Constipation/back-up

[Foxfire62]

I was dx w/celiac disease 8-8-08. I went on a gluten-free diet immediately and began to slowly feel better. The beginning of this year, I started feeling full. In April and May I went through various bodily reactions to being backed up/constipated until I discovered most of my problems were back-up and hormonally related. Tried different things to rid myself of constipation but am having no luck. Is this normal in the recovery process? Is there any sure-fire way of not getting backed-up? When I get backed up and drink water, it only makes things worse. I need to drink and hydrate myself to help me with backup. In a catch-22 and don't know how to get out of it. Anyone of any suggestions?

[Gfresh404]

I was actually somewhat the opposite; gluten completely backed me up. But I guess it made sense if it was throwing my digestion off.

I'm sure you have already heard; "Drink more fluids and eat more fiber." I would have to disagree with this statement. This just made going to the bathroom more painful for me and I think if I continued along that path, I would have had some serious hemorrhoids. Fats and sugar stimulate the bowels. Nuts or olive oil always help me a ton. I never really noticed any benefits from sugar. But I would definitely just make sure you are getting an adequate amount of fats, especially the good ones: nuts, olive oil, coconut oil, etc. Try this out and let me know if it helps.

[Foxfire62]

I was actually somewhat the opposite; gluten completely backed me up. But I guess it made sense if it was throwing my digestion off.

I'm sure you have already heard; "Drink more fluids and eat more fiber." I would have to disagree with this statement. This just made going to the bathroom more painful for me and I think if I continued along that path, I would have had some serious hemorrhoids. Fats and sugar stimulate the bowels. Nuts or olive oil always help me a ton. I never really noticed any benefits from sugar. But I would definitely just make sure you are getting an adequate amount of fats, especially the good ones: nuts, olive oil, coconut oil, etc. Try this out and let me know if it helps.

About 15 years ago, I was a vegetarian. I never felt better! Unfortunately, I began eating too one-sided and became anemic. But before I did, I felt so good. Only problem was that I was constantly having thin stools.

Fast forward to now. I am trying to drink a lot of water, but when I'm backed up like this, it makes symptoms worse and puts acid or air in my esophagus which appears to push on something making it feel as if I'm having difficulty breathing (plus, it forces me to have forced burps to release pressure). In addition, my blood pressure drops, and I've nearly passed out a few times. I've read that meats and excess dairy could cause constipation, so I'm trying a 2- or 3-day veggies/fruit/salad diet to see if this will help me. But I want to make sure I get some protein, so I'm drinking lactose-free milk (since I'm still somewhat lactose intolerant/soy intolerant). I was eating cashews, but it appears I'm having trouble digesting those as well.

I'm just trying to get regulated. I think if I can do that, I can eat meat occasionally, but not every day like I was doing per the recommendation of my nutritionist.

Thanks for your input!

[shirleyujest]

FWIW, salads (like one meal salad a day) and a couple pieces of fruit/day and 8 glasses of water never failed for me in general. If you are in a bad patch, try "smooth move" tea from Traditional Medicinals. (double check to be gluten-free, as far as I can figure out it is). It's in health food stores and many grocers. It gives overnight relief but it's gentle and uses herbs, mostly licorice root I think. Using that once every week or two keeps the 'backing up' from happening in me anyway.

HTH.

eta - hate to say this but if the problem persists you may need a medical exam to see if something else is going on. But hopefully diet and fluids will resolve it. I agree getting enough oils is important too, if you've tried to cut out all cooking oils try adding reasonable amounts in through salad dressing, 1-2 tbspn daily of extra virgin olive oil.

[Mother of Jibril]

Have you considered that something else might be causing the back-up? Like, for example... hypothyroidism. One of the classic symptoms is constipation. Other symptoms can include:

- Hair loss

- Brittle nails

- Dry skin

- Feeling cold all the time

- Depression

- High cholesterol

- Heavy periods

- Low libido

You might also try magnesium and vitamin C to get things moving

[Foxfire62]

Good idea to check, but when I was going through the worst of my symptoms, they checked for that. Everything came back ok.

I went on my salad/veggie/fruit diet yesterday. I had an un-assisted BM this a.m. Very encouraging. Not only that, but I feel fantastic today. Could I be too happy too soon? I don't know. However, if I continue to feel better, then I'll know the culprit. It said that processed food, meat and excess calcium can also cause constipation. Because I started eating meat this year for iron and because the nutritionist put me on a high-protein diet for hypoglycemia, I've been suffering. Now, I'm starting to feel better. My villi are still mildly blunted (from severe to mild), so it just might take more time to recover.

Keep your fingers crossed that the meat and the high calcium were the culprits. We'll see.

[Foxfire62]

I've been to soooo many doctors, and no one can find anything. The one good thing is, since going on veggie/fruit/salad diet yesterday, I had an un-assisted BM. Not only that, but I'm feeling pretty good today. I can only hope it stays. We'll see. I'll keep it up the next few days and see what happens. Maybe my intestines just aren't healed enough yet to tolerate certain foods.

[Foxfire62]

I've been to soooo many doctors, and no one can find anything. The one good thing is, since going on veggie/fruit/salad diet yesterday, I had an un-assisted BM. Not only that, but I'm feeling pretty good today. I can only hope it stays. We'll see. I'll keep it up the next few days and see what happens. Maybe my intestines just aren't healed enough yet to tolerate certain foods.

[Mother of Jibril]

You could be right about the calcium... calcium and magnesium need to be in proper balance. You might want to do some more research, but I think the recommendation is 400mg of magnesium for every 1000mg of calcium. "Dangerous Grains" recommends adding magnesium supplements until you reach "bowel tolerance" (a point where you can't go any further without getting diarrhea).

Cutting down on processed foods could definitely help too The only grain I can eat in significant quantities without getting constipated is rice.