult life, I've had extreme GI issues in the OPPOSITE direction of this sub - usually having BMs multiple times a day, often very soft or diarrhea, very urgent. It would cause me to miss social events, sit on the toilet for hours, have burning pain, and feel constantly sick.

I thought my issues were the worst, so I had a colonoscopy in April... but dealing with the other end of the spectrum is SO MUCH worse, holy shit. (Colonoscopy was completely normal btw.)

I had literally never been constipated before in my life. I feel like the colonoscopy prep bombed my system and completely changed how my body operates.

Now, between bouts of diarrhea, I am getting constipated regularly. EXCEPT - I still almost never go a whole day with 0 BMs. Instead, I can squeeze out small amounts of wet stool, sitting on the toilet sometimes 5-10 times a day to try to get a tiny bit out. My impression is that this means there's some blockage, and the wet stool is making its way around it in small amounts.

I'm in extreme pain right now because I did something stupid last week - I was having terrible period cramps on Thursday, so I took an Oxycodone to sleep. By Friday I was constipated. I took Dulcolax on Saturday and it helped a bit on Sunday, but then I got plugged up again. On Monday I took it again, but instead of making me poop, it made me feel the constant gurgling sensation of needing to poop without being able to get anything out.

I've talked to a doctor and they advised Miralax (which I'm now taking) but this feels like a serious issue. I took Miralax last night and this morning, and I've gotten a little out, but I can still feel a big blockage. I woke up at 5 am due to pain this morning & was still unable to go. I just want everything out.

I'm wondering:

- Any short-term advice to me? Should I double up on dosages? At what point is the blockage a bigger emergency?

- Anyone experienced this chronic constipation issue AFTER a colonoscopy? Is there any way to fix it? Did it go back to normal after a while or stay that way forever?

PS I'm sorry for thinking I had it bad before. I would literally take 5x a day diarrhea over this. Constipation is SO MUCH worse.

Answers to required Qs:

1. Depends on the day, sometimes I have no urge but often it's cramping etc without any ability to get it out.
2. Alternating diarrhea and constipation.
3. Occasional nausea and acid reflux, but not often. I also cannot burp.
4. Began in adulthood with extreme diarrhea, constipation only started after colonoscopy prep.
5. No drugs affecting the chronic condition (current short-term issue was caused by Oxycodone)
6. No

Hi everyone, I’m looking for some advice on bowel prep that’s not working.

I’ve suffered since childhood and have been diagnosed with slow-transit constipation and a dolicolon. I’ve tried Movicol, Resolor, Linzess, senna and Dulcolax, but still struggle with severe episodes.

I also have a history of jejunojejunal intussusception, found on a previous scan.

This week, I’ve taken two bottles of magnesium citrate with very little result. I rwent to A&E today after around a week without a bowel movement. They did an xray and said I had a blockage, then did a CT and then said there is a large amount of stool in the colon but no signs of obstruction.

My doctor then advised me to take Citrafleet in two doses over 5 hours which I’ve done. It has produced 2 bowel movements in 6 hours but nothing since

This is becoming a frequently progressive situation and i don’t know what to do any more. The dr said the only option left now is to remove my colon but he said it’s an extreme decision and to try to keep managing with laxatives

Has anyone else experienced intussusception alongside chronic constipation?

I’m feeling quite stuck and would really value hearing about your experiences and what I should discuss with my medical team. Thank you!

I've had chronic constipation for a few years now. I'm completely dependent on laxatives to ever even go, and lately I've been needing more and more. This is really affecting my life, and I wanted to know how it's been for others

So er told me to try the 8 capfuls in 64oz gatorade, Stool doesn’t really reach far into my large intestine even after a few weeks and stimulants and magnesium citrate and linzess weren’t working, and there was nothing there after doing an er soap and water enema (because it’s likely still in my ascending colon).
My question is if I take 2/3 of this clean out dose, will that be enough? It’s 4pm and I have to leave at 5am for a dr’s appt lol.

Answers to the required questions:

1. No urge to go unless there’s actually something there, but usually stool doesn’t form and make it that far

2. Only constipation

3. Nausea and difficulty swallowing

4. Started exactly 20 weeks pregnant 10 years ago. I stopped pooping and went 22 days with no bowel movement so I went to the er, and nothing really even came out with an enema. It never got better ever since. And 1 year after that I had rectopexy surgery

5. No

6. No

I’ve dealt with some amount of constipation my entire life, but for some reason, this year it’s just suddenly spiked into hell. Before, I honestly never even thought about it as a problem I had, more like a weird quirk. I got scolded for taking “too-long” bathroom breaks in high school, or for not going “fast enough” when my bowels decided the right time to go was when I needed to hit the road for something, and when I moved into an apartment that had weak plumbing, I just accepted I’d be making fast friends with my plunger. That was the worst of it. I truly, truly have no idea what changed since then, all I know is that something did, sometime around April or May*,* and now I’m so backed up I look like I’m perpetually starting my 2nd trimester, and I’ve got constant, constant reflux.

