Constipation

Mama Calm is the name brand- works great- and also vita C-

How much Vitamin C do you take to help with constipation?

I take a prescription medication called Amitizia that my gastro recommended (I have IBS with constipation). I also take stool softners and a probiotic.

In addition to medication you should also pay attention to your diet and fluid intake. There is a ton of information on this site regarding food and constipation. Some of which I previously contributed to.

In addition to eating veggies (mostly raw), I recently started juicing. I really think it is helping my digestive woes. By juicing your veggies you are able to consume more then you would normally be able to eat. Additionally, drinking them allows the enzymes which are very important to digestion to get into your blood stream quicker. I am very new to this and am no expert. I just know that I do believe it is helping. I think believing is half the battle when it comes to "helping lessen" constipation.

Be well!

- Lilly Anne

Must say I have never heard of Vitimin C helping constipation. My mother has suffered all her life with it and she takes some granules called Normacol Plus. I have no idea what they are though, I found that strawberries clear you out if you eat a punnet (Shame as I could eat strawberries all day every day lol - But I am never contipated anyway)

Sue

Look into the eyes - They hold the key!
http://www.bringmadeleinehome.com/img/maddy544x150Banner.jpg

Cooking your veggies depletes them of the enzymes that aid in digestion. Trust me, I like them cooked too. I just try to eat them in their raw form whenever possible. Juice that is cannned or bottled has been pasturized and also heated. That depletes them of the enzymes as well. Not to mention. Many of them are loaded with salt and additives. The juicer was an investment. But I feel it was a good one.

In any event, juicing is just another way to get way more veggies into your system. It doesn't replace eating fruits & veggies though. You still need to eat them in their whole form to get the fibre.

I've also read that drinking something hot may help get things moving as well. I am re-trying that as we speak.

- Lilly Anne

this is according to wikapedia-
High doses (thousands of milligrams) may result in diarrhea, which is harmless if the dose is reduced immediately. Proponents of alternative medicine (specifically orthomolecular medicine)[41] claim the onset of diarrhea to be an indication of where the body’s true vitamin C requirement lies. Both Cathcart[41] and Cameron have demonstrated that very sick patients with cancer or influenza do not display any evidence of diarrhea at all until ascorbate intake reaches levels as high as 200 grams (nearly half a pound).

and here are the directions for dosage on my MAMA CALM-
individual needs may vary. Start with one teaspoon daily and gradually increase to 3 teaspoons (or more as needed). When the bowels are comfortably loose, this is the optimal amount. you may want to start with a half-teaspoon only and gradually work up to higher amounts.

ok- now not all vitamins are created equal. SO if you are going to buy this stuff- check the forms you get it in- for C I think -not sure- that mag. ascorbate is the way to go- and for the mag. you might want elemental from mag. citrate.

Thanks for calling me to the carpet on this one ladies-
But don't take my word for it- do your own research - and let me know how you do. Also......for myself, I try to get as much of my vitas through food not supplements but the MAMA CALM helps so much with leg cramps during pregnancy - if I took it before bed I slept so much better. It even helps with my teeth clenching.

I must admit I had never heard of using vit c for constipation before, but it works wonders!
my dd has chronic consipation and is soooo picky about what she eats that changing her diet is near impossible. BUT she will swallow vit c tablets. when she gets constipated I've been giving her 100 mg every hour or so until she goes. so far we've only done this for a few days and then she was back to 'normal'.
I prefer vit c to miralax (what the ped prescribed)

so THANKS for recommending it!

I have heard it said that there is no overdose for vitamin C. The body just excretes it so you end up with very expensive wee. ;-) Sounds better than a poo blockage to me.

Cheers

Louise

High doses of vitamin C can irritate a stomach ulcer if you have one. I find I cannot have more than 500 mg of vit C at a time, as it causes a flare up of the ulcer-type pain. I can have the 200mg vit C which is in my multi-vitamin, no problem. Everybody is different. You have to find the right doseage for you. Best to start with a low dose and work up to the right level.

