I'm sorry about this but I love the vb and you all have helped me so much and this has become a real problem for me and my partner.
The more vegan I became the more I couldn't go to the bathroom,and for me that is really unusual,even at 53.Its gotten to the point That I have to take laxitives once a week now.YUCK! The doctor said eather go back to eating meat or at least not vegan and take softners that don't work for me.
I made muffins with everything fiber,and pruns,raisins and figs,they weigh a ton,and didn't work.So...............
is there anything that you eat or drink that doesn't tast like the bottom of a bird cage....that really works?

i eat a lot of raw fruits and veggies, and drink A LOT of water and herbal tea throughout my day. I drink the equivalent of 2.5 32 ounce nalgene bottles of non-caffeinated fluids...

I hope missleigh chimes in on this thread. She has lots of good advice. :yes: I will alert her to it.

increase your fiber intake.

flax seeds (whole, then crushed gently with mortar and pestle to break some of them) are great. so are prunes and prune juice.

You might try the Metamucil Fiber Wafers. They taste like cookies. I don't see anything non-vegan about them, but I'll let you be the judge of that.

Increase your fiber intake.

Ground flaxseed, and prunes work really well, but just make sure you drink a full glass of water.

Banana is another good source.

Also, if you might want to try colon cleansing. This will promote regularity. If you're eating too much white breads or processed food, it can mess up with your digestion.

You may want to try a senna based tea. nice and warm, and very soothing before bedtime, and everything will be ready when you wake up ;) Also, I second the fresh fruit and lots LOTS of water. Good luck!!

Sean

Drink lots of coffee and water in the morning.

Prune juice as a temporary measure might help too... not sure if it'd be much more effective than the whole fruit though.

Joe mentioned 'Metamucil'
I'd go for the original flavour as the orange flavour has aspartine in it If I remember correctly (not non-vegan just very toxic!)
Better still, make your own with psyllium (spelling?) husks.
I also find lots of beans gets things going.
Failing that try a good few beers with a strong veggie curry or chilli - gauranteed to cheer you up it the the bottom has fallen out of your world & to cause the world to fall out of your bottom the next day!
(might need to put the toilet paper in the fridge first)

things that cause problems: not getting enough water, refined grains.
things that help: generally eating plenty of fruits and vegetables. ground flax seeds are good, as are oatmeal, prunes, dates, and coffee (although the caffeine can also dehydrate). you should also eat frequently throughout the day.

ground flax seeds in a chocolate-banana smoothie. It's my dad's old "get on the toilet and go" cure. :)

yogi tea brand makes a "get regular" tea that i've seen around. maybe you could try that.

Drink more water. More fiber will only clog you up if you don't drink enough water.

I second flax seeds and more water, but also, my roommate told me that if she eats whole 12-grain cereal, especially if it's a little undercooked, with whole flax seeds and stuff in it, it backs her up. It's like too much fiber, or too coarse, or somthing. So maybe you're somehow getting too much fiber, or too rough?

i don't know what kind of doctor would recommend eating meat for increased bowel movements! that is the most ridiculous thing i've heard.

how much fiber are you getting in a day? how much water are you drinking? how active are you? these are all things that can help.

and of all actual laxatives on the market, senna is the one i would recommend, esp if you need to end up taking something on a somewhat regualr basis.

I'm taking an all-natural liquid vitamins and essential minerals and it is good for constipation. It really works too. I eat fruit and vegetables but a couple of times I didn't eat any fruit and I still had no problems I know it is because of the liquid vitamins. If you would like more info on them just let me know.

As I have unusually long intestines which cause me also to suffer from constipation sometimes, my gastroenterologist suggested that I take daily (for the rest of my life, he told me!) three large soup-spoons of wheat-flour (I buy the organic kind) in liquid every evening. But one has to make sure that one drinks a LOT, as Ludi mentioned. And unfortunately, it does taste like something from the bottom of a bird-cage.

Eating meat is not going to solve the problem... your doctor has strange ideas!!!! But then doctors DO have strange ideas sometimes. It goes with the profession, I think.

:lol: bjorn again veg. Toilet paper in the fridge.... lmao! :lol:

My own version of "colon blow" is to boil up some flax seeds for 5 minutes, then drink the slime (before you say "but flax isn't meant to be heated" remember, it's the slime you want, not the omega 3 fatty acids). It's not exactly plesant-tasting, but it is quite effective.