With my constipation, I’ve never had the urge to go but no ability to follow through, it’s usually just no urge at all, and that’s still the case with this. I just get more nauseous and lose my appetite the longer I wait. There’s always been some suspicion that my psych meds could be contributing? But I’ve changed meds and doses so many times, and the constipation has been so consistent, it seems like the baseline is already abnormal and they may or may not be contributing. Even during this weird escalation, I changed psych meds several times, but just got worse at the same consistent rate, no matter what I was stopping or starting or increasing or decreasing. The only correlation I can think of, is that it did start getting worse around the same time my vaginismus got worse… but it’s not like I have an explanation for that, either. My PT suggested the possibility of endometriosis? Buuut also told me I had basically no shot of ever knowing for sure unless they cut me open, so, it’s not like that helped… so, all I really have is a bunch of “maybe”s and “possibly”s and “it’s not clear”s.

I had hoped a GI could give me more answers, so I was able to get an appointment in August, and he told me to eat more fiber and just take some mild osmotic laxatives til things cleared. I did that. Things improved slightly, then got worse. The osmotics stopped producing more than one small movement (if that) when taken, and just started producing more reflux. I contacted the GI, he got back to me that day and said if I wanted, I could try adding a stimulant to flush things out. I took the stimulant. I had one tiny movement. And reflux pouring out of my nose for the rest of the night. That was it. So, the next day, I contacted the GI again. He took longer to get back to me this time, and he definitely started seeming more annoyed. He scolded me for how many tums I took to try and stop the reflux (it was as many as the package instructions said I was allowed, so, 15 spaced out over 24 hours), told me that’s why nothing was moving, and that I needed to be taking the osmotics daily. So I did that! I had soft but still tiny movements for the rest of the week, until the packaging on the osmotics told me I had to stop and I felt so nauseous I agreed. Contacted the GI, again… heard back eventually, he just said to try a bottle of magnesium citrate. He said nothing about what dose or form it should be in, and I was so frustrated at that point I didn’t want to figure that out, so I did not do that. I kinda just gave up.

It’s been a few weeks since then. Just continuing to have small, infrequent BMs. The nausea is hell. The reflux is hell. I can’t wear my own pants or even sit comfortably because my stomach is so stretched out, and I can’t even walk as much as I usually do cos then it’ll start to hurt and push all its contents back up my throat. No more advice from any of my doctors, though, because they only like to one thing at a time, so I’ve resigned myself to begging for that one thing to be “please figure out what the painful lumps growing on my chest and arms are” right now— boy, am I living the dream. (I did try to ask if the lumps in combination with the GI symptoms were concerning? But they said “no” like it was a ridiculous question, so that ended there.)

I can’t imagine I’ll get to the bottom of my bowel issues anytime soon. Certainly not within the year. But is there anything besides fiber and laxatives that I can do on my own to try and minimize the symptoms? Are softeners worth trying? Enemas? Trying to research all the OTC options on my own is so confusing. If my doctor has no more insights for me, am I just screwed?

I’d just really, really like to wear pants again. That’s all. Pajama day every day has lost its spark, I want to dress like an adult.

I was diagnosed with bowel retention as a child by a pediatric gastroenterologist. My X-ray showed that my bowels were completely full. I was recommended to take 3x the dose of sennokot every 2 months to do a “clean out”. I only did this for a year as my family doctor told my parents it is a form of an eating disorder to take that many laxatives. I then just accepted the fact that I was chronically constipated. I pooped every 2-3 days and only a few pebbles. Fast forward to now I am pooping every 1-2 days while taking magnesium and restorolax. However, approximately every few weeks I develop horrific abdominal cramping that leads to diarrhea that lasts about 2hrs. This past Sunday I thought I was having my regular episode. The diarrhea finished and I went to sleep. I was woken up at 2am with cramping and went to the bathroom and passed bloody mucous. It was terrifying. That happened all throughout the night. I went to a walk in doctor in the morning and he referred me to a general surgeon who specializes in colonoscopies. I have a consultation with him next week and am seeing my family doctor in 2 days. Since then, I have not pooped and I haven’t had anymore bleeding. I would love to know if anyone experiences this or has advice for me.

Do you have the urge to go, but you cannot? Or do you have zero urge to go? (this is the most important question): no urge to go

• ⁠Do you have alternating diarrhea and constipation, or just constipation?: alternating

• ⁠Do you have nausea, vomiting, acid reflux, difficulty swallowing, or early satiety (getting full really early into a meal)? No, but I do have nausea when I’m having a diarrhea episode

• ⁠Have you had this issue since childhood, or did it begin in teen years/adulthood/after a major life event. since childhood

• ⁠Did you in the past or do you currently take any medications that could damage your intestines? I take Sertraline 50g and have Kyleena IUD

• ⁠Did you suffer sexual abuse as a child? Potentially? I have a very bad memory of my childhood but I have suspicions.

