XP: May be TMI

hlvonb

I talked to my doctor (about a week ago) about my weight loss plan and mentioned how I don't seem to be getting any results like I want anymore. (I posted recently about this). She asked me how regular my bowel movements were. I told her that I poop once maybe twice a week (I have always been like this). She said that I should poop once a day at least. 

She suggested that I try some over the counter fiber gummies (taste like gummy bears). She said if we didn't see any improvement then we would think about a week long colon cleanse and see if that would help. She said that the lack of pooping can cause a little extra weight since it has to be stored somewhere. 

Anyway, the gummies seem to work. I am not 100% up to every day but a lot more than I was at and it also help to make sure I drink water because otherwise the gummies can make you unable to poop.

I have also seen a little bit of loss / shrinkage in my stomach. It doesn't seem to stick out as much. YAY!!! (Sorry if TMI )

JennyColada

Hey awesome! Taking care of your internal health can be tricky, because we can't always see what's going on and we tend to think "it's always like this, it's normal!).

Probably too much TMI as well, but I have Hepatitis C (blood transfusion) and am really interested to see how I feel post treatment (2015 or 2016 we think)! I wonder how much of my "normal" is just side affects (fatigue, etc).

SmileDamnit

hlvonb said:

I talked to my doctor (about a week ago) about my weight loss plan and mentioned how I don't seem to be getting any results like I want anymore. (I posted recently about this). She asked me how regular my bowel movements were. I told her that I poop once maybe twice a week (I have always been like this). She said that I should poop once a day at least. 

She suggested that I try some over the counter fiber gummies (taste like gummy bears). She said if we didn't see any improvement then we would think about a week long colon cleanse and see if that would help. She said that the lack of pooping can cause a little extra weight since it has to be stored somewhere. 

Anyway, the gummies seem to work. I am not 100% up to every day but a lot more than I was at and it also help to make sure I drink water because otherwise the gummies can make you unable to poop.

I have also seen a little bit of loss / shrinkage in my stomach. It doesn't seem to stick out as much. YAY!!! (Sorry if TMI )

Oh, girl! You've got to be feeling loads better (..pun intended . Seriously, though, kudos for figuring this out and getting yourself regular. My sister also struggles with regularity and recently went to a doc for advise. Her's is mostly tied to anxiety believe it or not, but he still suggested she do the staple of drink plenty of water, up the fiber intake, etc. 

lyndausvi

glad it's working for you.  

 DH takes 12-18 fiber pills a day per doctor's orders.  Although I never knew him to have a regularity problem, I think he was just low on fiber in general.

CallaLily25

Your problem sounds very similar to mine! You might want to check into IBS, which is what I have. If I don't keep it under control, I feel extremely bloated and uncomfortable and my tummy definitely sticks out more!

sarahufl

Also very much TMI, I have always had issues with this and your stomach will be much smaller once you get more regular. I used to be so....ahem, backed up.... that my pants wouldn't fit. Try the Fiber One bars/snack cakes. They are actually really good. Also, apples and coffee. They tend to do the trick for me.

Good luck, you will feel a million times better when everything gets more.....regulated.....

lyndausvi

sarahufl said:

Also very much TMI, I have always had issues with this and your stomach will be much smaller once you get more regular. I used to be so....ahem, backed up.... that my pants wouldn't fit. Try the Fiber One bars/snack cakes. They are actually really good. Also, apples and coffee. They tend to do the trick for me.

Good luck, you will feel a million times better when everything gets more.....regulated.....

DH and I call Fiber Ones fart cakes.   They taste really good, but later.  yeah we will leave it at that

Chipmunk415

If all other regularity efforts fail, there are the haribo, sugar free "satan bears." Kidding of course, but if you need a good laugh, read the comments about them on Amazon :-)

thejucheidea

I can't imagine going only like twice a week. I'm a 3-4 times a day BMer :x.

HaileyDancingbear

The only times I have issues with that is the short (and I mean VERY short) periods of time in which I decide I want to quit coffee.  Otherwise coffee guarantees a trip to the bathroom.  

