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Wellness Wednesday for November 19, 2025

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).

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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.