Been on Suboxone for the last few years. We don’t need the sob story of how I ended up taking them, the answers obvious. I’ve been dying to come off of them. I was in the right state of mind to get off of them and go through the motions so to speak, I was prepared to go through the physical process… that was 8 months ago. Literally, two days after I spoke to my doctor about how I wanted to start coming off the medication that she was about to send to my pharmacy to pick up that same day, I was at work, I orders a taco (I don’t eat Mexican very often at all) soon after, I started feeling sick, by that night when I was home, I was in immense pain, it was hands-down, the worst pain of my life.

I couldn’t breathe all the way in, and the pain just got worse and worse by the hour, I didnt sleep at all. I sat there for over 24 hours telling myself it was just “food poisoning” or something. Nope, I finally came to my senses and forced my parents to take me to the ER, and what do you know? The doctors told us that if I had waited one more day, I legit would have died, there was an air bubble in my gallbladder, they had to perform an emergency surgery. All of this to say, since then, I don’t know what it is, but I cannot get back into the mindset that I was in right before this ordeal took place, where I was prepared and ready to take on the withdrawal symptoms and all of that pleasantness that goes into that.

This constipation is fucking killing me. I go maybe once every two weeks, maybe once a week, if I’m lucky. But I never feel completely emptied out. Oh and there’s often blood from straining. I can’t take this anymore. I have taken so much laxatives over the years to solve this issue, that I’ve reached a point I think, where they just don’t even work for me anymore, which I’ve read does and WILL happen. I have tried magnesium citrate, the holy Grail. But the taste of it literally makes me vomit, even when I try to mix it with something and mask the taste. Nope, will still vomit and I’m not someone who typically has a weak stomach just by bad tastes in my mouth. So what’s the point? I want to cry. I just wanna be normal and go once a day. While I work on myself in getting myself back to the state of mind of being brave and ready to come off of this horrible damn medication, Does anybody know a way that will actually help me?

I've just recently started on Ibsrela a couple days ago and so far I've only been taking one dose a day. On a normal day, I usually only eat one meal a day so I've been struggling to accommodate a second meal. Before starting this medicine, I usually only ate dinner but lately I've switched to only eating breakfast so I can take the Ibsrela in the morning because it's giving me diarrhea (which is not unusual for me, all of these prescription IBS-C medications give me diarrhea or nothing). The problem is that by dinner I'm not hungry at all, so I just haven't been taking the second dose since you have to take it with a meal.

So my question is, are you able to take Ibsrela with just a snack instead of an actual meal? Google AI says no, but AI lies so I don't trust it at all. Has anyone tried this?

Questions:

1. Zero urge to go without medication.
2. Primarily constipation, but every now and then I'll have random diarrhea. I suspect sometimes it could be overflow diarrhea, but I can't confirm.
3. I have acid reflux too.
4. I developed IBS-C when I was 19-20, right before a huge life event (sudden pet loss) but I was developing symptoms prior to it happening. Both of my parents have digestive disorders, my dad has IBS-D and my mom is very IBS-C leaning but nowhere near as badly as I have.
5. I don't think so? I've taken antibiotics in the past as everyone has, though.
6. No.

I’m not asking for medical advice but just some tips if someone might be familiar with what I’m talking about. I’m taking Trulance and I’m struggling a bit because I have to damn near chug a whole bottle of water and a little bit more for it to work and it just makes me so physically uncomfortable. If I don’t drink a bunch of water right when I take it I don’t get any relief. I’d appreciate if anyone knows anything about what I’m experiencing if you could tell me how you dealt with it or if it’s just something I’ll have to deal with.
Answering the diagnostic questions

1. Zero urge

2. Alternating

3. All of the above

4. Haven’t taken those medications

5. Mostly my teen years and up

6. No

Hi y’all. I had the ARM test around 3-4 hours ago and I’ve had mild LLQ pain since the pushing portion I think. I pushed way too hard and almost started blacking out (thanks, autonomic issues!). Pain began as cramping/spasm during the test, and became burning and sore. It has fluctuated in intensity but I just recently pushed hard-ish to see if I could pass gas (I panicked and thought it would make me feel better) and I didn’t pass gas but it made it hurt a lot worse.

The tech told me she’s never had anyone get cramping during the test which freaked me out. I’m so afraid of perforation.

I did have a small BM after getting home with no blood and only some discomfort.

I have a history of diverticulosis, internal hemorrhoids, dysautonomia, and hypermobility spectrum disorder. I’m worried this test might have been a really bad thing for me to do. I’ve been severely constipated for a looooong time and I understand why they wanted to do it, but I’m freaking out.

