constipation- how to get rid of it?

[Nick47]

Not a subject I wanted to deal with but here goes. :o

Constipation- how to get rid of it?
I already eat a high fibre diet- cereal (mainly oats or weetbix) with prunes for breaky, muesli bar and fruit(3-4 pieces per day) as snacks, plenty veg/pulses at dinner, and bread is wholelmeal if I have sandwiches.
I already drink around 3 litres of water during the day and close to another 2 during the evening. So you can imagine how often I am going to the loo :rolleyes: My tea drinking is even decaf now too...

I also have stopped taking my iron supplement to see if that'd alleviate the problem

The problem is this is not enough to prevent it...I can't really drink much more fluids and reckoned my diet is pretty spot on so wondered if anybody could help me with some advice...

Thx

[Briannabear]

Vitamin C is good for that. You can eat vitamin C rich food or take a suppliment. Ribena juice or prune juice is good for that.
I found that wheat made me quite constipated, so maybe hold out on things like bread and pasta. You can subsitute it with rye or spelt bread and pasta instead.
Thats just a few ideas anyway...
Good Luck with it!! :)

[TwoBlue]

Pear juice and dried apricots (lots of) worked a treat for me

Good luck

[madvoice]

If Metamucil scares you too much, go to the health section in the supermarket and buy some Psyllium husks. Its not as harsh as bran. Just mix about two teaspoons in milk (psyllium husks are pretty tasteless) or milo and drink down once a day. It really helps. I was using this towards the end in my Pregnancy :D

[Miss_Vicki]

i gettin like that an im only 8 weeks , im tryin to eat more dryed fruit an fruit bars , but rom memorie from the first preg not much helped , migth try a fiber drink or sorts?

[maybe1more]

I found prune juice worked the best, but the sounds of it your eating the right foods and drinking lots of water, i wonder if licorice would help? I supose its worth a try.

[Nick47]

Just for the record- still keeping up the good diet of fibre and fluids-

I have now since tried prune juice (one small glass morning and night)
AND Pear juice (drank nearly a litre in last 36hours)
AND have added half a grapefruit for extra Vit C for breakfast last two days.
I swapped my wholemeal grain sandwiches for a bean and vegie soup.
AND have increased my walking...

But NOTHING... :mad:

Not happy Jan, :(


and so probably onto the licorice and metamucil/husks...

PS why could or should Metamucil scare me- never having used it before- what am I letting myself in for- I'm a bit apprehensive now?

[aardvark]

Try Kelloggs Guardian. It is a cereal based on Psyllium, and tastes like a cross between Special K and the old Nabisco Rice Crispies. Quite nice.

Also plenty of citrus fruit, not juice. I was having a hell of a time with constipation until I started eating 5 mandarins per day. Problem solved.

[wattle]

My chiro treats pregnant women with constipation. Perhaps it's worth thinking about something other than diet? It sounds like you're doing everything possible in the diet department.

[nkenward]

I tend to agree with the last couple of posts. Maybe if the foods/juice etc that you are doing aren't doing the trick - then maybe you could be over doing it.

I think fresh fruit and vegies are better than juice and water etc (though don't give them up completely). Maybe the amount of water you are drinking is too much and you can't build your system up properly ( 5 litres p/day is a hell of a lot of water, I think 2 to 3 litres a day is good ). My Nana always said that ruffage is good for the bowel, all the liquids are maybe too much.

And definitely exercise helps get the bowel moving. But if you are still having problems I would definitely go and see a doctor, cause taking metamucil(sp?) may aid the problem - but might not fix the problem.

Good luck.

[Lucybelle]

Metaamucil is just orange flavored,refined psyillium (sp?) husks anyway, and it costs a lot more, jsut stir a spoonful or to into water or milk as has been said before.
I also agree that 5 litres water is too much, you can flush out all the good stuff too, like tissue salts, stick to 3 litres MAX.

Hope theres some "movement" soon!