Eating meat is the WORST thing one could do, IMO since meat stays so long in the body just rotting away.... I swear, sometimes doctors suggest the wonkiest things at times. :dizzy:

Aside from diet, another way to combat this problem is to exercise. The effect that exercise has bowel transit time is particularly pronounced for people over 50. I wish I had the link, but I remember reading about a study that showed that seniors with 3x weekly moderate weight training cut their average bowel transit time from 48 hours to 24.

im a total believer in circadian rhythms and the cycles of your body being the same everday. with that said, i read in a book once that your 3 digestive cycles are:

noon-8 00 pm appropiation cycle (otherwise, ingesting/eating cycle)
8 00 pm to 4 00 am assimilation cycle
4 00 am to noon elimination cycle

i tried this strictly for a few days, and i felt wonderful! it works too. it is hard to follow strictly, but if you use it as a rough guideline, it should help. the book said to try not to eat in the 2nd two cycles bc it could hinder their process. if you must, eat fruits, as they require no digestion. when you wake up, you should have a bm :)

i don't know what kind of doctor would recommend eating meat for increased bowel movements! that is the most ridiculous thing i've heard.

:yes: That makes no sense whatsoever. Meat has zero fiber, and for most people, meat turns out to be very constipating.

Products containing senna are good for short term use every now and then, but if used regularly, your body will come to depend on it in order to move the bowels. Like everyone else mentioned, be sure to increase your fiber intake. If you are eating plenty of fruits, veggies, and whole grains and are still constipated, try using some magnesium citrate. Magnesium will keep things moving without the worry of dependancy.

im a total believer in circadian rhythms and the cycles of your body being the same everday. with that said, i read in a book once that your 3 digestive cycles are:

noon-8 00 pm appropiation cycle (otherwise, ingesting/eating cycle)
8 00 pm to 4 00 am assimilation cycle
4 00 am to noon elimination cycle

i tried this strictly for a few days, and i felt wonderful! it works too. it is hard to follow strictly, but if you use it as a rough guideline, it should help. the book said to try not to eat in the 2nd two cycles bc it could hinder their process. if you must, eat fruits, as they require no digestion. when you wake up, you should have a bm :)

oh, i forgot to mention too, that even if you cant follow this, it is best to just allow at some point in time, for your digestive system to rest for 12 hours. for example, if you stop eating at 7 at night, dont eat till 7 the next morning. or, say you stop eating at midnight, just dont eat till noon the next day.

nm

You may want to try a senna based tea. nice and warm, and very soothing before bedtime, and everything will be ready when you wake up ;) Also, I second the fresh fruit and lots LOTS of water. Good luck!!

Sean
Beware if you try this, that it is a stimulant, if you have any conditions or medications that you don't want to be mixing with stimulants. Senna is a stimulant laxative just like exlax with the same kinds of concerns.

http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/health/teatime/597_tea.html

Perhaps your problems is dependency on stimulant-based laxatives like senna, caffeine, or exlax.
http://www.drweil.com/u/QA/QA176926/
Or this:
What if I've been using laxatives for a long time?

You may have to retrain your body to go without laxatives if you’ve been using them for a long time. This means eating plenty of fiber and using a bulk-forming laxative, drinking lots of water, exercising and giving yourself time to have a bowel movement.

If you’ve used laxatives for a long time, your family doctor may suggest that you wean yourself off of them slowly to give your system a chance to return to normal. Be patient—it may take many months for your bowels to get back to normal if you've been using laxatives regularly. Talk with your family doctor about any concerns you have.http://familydoctor.org/861.xml

Your medical history and other medications you're taking may limit your laxative options. Laxatives can interact with blood thinners such as warfarin (Coumadin), antibiotics such as tetracycline and ciprofloxacin (Cipro), and certain diabetes and anti-seizure medications. Before using any laxative, read the label carefully. If you're not sure whether a particular laxative is right for you, ask your pharmacist or doctor. Don't exceed recommended dosages unless your doctor tells you otherwise.

Just because laxatives are available without a prescription doesn't mean that they're without risk. Laxative use can be dangerous if constipation is caused by a serious condition such as appendicitis or a bowel obstruction. If you frequently use certain laxatives over a period of weeks or months, they can decrease your colon's natural ability to contract and actually worsen constipation. In severe cases, overuse of laxatives can damage nerves, muscles and tissues of the large intestine.http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?id=hq00088

Most of all- get a new doctor. Telling you to eat meat for constipation is the most idiotic thing I've ever heard. It contradicts all credible medical knowlege. For example, you can look at the link below for tons of info on constipation from the National Library of Medicine.
http://search.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/query?FUNCTION=search&PARAMETER=constipation&DISAMBIGUATION=true&SERVER1=server1&SERVER2=server2&START=0&END=25&MAX=500&ASPECT=0

Wow, I must say I'm really surprised you're having this problem. Vegans who eat a balanced whole foods diet tend to have significantly higher fiber intake than omnivores, who tend to rarely meet the RDA. I track my intake on fitday and I'm usually in the 35-40 grams per day range. Adopting a vegan diet has had pretty much the opposite effect on me as it seems to have had on you. And yes, the idea of meat as a natural laxative is absolutely insane.