I am sometimes an anxious person and might just be freaking out because I paused a mental health med for this test, but I wanted to ask if this is normal. Did anyone else hurt or have lingering discomfort? When did it subside?

edit to add:

• Do you have the urge to go, but you cannot? Or do you have zero urge to go? (this is the most important question)
• —A little of both, more recently zero urge
• Do you have alternating diarrhea and constipation, or just constipation?
• —just constipation unless I eat too much fat
• Do you have nausea, vomiting, acid reflux, difficulty swallowing, or early satiety (getting full really early into a meal)?
• --issues choking/swallowing sometimes
• Have you had this issue since childhood, or did it begin in teen years/adulthood/after a major life event (surgery? divorce? car accident? mauled by bears?)
• —-within the last couple years it’s come back but it was okay for a long while. Started in childhood initially.
• Did you in the past or do you currently take any medications that could damage your intestines? The acne drug Accutane/Sotret/Claravis/many other names (isotretinoin) has been linked to serious conditions of the digestive tract. I am absolutely convinced that my large intestine was destroyed by this drug. Antibiotics are also a major culprit in ruining the small intestine microbiome and causing diarrhea/constipation disorders. Antidepressants can ruin the serotonin balance in the gut as well.
• ——SSRI for a few years couple decades ago
• Did you suffer sexual abuse as a child? There is a high degree of correlation between childhood sexual abuse and adult constipation disorders.
• —-No

edit: removed words

i have been dealing with worsening constipation since last october. i was kind of managing with miralax and then more miralax + senna, then this slowly stopped helping and everything seemingly stopped working suddenly around the end of july (never any cramping, very minimal bruise-y pain, no urge, minimal hunger - literally just feels like nothing is happening in there).

i tried various combinations of lactulose, more senna, miralax clear out, bisacodyl + suppositories, glycerin suppositories, oil enemas, saline enemas, and a full 4L colyte prep (my x-ray fecal load was worse after) and kept having increasingly watery diarrhea but entire colon stayed full of stool. all of the osmotics, once i hit the dose where they did anything, felt close to the same - i just ended up with almost-clear diarrhea that i could barely make it to the washroom for and loud sloshing belly noises when moving around but no actual relief. i have had a rectal exam and my doctor confirmed there’s no impaction there, stool is just sitting higher up in my colon.

i now have started prucalopride (1mg, 2mg gave me an unbearable headache) and had 2 days of closer-to-normal bowel movements for the first time since mid august, but now am back to what feels like insignificant diarrhea. and i still feel awful, maybe worse. my belly hasn’t been majorly bloated this whole time but the side on my left felt, and still feels, pretty much rock hard.

my family doctor consulted a gi and he said he thinks i have developed slow colon transit and there is essentially nothing else he can recommend to do other than taking the prucalopride and a fiber supplement. my doctor is really nice and open to trying things but has said she’s out of ideas and hasn’t had another patient with constipation like this before.

i am seeing my neurologist soon and will be asking her to help refer me to the gi motility testing clinic but i have heard the wait time will be long. my doctor ordered a ct and that’s booked for february.

is there anything else i could look into and ask about in the meantime? i really feel awful :( i have had to discontinue my pain and nausea medications that i really needed for my other conditions because they could make this worse.

i am 24 and diagnosed with ehlers danlos and a spinal csf leak. i am in bed most of the time unfortunately because of the csf leak but i try to walk as much as i can when i am able.

answers to questions:

1. no urge at all unmedicated. with the prucalopride i have had a few random cramps but it’s still very minimal.
2. just constipation (without laxatives).
3. some nausea and regurgitation but this mostly went away with a PPI.
4. began after a transvenous procedure under general anesthesia, in adulthood. i had very very very severe intermittent deep abdominal pain 2 days out from the procedure and an ultrasound did not show anything. eventually it went away on its own so i never got an explanation for that. i have never ever ever struggled with constipation before this.
5. have been prescribed zofran and low dose opioids on and off in the past year but never taking them more than once or twice a week. now haven’t taken either since july. no other meds with gi effects.
6. no sexual abuse.

i hope it’s ok to post here with this technically being my first time experiencing constipation - i didn’t find the other subreddit very helpful since it’s mostly generally healthy people.

Currently I am 2 Procolupride, 500mg Magnesium Citrate, Mag07 Powder 1 teaspoon, 3 Dulco Ease, Apple Cider Vinegar/Olive Oil Shots and have a low fibre gentle diet which mostly consists of fruits and soups.

I still don’t get a bowl movement, ever. Unless I get so bunged up and stick in 3 suppositories but it’s a CYCLE, Over and over. Why is nothing working?!?

(I have been diagnosed with many things by many doctors, IBS-C and random chronic constipation)

TLDR: We have seen a GI doctor and her advice was to give miralax daily. Almost 4 y.o. poops himself every.time.