Which is why I don't get the pins I see on Pinterest where the bride gets a giant cup of Starbucks on the day of- seriously, 20 oz of coffee, which is enough of a laxative as is, with a shit ton of sugar and cream on top of it?  And a lot of dresses are hard to use the bathroom in, I just imagine these brides getting into their dress and like 20 minutes later being like "Oh shit."  

sarahufl

HaileyDancingbear said:

The only times I have issues with that is the short (and I mean VERY short) periods of time in which I decide I want to quit coffee.  Otherwise coffee guarantees a trip to the bathroom.  

Which is why I don't get the pins I see on Pinterest where the bride gets a giant cup of Starbucks on the day of- seriously, 20 oz of coffee, which is enough of a laxative as is, with a shit ton of sugar and cream on top of it?  And a lot of dresses are hard to use the bathroom in, I just imagine these brides getting into their dress and like 20 minutes later being like "Oh shit."  

great response There is a thread somewhere on here from a bride who doesn't understand how she is supposed to pee. I would hate to be the bridesmaid who had to help her friend POOP.

RebeccaB88

Coconut oil is a staple for me. I use Spectrum Organic. I use it already for cooking, but if I'm needing to go, I take a couple  teaspoonsful (up to a tablespoon) straight (sometimes I scoop them onto a plate and stick them in the fridge to harden, then swallow them like pills) and in a few hours I'm good to go (so to speak).  My nephew has had chronic constipation since he was a toddler (too busy playing to poop, then it hurts to go, sets up a vicious cycle) and he's totally regular on coconut oil.  I can't do the fiber supplements, my IBS hates those things and I'm in a sugarfree-gummybear type of distress for a day or two after I take them. (FiberOne and Kashi stuff does the same thing to me, instant misery.) Coconut oil rocks.

sarahufl

strange that this thread made me want coffee? There is some brewing in the kitchen!

yeah, I'm weird

hlvonb

Jennycolada said:

Hey awesome! Taking care of your internal health can be tricky, because we can't always see what's going on and we tend to think "it's always like this, it's normal!). Probably too much TMI as well, but I have Hepatitis C (blood transfusion) and am really interested to see how I feel post treatment (2015 or 2016 we think)! I wonder how much of my "normal" is just side affects (fatigue, etc).

@Jennycolada

I am interested to see how you feel too. It is interesting to find out what is or is not "normal". I didn't really think anything of my bathroom habits until my doctor asked about it.

hlvonb

Niccirf said:

hlvonb said:

I talked to my doctor (about a week ago) about my weight loss plan and mentioned how I don't seem to be getting any results like I want anymore. (I posted recently about this). She asked me how regular my bowel movements were. I told her that I poop once maybe twice a week (I have always been like this). She said that I should poop once a day at least. 

She suggested that I try some over the counter fiber gummies (taste like gummy bears). She said if we didn't see any improvement then we would think about a week long colon cleanse and see if that would help. She said that the lack of pooping can cause a little extra weight since it has to be stored somewhere. 

Anyway, the gummies seem to work. I am not 100% up to every day but a lot more than I was at and it also help to make sure I drink water because otherwise the gummies can make you unable to poop.

I have also seen a little bit of loss / shrinkage in my stomach. It doesn't seem to stick out as much. YAY!!! (Sorry if TMI )

Oh, girl! You've got to be feeling loads better (..pun intended . Seriously, though, kudos for figuring this out and getting yourself regular. My sister also struggles with regularity and recently went to a doc for advise. Her's is mostly tied to anxiety believe it or not, but he still suggested she do the staple of drink plenty of water, up the fiber intake, etc. 

@niccirf

I am feeling better. I also have more energy - which is strange but understandable. I wasn't fatigued before or anything like that but I have noticed that I don't get tired as soon as I would at night. My doctor suggested the fiber intake too hence the gummies. They're an easy way to make sure you get fiber.

hlvonb

lyndausvi said:

glad it's working for you.  

 DH takes 12-18 fiber pills a day per doctor's orders.  Although I never knew him to have a regularity problem, I think he was just low on fiber in general.

@lyndausvi

Wow that seems like a lot but it sounds like he needs to so that's good that he getting the fiber he needs

hlvonb

CallaLily25 said:

Your problem sounds very similar to mine! You might want to check into IBS, which is what I have. If I don't keep it under control, I feel extremely bloated and uncomfortable and my tummy definitely sticks out more!

