In Need Of A gluten-free Laxative

[sparkles]

After going gluten-free 4 years ago, my years of explosive diahrea are over but now am experiencing constant constipation. It seems like I can only go every 2-3 days. I know the answer is fiber and I must not be getting enough in my diet so am looking for a laxative that is gluten-free and will not cause explosions! I drink lots of water so that is not the problem.... Any help out there for a laxative that is gentle and will work.... I sound like some kind of a commercial!!!

[ravenwoodglass]

After going gluten-free 4 years ago, my years of explosive diahrea are over but now am experiencing constant constipation. It seems like I can only go every 2-3 days. I know the answer is fiber and I must not be getting enough in my diet so am looking for a laxative that is gluten-free and will not cause explosions! I drink lots of water so that is not the problem.... Any help out there for a laxative that is gentle and will work.... I sound like some kind of a commercial!!!

Are you uncomfortable? If the answer is no then don't worry about it. Everyones system is different and it takes differing amounts of time to move everything through. You may want to up your intake of fruits and veggies and increase your water intake but if possible you need to avoid laxitives. If you are expelling what looks like rabbit turds or you are having discomfort you may want to ask you doctor about a stool softener first to see if it helps. If you are not experiencing pain though don't be too concerned.

[sparkles]

Yes, I am uncomfortable and bloated.....eating veggies and drinking lots of water... and still no results that are what I am looking for. I know that if I get gluttened I will get cleaned out but that is not what I am looking for!

[lindalee]

Yes, I am uncomfortable and bloated.....eating veggies and drinking lots of water... and still no results that are what I am looking for. I know that if I get gluttened I will get cleaned out but that is not what I am looking for!

Magnesium does the trick. Cut back if you get D. LindaLee

[marciab]

All laxatives tear me up for days, so I use a glycerin suppository when I get that bloated, tense feeling in my colon and I haven't gone in several days. I use the Fleet for children from Walmart. It usually only takes 5 - 10 minutes to have a BM and there are no after effects. I can't use enemas either because they cause they make me cramp for hours.

I also add a lot of EVOO, flax, borage oil to my foods, like potatoes, salads, rice/grain dishes. And tons of fresh fruits and veggies seem to help. And back off the meat for a few days.

Marcia

[penguin]

You can take a fiber supplement like Konsyl or Metamucil (both are gluten-free, my gastro reccommended Konsyl). It's psyllium and it is just pure dietary fiber, no laxatives.

[Moongirl]

I was just having this problem, ive always been C. but sometimes it gets so bad that i cant go for 5days. and i get a pressure in my side and some nausea. i noticed that the fleet suppos. help almost instantly if you need relief, and to get me going a little bit more regularly i take only 1 tablet of citrucel in the morning, that seems to get things moving my doc told me to do that for a little while till i felt ok. then u have to get ur fiber intake up. i make sure i eat pleanty of fruit and veggies. even keep a bottle of prune juice around. I stated taking a magnesium vitamin along side with my multi. All this seems to be doing the trick, it took a few days, but im making my daily visit !! lol

[tarnalberry]

Ditto on the magnesium. Start with a small dose and work your way up to what works for you.

[lorka150]

What about glycerine suppositories?

[sparkles]

Thanks for the input.... I really appreciate the suggestions!!!! :}

[scrunt]

I was just diagnosed in October of last year when I was living in New Zealand - luckily they gave me a blood test for IgA when I was there and it was astrong strong positive. I was low in B12 as well. It wasn't a surprise because my mom, sister and neice are all positive. Anyhew, on to the constipation.

OVer the past year or so I've had the worst time with constipation and have tried everything. Once I got diagnosed, it didn't go away at all, which made me believe I didn't have celiac for a while.

I tried prune juice. Magnesium. Psyllium Husks. Selenium. Everything you could imagine. Found that Senna Leaf tea worked wonders, but pushed the pendulum to the other end of the scale. Not good.

Well, in the past two days I've found that acidophilus has done what nothing else could do - gives me regular bowel movements and gives me the feeling that I'm empty. FOr the first time in ayear. Which makes sense, considering that I was on antibiotics back in February of last year, which would put the timeline about right for demolishing all of the good flora in my gut. I also collodial silvered my gut to death, thinking that I had appendix problems, which probably didn't help much either.

Anyhew, just something more to think about... good luck.

[Lymetoo]

Which probiotic are you using??