Potty training our boy has been a huge challenge. He's dealt with chronic constipation since birth, which leads to urgency and accidents. He also intentionally peed when he wants to make us angry. I'm convinced he's on the spectrum, but very high functioning. That's a whole different story, but important because I'm sure his brain is affecting things, too.

With the miralax daily, he has been pooping about every other day? Sometimes it's 3 or even 4 days. He has successfully pooped on the potty a few times. We have him try to push after each meal. He's sitting at least every 2 hours. I just genuinely feel like he has no idea when the poop is coming.

Has anyone dealt with something similar? I cannot keep cleaning grown-man-sized turds off of clothes/the floor/the rug 😭 especially since he is in prek now.

I have always had constipation issues since I was little, but in the past 2 years it has gotten to the point I can’t have a bowel movement without stimulation. My old GI prescribed me Bisacodyl a few months ago because the medication I was already taking (Linzess) wasn’t working, and I have now developed a dependency to the medication, as well as a reflux I haven’t had before. I have also noticed when I do have a bowel movement, it’s adjacent to having diarrhea.

I have tried many things to relieve constipation (prune juice, fiber pills, magnesium citrate, mineral oil, colonoscopy prep, etc) and nothing has worked. The GIs that have worked with me haven’t diagnosed me with anything, but have noticed my pelvic floor muscles aren’t working properly, which isn’t that surprising to me but I’ve noticed it being more prominent after I started using Bisacodyl.

If anyone has any recommendations or advice, that would be greatly appreciated.

Hi folks, there are some great posts and suggestions on this. Thought I would add mine! This is not medical advice, just my experience.

I am Day 9 post surgery.

My first recommendation: do your utmost to be regulated and have good type 3/type 4 poops before the surgery. I was away from home for a week and had a week to get back on track. Which I didn’t. I was pretty severely constipated which in my case manifests as little hard poops multiple times a day. Learn from my mistake!! I am currently going 6-8 times a day. They are soft and easy to pass, buuut just too many. Ugh.

Frozen peas are my best friends. They can be refrozen and if they clump, they break apart pretty easily when you hit them against a wall - which has felt like therapy at times, no lie! The surgeon’s office recommended using them until all the healing is done. It reduces pain for sure. Of course, don’t give yourself frostbite - wrap it in a cloth and limit the time.

A bidet is helpful. Ours has a warm water option which really helped the first few days. Sometimes it relaxed the area or distracted a bit from the pain receptors-and promoted going. However, I find I get better cleaning from my peri bottle. And it’s gentler.

Sitz baths: the hospital gave me a toilet basin style. It was easier for me to use the basin at first rather than getting into the tub. I had a tall plastic cup that I used to fill it up. Here’s what I learned: bodies release matter in a sitz bath especially the first few days after surgery. Not wanting to sitz in poop and risk a UTI or yeast infection, I would immediately jump up, rinse the basin, and refill. Often 3 or 4 times. In no way was that relaxing!
I was able to transition to the tub eventually, still using the basin at times. I continue to drain and rinse when I see stuff. I used a folded towel as a pad for a few days. Pro tip: Especially if you are older, practice getting into and out of the tub before this surgery.

Our mattress is kind of tall (thigh high) and it hurt horribly to climb into bed. I cried from that pain. My husband got a step stool which took care of it. I don’t need it so much any more.

Biggest recommendation: Have a notebook and write down when you take all your meds, especially pain relievers. No need to overdo or underdo pain relief!! If you are taking Acetaminophen, you need to figure out how much you’ve taken in a 24 hour period so you stay in the good zone. Include your supplements and stool softeners and bowel promoters and fiber on your list. And finally, track your poops. That way, if you get overcorrected one way or another, you can see exactly what you did and have the info for your doctor.

Speaking of meds, if you take blood thinners, have a joint discussion with your cardiologist and the surgeon. There needs to be clear understanding of the risks/benefits of the timing of restarting them after surgery. Obviously, this is a highly vascular region and bleeding happens. I am currently Day 9 and have enough bleeding where the bowl is red once or twice a day - my cardiologist thought the bleeding would be done within like 5 days.

Peeing - I found the opioids inhibited me a lot. The warm sitz baths helped get things flowing. As did standing and sitting multiple times when trying to go. An odd thing that also worked was leaning to one side rather than sitting square on the seat. I think that lessened the pain response inhibition for me. The surgeon prescribed a different opioid when I called about this issue. It was better but after a full day on it, it did the same thing. Being able to just take Tylenol has made things so much easier. Yay for less pain and for being able to relax the pelvic floor. This has made pooping so much easier as well.

