There is a commercial on the radio that talks about the taboo things, and says talking to your doctor about constipation shouldn’t be one of them. OM Gosh… I fell off my chair laughing… because I JUST had a conversation with someone about poop… and it was a very difficult conversation. Talk about uncomfortable.
Since this is such a “hot topic” and it’s hard to have this conversation with your coach let alone your doctor, I am going to share a few things.

I have intestinal issues, and I don’t absorb nutrients the way most people do. I regularly have an issue with being constipated and bloated… It’s a fact of my life.

When I was on IP, I was severely constipated, and it was something that I went to the doctor for (I thought I was going to die in an explosion!) She has been my biggest cheerleader for this diet, and I was ready to give up. It is NOT the diet that causes constipation. Oddly, that was very difficult for me to get through my thick head. It had to be the diet… It was the only new thing. Nope. It was the crap I had been eating for years, and then trying to put the clean food in, my body had to relearn how to process it. I don’t have the digestive enzymes most people have.

First things first, I had to get things moving. That took a fleet enema. Had to give all that gunk an exit strategy. Then begins the process of learning how to digest and release everything WITHOUT the fleet enema.

WOW, there is a ton of “solutions” out there. So many people were telling me take magnesium citrate (the bottled stuff that they give you before surgery.) Ummm… that is not a permanent solution. That is a desperate measure. Those drinks are really to clean you out in a hurry, don’t always work, strip you of nutrients that are vital to teach your gut to be healthy, and can really hurt an already compromised system… BE CAREFUL!

My doctor wanted to give me Ducalax. Then she told me to not to take it. Yes, it works, but it is habit forming… Uh… I do not need to fight another addiction. One at a time people!

My coach and I started working with removing the cal-mag, switching to chelated magnesium (Some basic info on chelated magnesium: When minerals such as magnesium are chelated, they are more likely to survive the passage from the stomach to the small intestines intact. Because of this, more magnesium from the chelated variety will be absorbed in the intestinal tract than magnesium that is nonchelated.), adding digestive enzymes, Smooth Move tea, and Senna.

Your intestines perform a ballet. You need to treat it as something that is minutely balanced. You cannot just add a boat load of vitamins or laxatives to the mix. Your body needs the nutrients to keep you hair, skin, nails, major organs in harmony.

My solution at the end was to eat my normal, healthy diet, make sure I was drinking my water and eating my veggies, getting in my magnesium (Not that disgusting liquid.) get plenty of sleep (odd how that turned out to be a HUGE part of everything) walk, and when needed I take a Senna. I never let it go more than 24 hours without actively fixing the problem. Oh, and I bought a Squatty Potty. (Anatomically gets you into the right position to help things move without all the grunting and pain!)(http://www.squattypotty.com/)

Bottom line, you have to figure out what works for you, but those “magic” treatments, be careful. They can hurt you down the line. Save them for desperate measures… And if you haven’t gone in 24 hours… don’t wait… Try smooth move first! Don’t jump to the big guns.

So there you go… 15 minute conversation about poop… in the privacy of your own home.