The Wednesday Wellness threads are meant to encourage users to ask for and provide advice and motivation to improve their lives. It isn't intended as a 'containment thread' and any content which could go here could instead be posted in its own thread. You could post:
-
Requests for advice and / or encouragement. On basically any topic and for any scale of problem.
-
Updates to let us know how you are doing. This provides valuable feedback on past advice / encouragement and will hopefully make people feel a little more motivated to follow through. If you want to be reminded to post your update, see the post titled 'update reminders', below.
-
Advice. This can be in response to a request for advice or just something that you think could be generally useful for many people here.
-
Encouragement. Probably best directed at specific users, but if you feel like just encouraging people in general I don't think anyone is going to object. I don't think I really need to say this, but just to be clear; encouragement should have a generally positive tone and not shame people (if people feel that shame might be an effective tool for motivating people, please discuss this so we can form a group consensus on how to use it rather than just trying it).
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
Hey chat, what's your best solution to constipation?
I'm assuming this is cosmically linked to the Philadelphia Eagles' struggles on offense (they can't get AJ "Brown" into the "endzone" for a "touchdown"), but getting the iggles' offense in gear isn't really in my purview, so I'm gonna need something more personal.
I first noticed it right before flying, so maybe it was psychological, though it might have started earlier and I just didn't notice it? It started before I flew to Green Bay two weeks ago, when I tried to make sure I emptied out before heading to the airport, only to find that I could not. Typically, first thing in the morning I wake up and drink an espresso and immediately go to the bathroom. But for two weeks now I either haven't at all, or barely manage anything.
I've tried miralax to soften stools, and that had some positive effect, but I don't think the issue is solved. I tried suppositories, which got something out, but my bowel movements haven't returned to normal yet. Everything is small and soft, rather than large and firm.
Do I need to do something more drastic and mechanical like an enema? Is it more of a diet and lifestyle thing? My diet isn't perfect in general, but there wasn't any changes leading into this.
You seem savvy to the usual advice on hydration, fiber, etc. so let me insert the idea that sudden changes in bowel habits, in particular if persistent, bear checking out medically. In particular if you have worsening discomfort, an inability to pass gas, rigidity, etc.
More options
Context Copy link
Eat a bunch of prunes.
More options
Context Copy link
4 heaping tablespoons of psyllium husk mixed in a tall glass of water every night. I was diagnosed with IBS, and was told I had to be in a restrictive diet my whole life.
Husk has cleared up every single digestion issue I had, and I can eat whatever I want now and always go once a day right after coffee like clockwork.
No substance in earth has had a more dramatic effect on my quality of life
More options
Context Copy link
My wife swears by drinking a shot glass of olive oil for this. I can't speak as to whether or not it helps much, but it's a simple enough thing to try.
Have you tried a bidet seat? Even the cheap ones with no electronics at all that just shoot cold water up there are a game changer. Angling yourself just right it serves as a poor man's enema (now I wonder if enemas are a rich man's thing), and the mechanical action it provides in there helps a lot!
More options
Context Copy link
Cup of oatmeal for breakfast every weekday seems to work well enough for me. Call me Captain Obvious, but diet and lifestyle is gonna be a significant factor in all parts of your health. Are you getting enough fiber? Are you drinking enough water?
More options
Context Copy link
Prune juice always worked well for my kids, and coffee for me, but if you're having a morning espresso every day for weeks and not seeing much effect, I'm not sure how strong you want to go with stimulant laxatives.
Water absorbers like fiber and miralax are good for softening stools and avoiding developing constipation, but if you're already blocked up it's too late to try to soften the culprit with additional solids. Getting yourself very well hydrated and using a chemical stool softener medicine can help even after you're already blocked up.
Are you still blocked up, though? "small and soft", as long as it's still frequent, sounds like a subtle diet change, not a still-unsolved blockage. If you're not bloated then maybe you really do just need more fiber.
If you are still blocked up, for weeks? Lifestyle changes can be subtle (travel can be a trigger for me too, though never nearly this bad), but if you're having awful constipation with no diet/lifestyle changes and you're male and you're paranoid/hypochondriac then it wouldn't be completely crazy to get a PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) self-test kit and then go in for a real exam if it comes up positive. Increasingly bad constipation was the first symptom of my father's cancer, and not getting it looked at until it sent him to the hospital gave the tumor time to metastasize.
More options
Context Copy link
Epsom salt. 20-40 km of walking also helps.
More options
Context Copy link
If you haven't tried, what might help is trying one or two days of a really high-fiber diet, where you eat in one day include the following: 3-4 fruits, whole grains only, 2 cans of beans, and a carrot. That gives you about 60 grams of fiber right there, not sure what your diet currently looks like fiber wise. But if things haven't been working for 2 weeks shocking the system with a sudden jump in fiber might help. Could add another can of beans for another 15 grams of fiber. Not sure if this is the right strategy for you though but it could be something to try.
More options
Context Copy link
I always do a shaker bottle at bedtime with 2 heaping tablespoons of Costco's psyllium husk fiber. Tends to keep things moving. My morning post-coffee event sometimes resembles a certain scene from Jurassic Park. I would probably try more fiber before moving to the enema stage.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link