I found pads to be irritating, so have just been using underwear and changing them all day long. I’ve also gone bare bottomed on an underpad. Lots of laundry from this, including high towel useage from multiple sitz baths. And honestly, even being careful, poop and/or blood splotches managed to escape on a regular basis, mostly the first week.

Sitting for any time does not work for me yet. I have to lean to one side or another or be on my stomach. We have a massage table which I used quite a bit Days 1-3. I don’t generally find laying on my stomach to be comfortable but the head cradle made all the difference. I did buy a donut pillow and was actually able to be reasonably comfortable for 10 minutes tonight - progress!! Standing is uncomfortable too. Walking was pretty bad until yesterday-I looked like an old cowpoke. Yesterday and today I was able to walk around outside a little bit. And do a little more.

There have been many times over the past few days that I have cried, in pain and frustration. This is a tough surgery. I have used every technique I know of - meditation, tapping, breathing, singing, distraction (thank you Netflix, Prime, Libby, Facebook and annoying Duolingo). They have all been very helpful. Also, I would have struggled physically without my husband taking care of me, bringing water and food, doing things I just didn’t have the pain tolerance or stamina to do.

Hopefully you have someone who can help out for the first week or two - and that your surgical team is responsive and supportive.

Take care everyone and good luck!

I made my first post here years ago and filled out the questionnaire so I'll skip that part.

Basically, around 12 years ago after moving away from home, I started having chronic constipation/irregularity issues.

Between embarrassment, stubbornness and periods of not having health insurance or any money for treatment, I just lived with it.

Since then, I have been going days without pooping, up to a week, and once 2 weeks, and not having full evacuation when I do go. Some months are better than others. I've even had weeks of being mostly regular. But 90% of the time, I'm backed up in some way or another. I have much greater success on weekends.

I eat pretty healthy, gallon of water a day, work out 5x a week, get 10-20k steps a day. I tried fiber supplements, no fiber, low fodmap diet, nothing made a difference. Around this time last year I decided to go all in and get this fixed.

Went to GI, got a colonoscopy, everything came back normal. Got sent for an anorectal manometry(was not a fan of that procedure). ARM results came back and was diagnosed with dyssynergia.

Got sent to physical therapy. Was given a stretching routine, didn't help, some diaphramatic breathing exercises and finally biofeedback testing.

Biofeedback testing! Just like I've heard about on this sub! I'm saved!

For anyone who doesn't know, they put electrodes on your butthole and test how much you're tensing the muscles at rest. The doctor said if I can get my resting number on the biofeedback device down to 2.0, then my problem is fixed. Well my resting number was 1.8 and if I really tried to relax I could get to 1.1.

So after 8 weeks of physical therapy, doing the stretching and breathing exercises every day, I have noticed no change whatsoever.

I'm going to keep doing the exercises but I'm really at a loss right now. A year into this and I just feel like I'm gonna be thrown to another doctor, spend thousands more and not get anywhere.

Has anyone actually been able to solve this and get their life back? I need some motivation.

I was blocked up on Friday so I took magnesium citrate and I was pooping until Saturday afternoon. Now it is Tuesday morning and nothing. I’ve had no other bowel movement, I have slight discomfort (may just be in my head), I still have no urge to go, and nothing comes out when I strain. I haven’t scheduled a doctors appointment yet because maybe I’ll poop in the afternoon since it is day three?

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! :/

Hi all. I’m feeling quite hopeless here, not sure exactly what I am looking for weather it’s just community or advice. I (24 F) have struggled with constipation all my life. Just something I’ve lived with. I finally was able to get an appointment with a GI doctor. They prescribed me Linzess. Things were looking pretty hopeful when I started Linzess. I went from going very infrequently to every other day. I had been on Linzess for four months. All of the sudden it seems like it stopped working. I reached out to my GI doctor and she told me to add MiraLAX along with my Linzess. That has not worked, she told me to try milk of magnesium (which also did not work). I am now trying magnesium citrate. I know it says it can take up to 6 hours for a bowel movement. I am on hour 3 and I have felt absolutely nothing. Any advice or people who may have been through something similar? This is probably the worst flare up of constipation I have had and I’m just frustrated and concerned. I’m at the point where I turn away from eating because nothing is moving through me and it just feels like a lost cause. I also feel frustration because it feels like I’m not being heard or listened to.

Side notes: I drink plenty of water, exercise regularly, and have a fairly balanced diet.

Thank you all in advance.

I noticed strange behaviours in my bowel movement around 2019 but it wasn't anything serious at the time (3 days max, once a month). But the first time I actually got scared was in 2021 when it occurred to me one day that I haven't had a bowel movement in more than a week. I entered the toilet and forced it out (without urge), it came out small and NOT CONSTIPATED, it was loose.

It's been hell since then, highest I could go is twice a week. I haven't been taking laxatives until around 2022 when I took lactulose passed small amounts of pellet like stools, didn't seem to help much so I stopped.

