How Could I Still Be Dealing With Constipation!?!

[runningcrazy]

Okay real quick:

Im 14 and I've been gluten aand dairy free for 8 months now. Im also long time vegetarian.

I am still struggling with constipation. When I first went gluten free soon after it went away and everything was good. But now its been back for a couple months. Uhhh!

I eat basically fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, flax, beans and lentis, quinoa and lots of spinach salads. I also drink green tea lots. I get plenty of water in the day(aaround 7-8 cups) and I run almost everyday for 25 minutes. I dont get it! I take psyllium most mornings(probably 5x weekly, i usually forget it on the weekends) and I also take magnesium supplements(yes, they are gluten free) I dont eat soy really either. I am really creful aabout what I eat and I work hard to avoid cross contamination. I eat so much salad and steamed veggies you think I'd be fine, aand I snack on fruits and nuts.

Whats the problem? Its irritating and then my stomach stays hard and bloaated for a long time. Plus when I do go, its very little amounts. Maaybe once a week I'll have half a normal bm.

[miaryan]

i'm on day 5 of living gluten-free and i'm having the same issue! trying to get some help as well! i think i'm going to try and find some prune juice tomorrow and magnesium supplements. not to sure on how much to take hopefully will find out.

hopefully we can both go to the bathroom tomorrow!

take care

Mia

[Wolicki]

Two things: are you taking probiotics? I found them to help immensely with C.

Also, you're probably not drinking enough water Depending on where you live, if it's dry especially, you need more water. Plus, you're a runner, you're sweating lots.

My doc said since I live in the desert (Orange County??)100 oz minimum per day. It doesn't look like a desert here, but it's all irrigated and landscaped. We have very low humidity, so extra water. Why not give that a try? The green tea is a diuretic, which means even more water.

[wschmucks]

Well there are a few things that you can do. First if youre taking psyllium I would drink a lot more water-- especially cause you work out every day (im a runner too :-)). I really would double your water intake. Also how much magnesium are you taking and what type? For me I have to take Citrate and about 1,600 mg for it to work at all. Another thing you should look into with your Dr is to have your thyroid checked (make sure they test TSH, T4 AND Free T3-- its important they do all 3 tests!). You want your Free T3 to be in the high range-- which often isnt checked and can really lead to constipation problems. Also if youre eating veggies I would make sure they're all cooked, alot of people with C have trouble with raw veggies, so switch to steamed spinach salads :-) Good luck

[tarnalberry]

turns out for me, dairy was what left me with constipation.

have you looking into other food intolerances?

[burdee]

I had chronic constipation all my life. I ate high fiber diets, drank lots of fluids and took magnesium and vitamin C daily. So I was 'regular', but always had hard stools. So I thought after my celiac disease diagnosis, eliminating gluten would make me regular. Gluten abstinence helped some. Then I was diagnosed with allergies to dairy, soy, eggs, cane sugar, vanilla and nutmeg. Eliminating each of those foods also helped a little, but I still had hard stools. Then I was diagnosed with and treated for 4 different intestinal bacteria, one parasite and candida. I also had very low good bacteria. Eliminating all the 'bad' bugs and repopulating my intestines with lots of good bacteria by taking probiotics finally gave me normal (soft), regular stools. However, I continue to take daily probiotics. I never want to let my good bacteria get so low that I get bacterial/parasitic/yeast infections again.

SUE

[runningcrazy]

Thanks everyone! Im going to drink more water today. So far I've had about 6 or 7 cups, and I'll probably get in another 2-3 before bed. Also, I do take probiotics every day, and enzymes with my meals. I'll try bumping up the magnesium again also. Thanks! Also, I am dairy free too!

[jackay]

Then I was diagnosed with and treated for 4 different intestinal bacteria, one parasite and candida. I also had very low good bacteria. Eliminating all the 'bad' bugs and repopulating my intestines with lots of good bacteria by taking probiotics finally gave me normal (soft), regular stools. However, I continue to take daily probiotics. I never want to let my good bacteria get so low that I get bacterial/parasitic/yeast infections again.

SUE

What did you eliminate the 'bad' bacteria? I found out I had that last summer. I tried berberine and licorice to get rid of it and reacted to them with severe bladder pain and presssure that I had to discontinue. My doctor said to kill them out with good bacteria so I upped my probiotics to four times what I normally took.

I later found out I had candida which really surprised me because I had taken such a large amount of probiotics. I am intolerant to so many things so my doctor suggested I take garlic for the candida. I'm not eating any sugars, yeast or refined grains but am eating quite a bit of whole grains (brown rice, millet and quinoa), starchy vegetables and fruits. I know I should be giving a lot of that up but am trying so hard to not lose more weight and need these foods for the calories.

How will I know when I've gotten rid of the bacteria and candida? Did you just feel better or did you get retested to find out? I don't feel I can afford to have these retested.

[sillan]

Beans constipate me. I rarely eat them anymore. I am so tired of being constipated. I am vegan, gluten free and nightshade vegetable free. Beans sit in me like a rock. I'm guessing that my body likes to turn food into hard paste whenever possible. I think that the fluids are taken out of my body early during digestion making the beans not want to move along. Gladly I can now eat green vegetables without any problems. They used to sit in my like a rock before I went off of gluten. You may find the following article interesting.

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[dilettantesteph]

I have seen posts here about some celiacs thinking that quinoa gave them glutening type symptoms. Maybe that could be the problem.

[rnbwdiva]

Beans constipate me. I rarely eat them anymore. I am so tired of being constipated. I am vegan, gluten free and nightshade vegetable free. Beans sit in me like a rock. I'm guessing that my body likes to turn food into hard paste whenever possible. I think that the fluids are taken out of my body early during digestion making the beans not want to move along. Gladly I can now eat green vegetables without any problems. They used to sit in my like a rock before I went off of gluten. You may find the following article interesting.

Open Original Shared Link Advertisement/id23.html

poor thing! Are you already doing colon massage? It is somewhat painful when you are so stuffed, but it works really well. I can't recommend a particular web-site, since my physical therapist taught it to me, but I think you won't go wrong by just slowly tracing (circling, nudging, massaging) from the lower right beginning up around and down to the bottom left. I do it for a few minutes before I go to sleep and a few minutes before I go to sleep. It works better than any of the medicines or changes in diet I have tried. Good luck!