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Constipation help

  • Thread starter Thread starter nicbarnett
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nicbarnett

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Hi all, bit embarrassing but I suffer from terrible Constipation. I have been prescribed movacol by the Dr but it doesn't seem to work. At the.moment I am following a weight loss diet from the diabetic nurses of 3 meals replacement shakes a day, a lunch.of salad.and supper of veg. No.meat,dairy,pasta,pots etc. The first week was.great but this week my stomach is swollen, tender and full of wind, I have been on movacol for a year or so but things have got so much worse since I've been on this diet. I am thinking of taking a few days off work.and purchasing a colon.cleanse to sort me out.. Any tips to help I would appreciate x
 
If you are on nd then this is bound to happen, only option is to up the amount of water you drink.
 


A year seems a long time to be on Movacol, has your Dr done any investigations or referred you over to see a Gastroenterologist, if not then I'd be pushing them to do so.
 
noblehead said:
A year seems a long time to be on Movacol, has your Dr done any investigations or referred you over to see a Gastroenterologist, if not then I'd be pushing them to do so.
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I've had the camera up and down lol, nothing was out of the ordinary was found
 
Ohhh right, I didn't know I was on that, as a type 1 I have been put on it for weight loss, thanks for the tip I will buy some x
 
nicbarnett said:
I've had the camera up and down lol, nothing was out of the ordinary was found
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Right, just try and drink plenty of fluids and make sure you eat plenty of fibre which helps with constipation, hope the symptoms soon disappear but you should mention it to the nurses who are advising you on your diet
 
Another alternative would be psyllium husks (e.g. Brand name Lepicol which has additional probiotics).

It's a tasteless powder that mixes with water to make a gel. You pop it in water, stir and drink it before it jellyfies too much. Brilliant stuff.

Mind you - how much liquid are you drinking a day? The first, simplest, best step to combat constipation is to up your liquid intake.

Hope that helps.
 
Ask for a "shapes" test.

Start off by adding a teaspoon a day of flaxseed and chia seed to your milk shakes.

Increase the amount of these to 2 tablespoons of flaxseed and 1 tablespoon of chia seed over 4 weeks.

This totally removed my need for ambulsnces, morphine, home enemas, and movicol.
 
Upping my fluids usually does the trick for me.

I don't know how much a tablespoon of flax or chai seeds weigh, but each are around 500 calories per 100gr, so that might be a consideration as nic appears to be on a very low calorie diet, as prescribed by her advisors.
 
Thanks all very much for your answers, I do drink alot.of coffee at work so will.limit that and increase my water uptake, definitely add some flaxseed and / or chai seeds? I was given charcoal tablets for wind and bloating a few weeks ago by someone in a well know health shop, hubby told me last night that they can constipate you...
 
I use psyllium - in water and also in food. Water intake seems to be a key factor.
I have recently been given some Forlax 4000 to try - find it on google.
 
I have found that probiotics are very helpful because they increase gut motility. Capsules are best as the yoghurt drinks often have added sugar. I get mine from Nature's Best. If I'm getting bunged up I also take prebiotic fibre, but it does contain some carbohydrates so not suitable for everyone. I just take half a teaspoon and it seems to help.
Psyllium also good, tho I don't like it!
 
It seems to be a common problem with us lucky diabetic then
 
My gastro chap has has seen a marked increase of diabetics attending his clinics...
 
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I think the books on low-carbing should address this issue more thoroughly because constipation is very bad for your health and can be very distressing. I tried asking the dietician about it but didn't get anywhere because he didn't really agree with LCHF.
 
Movical morning and evening should work but think you can have a few more daily but unsure I would ask the Doctor as I know how bad you feel with constipation
 
nicbarnett said:
a weight loss diet from the diabetic nurses of 3 meals replacement shakes a day, a lunch.of salad.and supper of veg. No.meat,dairy,pasta,pots etc.
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Seriously? Are they insane? No fat whatsoever? Very little protein? Lots of powdered chemicals? Calories mostly from sugar? This would sure mess up my intestines! Humans surely are not designed to run on such a diet. Other than switching to real, nutritionally dense food, I don't have any advice, especially since I've never been constipated.
 
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