Advice on managing constipation please

Has anyone got any advice on best way to deal with constipation and bloatedness please?

I have had IBS all my life so feel like I know a lot about constipation! I have tried lots and lots of things. I now swear by old fashioned All Bran (the original) every morning. On top of that I sprinkle Linseeds (either Golden Linseeds from Healthfood shops or ordinary brown Linseeds from all supermarkets in England). I don’t miss a day. Use about a teaspoon of the Linseeds to begin with. They are also good because they can be sprinkled onto or into anything. Salad, onto your butter in your sandwiches… INto soups, although eat them immediately as they go like frogspawn when left in liquid too long!! They were once described to me like a scouring pad for your bowels! Really really good and portable, take them away with you. Hope this helps.

Anne

I have have constipation all my life but recently things changed getting even worse, I was convinced it was my MS. I discussed it with my MS Nurse who disagreed and suggested Movicol, so I gave it a go and guess what she was right! I don’t take the amount that was first suggested and I don’t take it the way it was suggested, I have a teaspoonful in a hot drink twice a day and it helps, it is so much better when I take as directed but not a very pleasant taste.

Im not sure it can be bought or only received on prescription, I had a phone appointment with my GP explained my chat with MS Nurse and he prescribed it for me.

Good luck

Jan x

Hiya. I suffer with terrible constipation and have tried all the remedies and tablets and the only thing that works for me is prunes in syrup. I have 6 prunes and a spoonful of ice cream and I go immediately afterwards, sometimes twice.

Good luck with whatever you try. It is a horrible feeling not being able to go.

Shazzie xx

Constipation from bowel dysfunction hit me when I relapsed last March, but the steroids sorted it out, but I relapsed again in August and it was back and here to stay that time. I’ve successfully managed it since then by altering my diet, and assuming the squat position on the loo by raising my feet up (on the step of an Ikea step stool) and leaning forward slightly.

Thankfully a small amount of push ability has returned now, so I don’t have to be quite so rigorous about my diet, but here’s what I did for the past year or so.

  • Increased my fluid intake, I’d note down how many drinks I had throughout the day, initially, until drinking more became habit. Always having a glass of water on hand to sip from is what I do now.
  • Only eating whole grain products (and try to not eat too much of any) baked spuds became my carb of choice as they’re not a processed food. I bake a load of them in one go, as many of the bag as are the same size, then store them in the fridge and use as needed.
  • Avoiding processed food where possible, particularly white rice, might as well eat cement!
  • Upped my fruit and veg intake (lots of homemade soups during the winter)
  • Introduced a lot of beans and pulses into my diet!
  • Not eating more than one egg at a time. Omelette was off the menu entirely.
  • Avoiding too much dairy, apart from milk in my porridge/muesli/granola, and in tea, and a bit of cheese grated on dinner, that was about it.
  • said porridge etc. is fully loaded with additional seeds, nuts and dried fruit, and fresh fruit is I’ve got something like blueberries
  • snacking on dried fruit, apricots and figs in particular (not hugely fond of prunes so didn’t want to chomp my way through those regularly)
  • avoiding red meat
  • bananas became my enemy, bowel glue (¬_¬) apparently unripe bananas block you up, but as the starch turns to sugar the opposite is true. A banana should be “safe” once there’s no trace of green and it’s got some freckles. Not for me though, and I don’t like the texture once they’ve got really ripe.
  • I used to get this mango pulp from Tesco http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=280710745 put it in a Tupperware jug in the fridge and dilute it by half with water and have a small glass of that each day.

There’s probably more but I can’t remember (thanks MS brain). A lot of being able to control this kind of thing by diet depends so much on what you actually like to eat, doesn’t it. So it’s not easy! I’ve managed ok because I like cooking with dried beans and so on, but I know it’s not appealing to a lot of people.

gGreat advice in all of the above and I have a few further thoughts to add.my partner has MS with horrendous gut problems that have been diagnosed as not due to MS but has got very tricky problems to control.I have the entirety of my colon removed so have struggled prior to that op as it was damaged and not working so have experience with dreadful hold up problems. My points were 1 to lightly cook fruit and veg ad easier to digestbi.e stewed apple also a bit more laxative.I would soak dried fruit too.probiotic yoghurt can be very helpful.the danone stuff is good,the pots with the fruit on the bottom layer.The little bottles of probiotics may are a bit harsh.sometimes the gluten in bread etc can be constipating and is better reduced in amount.lots of sauces on stuff can make it all go thru better as can more stew type foods.oily fish,olive oil,also may help.my partner struggles with fatigue and food gets stuck a bit and sometimes he may be too tired to chew it do I think st the risk of sounding like my granny,trying to chew the food too.maybe a vitamin tablet may help cos if calcium magnesium etc get in the wrong levels it doesn’t help the gut.avoiding the dehydrating effects of coffee and booze may help(tho we are coffee addicts in this house) and Guinness is a fab laxative.lastly make sure your loo is well heated with decent reading so you can be distracted by the problem when you are in there.best of luck.

t