[Fiddle-Faddle]

"Pit" fruits (peaches, plums, pears, and apricots) work very well for me--not the juices, because there's so much less fiber in the juices, but the real fruit. Canned works just as well as fresh. Dried doesn't work as well on me, probably because I never remember to drink lots of water with dried fruit. Lotsa leafy greens help, too.

Good luck--hope everything comes out okay (groan--sorry!).

[scrunt]

Which probiotic are you using??

I'm not sure the name, its a dairy-free probiotic that has something like 9billion active cells per dose. I found it difficult to find a dairy-free one, so I imagine there aren't that many out there?

[lorka150]

scrunt, i also use a dairy-free one. it's bio-k, in case it is the same. i love it, and it has helped me tremendously (in all aspects).

[Lymetoo]

Hmmm, guess I'd better check mine for gluten-free. I've taken probiotics for 6 yrs and never found one that helped my C.....Maybe the celiac diet will help out!!

thanks

[Dale]

Hi, I have been on a tea for a laxative called Smooth Move, it has senna leaf,proprietary Blend,Licorice root Bitter fennel fruit Rganic sweet orange peel,Organic cinnamon bark, organic coriander seed,organic ginger rhizome,orange peel oil on gum arabic. I am 54 now, Have lupus, My mom told me when i was small I had celiac, But as I grew, I have not had any symptoms or loose bowel movements.

Is this product safe to take??? I am constipated.

And I am now on a Gluten free diet.

Let me know.....

Blessings

Dale

[LKelly8]

Hi Dale and welcome!

I found this on the Traditional Medicinals website. . .

Do any of your products contain gluten?

Celiac patients are advised to avoid food ingredients containing gluten and/or its derivatives (e.g. gliadin). Certain grains such as barley, oat, rye and wheat contain proteins that are composed of prolamins and/or glutelins. None of Traditional Medicinals products contain any wheat or rye, or their derivatives. The following two Traditional Medicinals products contain barley grain or oatstraw and therefore the tea infusion prepared from them may contain a small amount of naturally occurring gliadin or gluten:

• PMS Tea®

• St. John's Good Mood®

[gfp]

Can I suggest the good old fashioned lots of fruits?

Figs and prunes are pretty efficient....

In a real emergency a massage with blackpepper oil is prety much guaranteed.. but it will clean you out completely..

[emcmaster]

I'm chronically constipated, which gets even worse when I'm glutened, and I take magnesium supplements every day. You may have to play around with how much you need to take, but they do help a lot.

Also, I take a prescription called Zelnorm, which helps to speed up the contractions of your colon to help you to go. I only take it probably 4 or 5 nights a week or else I get too loose of stools, but it helps tremendously.

[Dale]

Thanks lKelly, The tea seems to be acceptable. Although I will start taking magnesium.

We are going out to eat tonight, Chinese, Where they have a GLUTEN free menue.

Blessings

Dale

[hineini]

I too have the problem of having had explosive D but now being plagued by C since becoming gluten-free!

My solutions:

-Another vote for the Smooth Moove Tea from Traditional Medicinals. I brew it strongly - I leave it to steep for at least 15 minutes with a lid over the cup. Drink it before bed, and I will almost always have a nice soft BM in the morning!

-Prunes! they are tasty in addition to helpful for constipation.

-Flaxseed meal, I sprinkle it on my almond butter and jelly sandwich in the morning, on my salads, in the pancake batter.

-Colace. It's an over the counter stool softener, it is non-addictive and I think it's gluten-free and it's quite effective without tummy cramping or nausea (which I get from Dulcolax)

I haven't found fiber supplementation to be very helpful, but I have found eating a high-fiber diet to be great. Also, if you can tolerate (non-contaminated) oatmeal that helps me stay regular quite a lot.

[rinne]

I found that going gluten free was not the answer to my C but that going gluten and dairy free was.

While I was C I tried Metamucil but found it was like swallowing broken glass, I had an incredible feeling of irritation in the stomach lining and colon. I also used an herbal laxitive tea which worked but then I would just get C again.

I've never tried Magnesium, are you referring to the stuff in the blue bottle? Milk of Magnesia?

[munchkinette]

I too have the problem of having had explosive D but now being plagued by C since becoming gluten-free!

-Colace. It's an over the counter stool softener, it is non-addictive and I think it's gluten-free and it's quite effective without tummy cramping or nausea (which I get from Dulcolax)

Yep, I take Colace every day with my iron (which would otherwise cause major C). My doctor said I could take it every day. Becareful not to get Pericolace or whatever the other type is called. That has additional stimulants.

[sillyyak]

Colace works for me. 2-3 about 1/2 hour after dinner time.