Regarding constipation, when my kids were little, if they were constipated, I gave them a helping of prunes. Worked a treat next morning...

Beejay

Not sure if this will help, but I work with children, and children who have chronic constipation usually have someone in their life who is causing it. A domineering mother, a father who's demanding, a teacher who is driving him or her crazy, etc.

Other people can cause constipation and so can jobs. We tend to clam up at both ends when there are people in our lives we simply can't get by.

Another cause is anxiety about not having enough of something like money or food or the right clothes or house or ... Worry over loss can sometimes make us constipated.

Sometimes, if that's not an issue, a simple act of kindness or generosity can bring on bowel movements - like handing a beggar five dollars.

As far as diet goes, there is a wonderful whole wheat pastry flour available. Try taking all white flour products out of your diet - anything made of white flour for a while like pasta pastries, and crackers. There are systems that simply can't handle it at all.

Black pepper is a good constipation reliever. So are cardamom, bay, ginger, and my favorite turmeric which has wonderful curative powers. Try making tea out of these things or just stirring a teaspoon into a glass of soy milk.

If you have a milk intolerance, sometimes ice cream will cause instant release!

Try fish oil or flax seed oil by the gel cap.

I know that some bowels just move slower than others. So eating the foods that digest quickly or run through your system quickly might be worth trying.

Judy

Change what you can change; be happy with what you cannot.

thanks for that judy.

my eldest daughter sometimes has bouts of constipation, and now that i think of it she was wrongfooted by the arrivals of both of my last two daughters. the stress in her life did coincide with the binding up.

you bring up some very interesting points. I will have to think over your post some, there's alot of truths in there.

but now I have yet one more thing to fuel my 'mommy-guilt'...am I the cause of dd's chronic constipation? oy.

I have been thinking about your dd constipation some lately too.....funny to me that I think about a perfect strangers daughter.
I don't think a "granolamom" would feed her daughter constipating foods- If I remember right your daughter has had some sensory issues- I know that sensory stuff will contribute to constipation. I also remember reading that she is a picky eater- so I am guessing you can't feed her prunes.
anyway granolamom, I am sure it isn't your fault. You are a great mom.
I am guessing you attachment parent- gentle discipline and baby wearing and all that.
sneaking ground flax seed in eggs or pancakes or bread always works on my kids. they go at least 2Xs a day most days.
anyway it could be an allergy to something- some kids are allergic to wheat (whole or not) and all sorts of other "good foods"- good luck figuring out the cause- but go ahead an eliminate yourself.

thanks for that, and yes, I find myself thinking about my online friends often too. its something, isn't it?

and :::::::sigh::::::: my dd eats mostly cheese and white bread and variations thereof.
goes against everything I believe in. though I *do* sneak in some wheat germ and have even gone so far as to add a couple of mashed black beans to pizza sauce (hehehe no one noticed!)
my dd, and remember she's only 8! - has food anxieties. boggles the mind, I've always been an 'eat or not, whatever, let your belly determine when and how much' type of mom. she's terrified of getting fat (she's in the 10th %ile for weight and height) and seriously afraid to taste new foods. even foods that she hasn't had in a while get her nervous.
taking all that anxiety into account, I've chosen to keep my mouth shut about the 'white diet' lest she become to scared to eat at all!
thankfully it is summer, and she loves peaches, grapes, raspberries, strawberries, plums. sensitive girl that she is, she will only eat them in season!

honestly, at this point, I'm not searching for the cause of her constipation (its fairly obvious with her diet and all), just trying to work around her issues to get those bowels moving once in a while (daily would be nice).

and truth is, I *am* a control-freak, I know I need to lighten up a bit. so if I am contributing to the problem, that's actually a good thing, I can change!

thanks for your kind thoughts

Ladies:

I'm not sure what I am looking for; support, advice or just a shoulder to cry on. Well here I go again on one of my constipation rants. Yup I'm still having issues and I just seem to go round and round with it.

