A CURE FOR CONSTIPATION

I've started to regularly and frequently suffer from constipation. Can anyone offer a solution; perhaps a daily laxitive that doesn't interfere with nutrient absorption or affect flecainide. (or make the problem worse).

My diet includes lots of fibre from vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds.,
Thanks

Sam

Is ground flax meal one of your regular morning foods?

A tablespoon on whatever you eat for breakfast might be worth a try for a week or so.

My morning home made muesli is oats, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, nuts and 6 prunes.

Sam

Molasses? at least you'd get some minerals at the same time.

You're eating lots of fiber, which tends to make harder stools. Maybe you need to add some things to your diet to soften things up. Magnesium does a very good job of that and it's beneficial to people with afib.

Depends upon the type of fiber. Flax can both relieve and prevent constipation plus providing good things for the heart, like lowering blood pressure.

[www.healthline.com]

Hi Sam - Just as a reminder to whatever you do to take in more fiber .... you need to drink lots of water throughout the day, especially if the fiber form is a dry component. It takes extra water to 'plump up' the dry fiber so it can function as intended. Otherwise, you'll experience the 'harder stools' that Carey mentions. If that happens, hydrate well and often... and you can experiment with small quantities of mineral oil to help 'move out the mass' plus, always remember to optimize your magnesium intake daily. For bowel stimulation, the citrate form of Mg is typically very reliable, but that form may not provide enough Mg for the cardiac benefits, so a separate dosing of that is, obviously, very important as well.
Jackie

Many thanks for all your answers. I've increased my Magnesium Bisglycinate from 400 mg ( elemental mag) to 600 and ordered mag citrate. The other suggestions I'm still considering.

I drink 8 glasses of water a day.

I have a complication that I believe is adding to the problem; weak pelvic floor muscles. I'm doing Kegal exercises. However I believe the cause, or part of the cause, is a very distended bladder which holds over a litre of urine. I can't empty it naturally; I have to use urinary catheters. I can reduce the amount held during the day but overnight it goes up to about a litre before waking me.

Sam

OK Sam - thanks for elaborating... and sorry about the bladder issue.
Based on typical reactions to various magnesium forms, the citrate will undoubtedly help
with bowel movements... but definitely and obviously, you'll still want to use magnesium bisglycinate
for heart support...so the the dosing can become somewhat tricky... and highly individualized.
Make your changes slowly and keep a log/diary of what seems to be the most effective and tolerable
dosage combinations for you.
Best to you,
Jackie

I see you have a lot of moving parts. I was going to ditto the Mg. I have I think 4 kinds of Mg in the house- Mg Oxide seems to do it for me for consitpation. I take various kinds thru the day though. And I ditto the more water if you are doing more fiber but I have to limit my water for other reasons so I understand. I have found the mg glycerinate and other forms don't seem to help as well as oxide. (I think that is what milk of Mg is more or less- oxide.)

Also and to get a little graphic- when my son was struggling with this I was talking with our doc. If this is a long term issue for you, you may have stretched out your colon and so you really should try and get it to the other end so it can have time to shrink. Otherwise it kind of "fills up". It is almost like muscle memory (sorry I hope no one is having dinner reading this).

Miralax- I don't know the interactions but I do know for a short time that has helped various people including myself. Not optimal but it is nice and easy and works. But I always try the other routes first.

Legumes are wonderful fiber to help regularity. Psyllium husk are also excellent. Drink plenty of water throughout the day. Adding this to your fruits vegetables nuts and seeds that you mentioned should do the trick. If not there might be a medical issue at hand. Regular exercise also helps.

Per Carey's comment, fructans, which are common in some nuts and other high fiber foods, can cause constipation in people who are sensitive (which includes me). This certainly isn't everyone, but if you are eating an high fibre diet and are constipated, you might search on foods with high fructan levels and see if you are eating a lot of them. If so, you could experiment by eliminating them and seeing what happens. If things improve, then you could slowly add some back in and find what your appropriate consumption levels are.

Thanks for all the replies. I've look into all the suggestions. The combination of high fibre and adding Magnesium Citrate to my Mag Bisglycinate has solved the problem. At this stage just still working on the best amount of Mag Citrate as stools are a bit too soft.

Sam