Constipation

[gflooser]

What can we use!!!???

I've been doing miralax, but thats starting not to work anymore. Is there any herbal remedies, cleanses?

What about mineral oils? It doesn't help that I'm on weight watchers. So I don't eat enough to MAKE me go! Sorry, tmi

I had a massage and the therapist showed me how to do an intestinal massage and that helps a little.

Anyone???

[dilettantesteph]

Prunes. Sunsweet don't seem to have any gluten in that I can eat them. 7 bite size a day.

[skinnyasparagus]

I take all natural pure phyllisum husks as a fiber source. On days of constipation I take an extra one. They also make it in a powdered form but I prefer the gelatin capsules. For me, they work incredibly well and better than metamusil ever did. Prunes are great but don't always work and sometimes the extra sugar constipates you even more. They sell phyllisum husks at Whole Foods and GNC - but make sure its gluten-free because some companies produce them on machinery that manufactures wheat, soy, and nuts as well.

Hope this helps!

[mftnchn]

Prunes work better if they are boiled in water and softened. You might search the forum here as many people have posted their discoveries.

Magnesium is needed for the intestine to contract. You may try taking an oral magnesium supplement. You can gradually increase until it is enough to help. Vitamin C can help as well.

I have gotten a lot of help on the specific carbohydrate diet; in the literature I have found out that constipation is a sign of intestinal irritation, and if that is the case for you, extra fiber will make it worse instead of better. SCD helps by reducing irritants, eliminating carbohydrates that we can't digest (villa damage can hinder production of carb digestive enzymes) and that feed bad bacteria, helping to kill the bad bacteria and replace them with good bacteria.

[babysteps]

if your gut is irritated this would probably be a bad idea, but for me a meal heavy in garlic (say, one-third to half a head per person) speeds things right along. Prunes work great too.

[mhb]

I am having good success using bitters from Italy. Years ago I tried the "Swedish Bitters" but they did not work for me. Recently I learned about "Dolce Digestivo". It has no sugar, alcohol or preservatives and is working well. The box says it has natural flavors and natural caramel color, but I called the distributor and they assured me, after researching its ingredients, it has no gluten. A friend of mine started using it and it's helping her a lot too. I paid $16.99 locally, but later found it online here for much less: Open Original Shared Link You could call the distributor to see if you can find it locally: Solaray, at 1-800-683-9640.

[gflooser]

You guys are GREAT!!! Thanks for all your help. Prunes used to work, but I think my body got used to them. Of course, I was only eating 3-5 per day. Maybe I should try to eat more per day!

What is the SCD diet???

Never heard of bitters....

I will have to research this stuff!!!!

[mftnchn]

Sorry, SCD stands for specific carbohydrate diet. It is designed to help heal the gut. For me, and possibly others who are celiac, damage to the villa means that we do not adequately produce carbohydrate digesting enzymes. Often mentioned is lactase, but there are at least two others that cannot be produced without villa.

When we don't break down sugars and starches to monosaccharides, they can't be absorbed. They should be absorbed high in the intestine. So if you are eliminating high amounts of sugar in stool (like I was) this is a sure sign of problems. It means further damage to the intestine and prevention of healing. The sugar in the lower intestine feeds lots of bad organisms.

The gut damage can produce either constipation or diarrhea. The answer of more fiber can actually worsen the condition.

The SCD eliminates the problematic carbs, then you follow a gradual introduction of foods beginning with those easiest to digest.

My main celiac symptom is constipation and gluten-free for 15 months, CF 10 months, and SF 12 months just didn't clear this up. One week after starting SCD I saw dramatic improvement.

So my question would be what is underlying the constipation? If symptomatic treatment isn't consistently helping...

[Amber M]

What can we use!!!???

I've been doing miralax, but thats starting not to work anymore. Is there any herbal remedies, cleanses?

What about mineral oils? It doesn't help that I'm on weight watchers. So I don't eat enough to MAKE me go! Sorry, tmi

I had a massage and the therapist showed me how to do an intestinal massage and that helps a little.

Anyone???

Funny about the fiber. My nutritionist kept telling me to eat more fiber (before I was diagnosed) and the more I ate, the more constipated I got! I kept telling her it didn't work for me. After I went gluten free, my allergist told me to take magnesium for all of the neuro symptoms as well as the constipation. I had to get up to 1000 mgs. before it started to work. I tried everything else and nothing but the mag. worked for me. My allergist said, "your body will tell you when you have enough mag. because your stools will begin to be loose and if you get the "D", then start lowering the amount of mag." Have you had your vitamin levels checked? If you take magnesium, be sure its on a full stomach (or it will cause nasea) and build up gradually. I take half at lunch and half at supper.

[gflooser]

Thats very interesting Amber, thank you!

I'm going to the dr. for my regular yearly check up in a few weeks. I will be going with LOTS of questions!

[mftnchn]

Funny about the fiber. My nutritionist kept telling me to eat more fiber (before I was diagnosed) and the more I ate, the more constipated I got! I kept telling her it didn't work for me. After I went gluten free, my allergist told me to take magnesium for all of the neuro symptoms as well as the constipation. I had to get up to 1000 mgs. before it started to work. I tried everything else and nothing but the mag. worked for me. My allergist said, "your body will tell you when you have enough mag. because your stools will begin to be loose and if you get the "D", then start lowering the amount of mag." Have you had your vitamin levels checked?

Same for me. Actually this is what led me to my celiac diagnosis. I had tried the "tried and true" and it didn't work; I found the references to gluten problems when searching for answers.

I was up to 1600 mg of magnesium in the early months of gluten-free!!!! But was gradually able to cut it down to 300-400 daily and not every day. Now I am back up to about 1000 again after a hidden gluten exposure that took me several weeks to discover.

Also, YES on the vitamin d. My levels were horrendously low.