My constipation is not your typical type. On most days I do have a bm. Infact, its the dream kind. Perfect shape & size and it comes out with little to no effort. On some days, I feel great relief and life is good. On somedays a little while later I get that I have to go again feeling and it lasts all G-D Damn Day. At least once a week NOTHING.

My life is becoming all about the BM. Psychologically, this is really screwing me up. I'm either constipated and just feel awful. Or, sometimes I push a little and then I feel very panicky that I have made my prolapse worse. At my last gyno appt. my prolapse was "extremely" minor. I would like to keep it that way.

My diet is near perfect, I drink plenty of water. I take stool softners and I take a prescription for constipation called Amitizia. I've done hours and hours of reserch on diet, herbs, meds, you name it. I could probably write a book about the CURES!

I had a colonoscopy, they found nothing. Mr. Dr. did say that my intestines are quite long and re-confirmed that I had motility issues. No SH*T.

I am just at my wits end and really feel that my quality of life on most days is greatly diminished.

The ironic thing of it all is that when feeling ok I work out. On the outside I am in great shape. I look quite athletic.

I just feel so trapped and I just need an escape from this hell.

- Lilly Anne

P.S. I am really sorry to be such a bother on this issue.

I wish I knew what to say, other than I'm here, listening.
I'm lucky, I don't struggle with constipation, maybe once in a while or when pg but nothing a couple of pears and some oatmeal can't cure in a day or so.
However, I see what constipation does to my dd. the more she struggles, the worse it gets. or so it seems to me. and round and round you go.
If only there was a way to hit reset and start all over.

{{{hugs}}}

Thank you Granolamom. I am just really struggling tonight. I pushed a little and I am afraid.

How old is your dd? I am sorry to hear that she too struggles with constipation. I hate to hear about a child with this issue. From what I have read, try sneaking in more fruits and veggies as well as more water.

I believe I once read that a warm bath is supposed to be helpful and perhaps a nice tummy massage.

I hope she feels better.

Thank you for allowing me to help. Much support back to you.

- Lilly Anne

I experience that too, Lilly Anne – having a good bm in the morning and then sensing the rectal vault holding stool again later in the day. If there is not the sensation of urge, I just ignore it. It is the function of the pelvic wall muscles to squeeze fecal matter back up into the rectum until there is enough pressure for a movement. Sometimes, I go again in the afternoon/evening, but usually not. Occasionally later in the evening, I’ll get stuck on the pot for the longest time with a turd that doesn’t want to come out or go back up. It usually comes out if I am patient enoug but once in a while I just give up and go to bed. This does not negatively affect anything and I am always able to empty it all in the a.m. It’s my sense you are anxious about something that is very common as we age. Hugs!

Christine:

You completely get how I am feeling. I am sorry that you too have this issue. Do you have IBS as well?

It's funny though, I find reading or singing to myself (in my head) in a public bathroom is good as it distracts me. When I am distracted I can relax and it just comes out on its own (if it was destined to). Each time when I go, I hear my gyno saying to me, "if you strain, you'll prolapse your rectum as well." I think that is where my panic stems from. While I know he was trying to help me, it just freaked me out.

I really appreciate your response.

Christine, may I ask you one more question. Its the age old is a small push ok or is that a strain?

- Lilly Anne

I lift my weight off the seat with every increase in pressure. As you know, I’m all for experimenting yourself to understand what’s moving where so as to ease fear of the unknown. It just makes me crazy when I read “My doctor says my prolapse has changed from here-and-there to thus-and-such”. It’s all well and good to have the supportive eye of your physician, but for heavens sake, we all need to know first hand exactly what’s going on with our own bodies. I would suggest lifting completely off the seat into a half-squat, placing your fingers against your back vaginal wall, and really pushing with your next bm. My guess is that you will discover moving the bowels in this way does not place abnormal pressure upon your vagina. They move independently of each other – as we talked about before, it may even be the case that an unimpeded bowel movement helps to straighten out a chronic, strain-induced rectocele. It sounds like your doctor put the fear of G-d into you instead of teaching you about normal bowel function.