@CallaLily25

We don't think its IBS and depending on how the gummies work, we will know more. It may just be a fiber intake situation or it could be something else but we want to start at the bottom and work our way up if we need to.

hlvonb

sarahufl said:

Also very much TMI, I have always had issues with this and your stomach will be much smaller once you get more regular. I used to be so....ahem, backed up.... that my pants wouldn't fit. Try the Fiber One bars/snack cakes. They are actually really good. Also, apples and coffee. They tend to do the trick for me.

Good luck, you will feel a million times better when everything gets more.....regulated.....

@sarahufl

I will definitely try the bars. I know yogurt is supposed to help too

hlvonb

Chipmunk415 said:

If all other regularity efforts fail, there are the haribo, sugar free "satan bears." Kidding of course, but if you need a good laugh, read the comments about them on Amazon :-)

@Chipmunk415

Lol thanks!

hlvonb

lyndausvi said:

sarahufl said:

Also very much TMI, I have always had issues with this and your stomach will be much smaller once you get more regular. I used to be so....ahem, backed up.... that my pants wouldn't fit. Try the Fiber One bars/snack cakes. They are actually really good. Also, apples and coffee. They tend to do the trick for me.

Good luck, you will feel a million times better when everything gets more.....regulated.....

DH and I call Fiber Ones fart cakes.   They taste really good, but later.  yeah we will leave it at that

That's funny!!

hlvonb

thejucheidea said:

I can't imagine going only like twice a week. I'm a 3-4 times a day BMer :x.

@thejucheidea

I can't imagine going that much. Lol. At least not yet

hlvonb

RebeccaB88 said:

Coconut oil is a staple for me. I use Spectrum Organic. I use it already for cooking, but if I'm needing to go, I take a couple  teaspoonsful (up to a tablespoon) straight (sometimes I scoop them onto a plate and stick them in the fridge to harden, then swallow them like pills) and in a few hours I'm good to go (so to speak).  My nephew has had chronic constipation since he was a toddler (too busy playing to poop, then it hurts to go, sets up a vicious cycle) and he's totally regular on coconut oil.  I can't do the fiber supplements, my IBS hates those things and I'm in a sugarfree-gummybear type of distress for a day or two after I take them. (FiberOne and Kashi stuff does the same thing to me, instant misery.) Coconut oil rocks.

@RebeccaB88

I will keep that in mind. Thanks!

hlvonb

sarahufl said:

strange that this thread made me want coffee? There is some brewing in the kitchen!

yeah, I'm weird

@sarahufl

A little weird but understandable since coffee was mentioned. LOL

silver0319

Has your doctor ever checked your thyroid levels?  My dad, sister and I all have underactive thyroids.  When our TSH levels are elevated, we have sluggish bowels.  Mine had been off recently and I was up for bloodwork; it came back that my TSH levels were elevated again and my meds had to be adjusted. 

hlvonb

@silver0319

Yes. My thyroid levels have been checked a couple times and each time they were normal

HaileyDancingbear

@RebeccaB88 Coconut oil is awesome.  Do you ever use it for skincare?  I like to make a homemade soap/scrub by melting down coconut oil and mixing it with coconut sugar, then letting it solidify- it's a great exfoliant and it leaves my skin crazy soft. I also have a jar in my bathroom that I use instead of a daily moisturizer.  No matter what expensive creams I try out I always go back to that jar of coconut oil!  

and @sarahufl there is no such thing as being strange for wanting coffee, lol. 

HisGirlFriday13

This thread made me want coffee, too!!

Oh, who am I kidding? EVERYTHING makes me want coffee. 

Side note: Last year, I gave up coffee for Lent. Worst. Six. Weeks. Of. My. Life. I'm sure there are other things that make you poop (I'm going to try the coconut oil like @Rebecca88 suggested), but coffee is a sure-thing for me, and I was so freaking constipated for those six weeks.

Cookie Pusher

Am I the only one that doesn't have to poop after drinking coffee? I used to drink 8-10 cups a day when I worked at the mall, and it never affected anything.

SmileDamnit

Cookie Pusher said:

Am I the only one that doesn't have to poop after drinking coffee? I used to drink 8-10 cups a day when I worked at the mall, and it never affected anything.

**waving hand** 

ME, too! Me, too! Zero effect on my poo…and zero effect on my ability to stay awake. Not uncommon to drink a cup before bed and sleep like a lamb.

Cookie Pusher

Yep, caffeine has never affected my sleep either. I have pretty regular poop and sleep patterns that don't get thrown off by much.