I get this periods of loss of appetite, almost as if my GIT is full (could go 1 week without eating much solid food) those periods are usually accompanied by weight loss

I took Bisacodyl supp earlier this year and I get urge but what comes out is usually something small, doesn't clear my entire GIT.

Over the last three months I've been eating 3 times a day and my average has come down to every two days, but abdominal distention has worsen. Before that my average was once a week.

I've lost so much weight at this point I'm basically malnourished by BMI standards (height 209cm, weight 72kg). in 2021 my weight was around 88kg

Has anyone else's constipation came with this much weight loss

I did endoscopy and colonoscopy which were both clean. I did test for hypothyroidism which came out clean as well.

Doctors kept treating constipation, I insisted on the colonoscopy earlier this year.

I do fart a lot for some reason.

as things stand, my abdomen is distended when I'm standing (dropping down my pubic region) but completely flat when I lay down.

My main issue is the weight loss, was it because I wasn't taking laxatives ? or it's something else ?

I haven't yet visited the doctor after the colonoscopy because I had a fracture (oops) 3.5 months ago so I've been at home since. I'll will be visiting soon. I need more information to present to the doctor to help figure out what the issue is.

I've read about BRAIN GUT disorders and I'm worried it might be the issue because I've had anxiety, chronic depression and chronic insomnia since 2018. Sedentary lifestyle too (average 500 steps a day) now 3000 steps on average

• Do you have the urge to go, but you cannot? Or do you have zero urge to go? : No urge
• Do you have alternating diarrhea and constipation, or just constipation?: Just Constipation
• Do you have nausea, vomiting, acid reflux, difficulty swallowing, or early satiety (getting full really early into a meal)? Nausea sometimes
• Have you had this issue since childhood, or did it begin in teen years/adulthood/after a major life event (surgery? divorce? car accident? mauled by bears?): Began in adulthood without make event
• Did you in the past or do you currently take any medications that could damage your intestines?: NO
• Did you suffer sexual abuse as a child?: NO

So Sunday I went to the ER bc I was having lower right abdomen pains. They do a CT and it showed large pancolon stool burden. So top to bottom I'm stuffed .

They do a suds enema. Only a few little pebbles came out and then all liquid .

They sent me home with magnesium citrate. I wake up the next day and take the magnesium. Only a few pebbles came out and like 5 or 6 spouts of peeing out my butt and it turned the water brown but not really anything solid.

So last night I went back to the hospital because it was three days post magnesium without a bowel movement. Some raunchy farts here or there but no movement. So he prescribed 8.6mg sennosides twice a day.

But my only experience with stimulant laxatives are brutal. I was 15 the last time I took one. Took some dulcolax, fell asleep for two hours and woke up in the worst pain of my life. I punched walls and knocked over furniture and was screaming for HOURS . And now I'm absolutely terrified to take this sennosides. But I need to go before I get a perforation. Impaction. Or just some kind of surgical intervention to get stuff moving.

Does anyone have any advice to help me out whatsoever .

I take linzess every day but it hasn't done anything clearly.

Hi all, I’m currently taking max dose Linzess in the morning, and 1 capful of MiraLAX before bed along with 500mg magnesium (lowered from 1000mg when I was zero- smallest dose Linzess). Sitzmark test showed that this is most likely a pelvic floor issue, so I was referred to a different GI and booked for an anorextal manometry but that’s not until December.

I should mention that my TSH is slightly elevated and has been the last couple of years, and my constipation has definitely gotten worse in those same couple of years. My last TSH in April 2026 was 5.3. In 2024 it was 4.8, and my Free T4 was tested and came back normal. My PCP just ordered a full thyroid panel today for T3 & T4, as well as ferritin, vitamin D and zinc. I have to stop taking biotin for a week & fast beforehand, so I will update with results. I’ve had all the symptoms of hypothyroidism lately.. fatigue, brittle/ dry hair, dry skin, anxiety, being cold when everyone else is warm..

I also just had a follow up with my GI who basically just works with slow transit, but he’s willing to tweak meds and order tests until I see the pelvic floor specialist. I asked if there’s anything else I can do until I get in with them, and he said I could get a **flexible sigmoidoscopy** to rule out any colitis, even though he thinks it’s highly unlikely. Somebody cancelled and there was an appointment for this Thursday at 6:30am. I booked it, but I’m wondering how helpful you all think it would be? Should I hold off until I get my anorextal manometry for more answers?
Also, he gave me the option of zero sedation, twilight sedation, and full anesthesia. I opted for full anesthesia bc I have anxiety already (which I’m treated for) and even more anxiety about *anything* going up my butt. 33F and anal anything has always been a no for me. I’m so tight down there that anything is so unpleasant. (TMI, sorry!). Is it ridiculous to opt for full anesthesia for a 10min procedure? But more importantly, do you think this is necessary/ will give me any answers?