I have no IBS whatsoever. I consider myself to have a very healthy, if slightly aging bowel.

I think it is about time to throw out the rule book on this. Just poop when your body needs to. If that is once a day, fine. If you go four or five times on one day, fine. It is only important that it comes out without too much pushing, and that it does actually come out. It is also useful if it comes out in the toilet and not in the knickers, but that is another story.

I think much of constipation is about control or lack thereof. When we feel we are not able to cope with what is happening in our heads/lives/bodies we just hold on to it (didn't someone else just say that?). If we cannot cope with a bowel that won't obey us we tie ourselves in knots, literally.

This is not about world domination. We can free ourselves from the tyranny of the bowel by not supervising it. Let it make its own arrangements. Worrying about it doesn't work, just makes it worse. Have faith in your own body.

The rider to this is that sometimes there are other reasons for constipation which also need investigating, and sometimes they are not obvious, eg ADHD in children (adults too??). Contipation and associated incontinence have only recently been recognised as a common condition in children with ADHD. As far as I know it is still not used as a symptom in diagnosis of ADHD.
It has been ignored in the past, IMHO because constipation is yukky and has a stigma attached to it, so we isolate it and see it as a problem with a stigma in itself, so we don't have to attach the stigma to the whole person. Kids with ADHD suffer enough stigma as it is.

However, having said that, each person needs to work out how to do it for herself. Not easy. Don't get me wrong. I am not saying it is in the imagination. But it can cause great havoc when it is at the front of the mind all the time, because it reinfoces its own anxiety.

Cheers

Louise

I think it's also true for many in this population that our prolapses are holding the genital hiatus (split in the pelvic wall muscles) slightly open so they are not as effective at keeping poop pushed back up inside. I think what Lilly Anne is referring to is that annoying sensation of it being slightly down in the anal canal. If it were being effectively pushed back up we would never know it until the urge to evacuate resulted from a full rectum.

Christine:

I just wanted to let you know that I really appreciate your attention in this matter. I am learning so much from you tonight. You described my symptoms to a T. That being said, is there any exercises to strengthen this. What is the magic bullet to make this stop? (I assume there is no magic bullet).

It is amazing to me that my gastro didn't/couldn't explain this to me.

- Lilly Anne

Your first 2 sentences really made me laugh. Thank you, I really needed that.

You are completely right that my worrying ways are only making this worse. I am aware of this but still am stuck going round & round.

Thank you for your support

- Lilly Anne

Like so many other aspects of aging in the civilized world, this is just something we have to manage with care. You are doing all the right things except worrying about it. Keep your eye on the medication though…you may realize you are perfectly healthy and can manage your bowels just fine with fresh food and juice. I need to get back to my sewing project now…but am glad I was able to help! xC.

Christine:

Thank you so much for the time you took in responding to me. I finally feel like I have an answer for the discomfort that I am feeling.

My diet is pretty stellar but I have cheated in the past couple of days. I realized that I hadn't eaten an apple lately. That usually helps. I am going to start keep a diary of my diet and the outcome to see if I can track what helps bring it so to speak. I'm juicing now as well. Perhaps I'll up my consumption to 2 glasses and see if that helps too.

- Lilly Anne

I just took a nice hot shower as that usually calms me down when I am COMPLETELY anxious. Guess what, that nagging constipated feeling subsided some. Maybe when I relax a little the bm goes up?

- Lilly Anne

I was hesitant to suggest the posture for fear of presenting it as a cure-all, but if you just go about your day all the while pulling up into the posture you will probably notice that sensation is here one moment and gone the next. If you just quietly pay attention to these processes the fear will eventually vanish.