6 questions:
Do you have the urge to go, but you cannot? Or do you have zero urge to go? (this is the most important question) I get the urge to go but only when I’m taking my regimen of MiraLAX, 500mg magnesium oxide & linzess (currently max dose)

Do you have alternating diarrhea and constipation, or just constipation? Both

Do you have nausea, vomiting, acid reflux, difficulty swallowing, or early satiety (getting full really early into a meal)? No

Have you had this issue since childhood, or did it begin in teen years/adulthood/after a major life event (surgery? divorce? car accident? mauled by bears?) since childhood

Did you in the past or do you currently take any medications that could damage your intestines? No

Did you suffer sexual abuse as a child? No

I’m here asking for any advice at all to get rid of hemorrhoids. I’ve had them for over a month and I’ve tried everything to get rid of them. I’ve done witch hazel, coconut oil, cold pressed organic castor oil, hemcalm, diosmin and hesperidin, preparation H, hydrocortisone, laxative stool softener, sitz baths and drinking a lot of water and eating fiber. I also don’t strain at all and only go to the bathroom when I for sure need to. I’ve also been to the doctor and had the blood drained because I had a fissure and they sent me on my way. I’m so desperate for relief so I don’t have to keep going to work in pain everyday. I hardly even sit down at all. Plz give any suggestions you may have 😭

Hi everyone, I’m hoping to hear from anyone who has experienced something similar or has any ideas about what might be going on.

I have slow transit-constipation, diagnosed through a nuclear medicine colonic transit study. I normally take anywhere from 1-5 sachets of movicol a day.

The strange thing is that I poop every day, and my stools are generally soft. I don’t usually strain, have hard stools, or have difficulty physically getting stool out. Sometimes I actually have very loose or completely liquid diarrhoea.

My problem seems to be the overall amount/output.

Every so often, my bowel output gradually decreases over a period of days or weeks, even though I’m still having bowel movements every day. As this happens, I develop progressively worse nausea and abdominal pain. Eventually the nausea can become severe enough that I’m vomiting.

Having a bowel movement temporarily improves the nausea, but it comes back because it feels like I haven’t emptied enough.

Historically, these episodes have eventually ended when I suddenly have an enormous bowel movement, basically a huge amount of stool all at once. When that finally happens, the nausea and abdominal symptoms resolve and I can be completely fine again for months.

The problem is that getting to that point is incredibly difficult. During these episodes I can take lots of different laxatives and they don’t seem to trigger that big clearance. It almost feels like I just have to wait until my colon eventually decides to move everything through.

Another confusing part is that if I have an abdominal X-ray during these episodes, it often doesn’t show significant faecal loading (when it rarely does it’ll be in the ascending colon) even though I feel dramatically better once I eventually pass that very large amount of stool.

I’m currently having one of the worst/prolonged episodes I’ve had. It has been going on for months and I’m extremely nauseated with significant abdominal pain. I’ve tried pico prep, senna, increasing movicol and recently 2mg of prucalapride.

The prucalopride was the first dose I’d ever taken and it dramatically worsened my nausea — I vomited throughout the day — so I haven’t taken another dose yet.

I’m particularly interested in hearing from people who:

• still poop every day despite having slow transit
• pass soft or liquid stool but feel their total output is inadequate
• get severe nausea when their bowel output decreases
• have episodes that suddenly resolve after one extremely large bowel movement
• have had relatively normal abdominal X-rays despite significant symptoms

If you’ve experienced anything similar, I’d really appreciate hearing what helped/ what this is. I’m especially interested in whether this can happen purely from slow colonic transit/dysmotility without obvious faecal loading on an X-ray.

The 6 questions

• Do you have the urge to go, but you cannot? Or do you have zero urge to go? (this is the most important question) zero urge to go.
• Do you have alternating diarrhea and constipation, or just constipation? Constipation or overflow diarrhea.
• Do you have nausea, vomiting, acid reflux, difficulty swallowing, or early satiety (getting full really early into a meal)? Yes to all.
• Have you had this issue since childhood, or did it begin in teen years/adulthood/after a major life event (surgery? divorce? car accident? mauled by bears?) issues since childhood, slowly getting worse.
• Did you in the past or do you currently take any medications that could damage your intestines? Not that I know of.
• Did you suffer sexual abuse as a child? No.

I don’t really know what to say other than that I (17f) have been struggling with chronic constipation, bloating, and indigestion for upwards of 4 years, and the doctors finally decided to prescribe me Trulance (3mg) after nothing worked.

I’m just wondering how I should go about my day to day as I’ve heard horror stories from other people taking it in the morning. I started it today and honestly didn’t feel a huge difference (my biggest concern is the bloating and constipation as it makes me severely insecure and feels like crap), but am worried about taking it tomorrow before work.

Any advice would be great! Thank you!