Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Well I meant instead of good belly drinks, if you wanted more probiotics.

Another option might be to try an elimination diet although those are a pain. Could be something affecting you and even if you don't eliminate whatever it is, at least you could know?

Yes, there is an important connection because fiber absorbs water, so if there isn't enough liquid, it absorbs, which of course means it expands. Then there still needs to be water to move things along.

Also, I'm one of those people who drinks plenty of water but pees it out...I wish I could make it stop.

when i first went vegan i had a lot of what i called "bloody vegan poops" for awhile despite the fact that i dont think my diet changed a ton from veg to vegan.

i found drinking more water did help.
and yeah iron supplements can make you constipated. i had to stop taking one for awhile while pregnant cause being pregnant does weird shiitake to you too. then i ended up anemic so :-P

ive been taking my iron supplement every other day instead of every day to try avoiding the constipation issue and i bumped up my kale eating.

more water, more kale, less iron supplement?

that is not scientifically tested advice but it seems to be working for me.

i need a daily iron supplement, especially during my period. i just bruise easily and have a tendency to be clumsy...my energy gets so low if i do not have my supplement in my system...

Is it large enough to split in half? You could take half in the morning, half in the evening.

I've never had too much trouble, but when I was on pain killer after surgery and after dental work things got rough for me. My mom made me drink apple juice and things loosened up pretty quick. Maybe try drinking a glass or 2 a day.

Also, it it odd that iron supplements made me have diarrhea?

Yeah isn't that so odd? I forget which PPKer told me a similar thing but back during my break-up I practically had the runs for three months straight no matter how I tried diet-wise to fix it. Finally stopped when I started to be happy again. :)

my OB told me that there is something called Slow FE that is an iron supplement that is supposedly less constipating. she claimed i could find it at the pharmacy.

i never went to look for it because i already had a full bottle of iron pills.
not sure how it differs from a regular iron supplement so if you have issues when you dont take iron you may want to take it with caution to see how it works for you or ask a dr first.

if you take iron daily and are only constipated twice a month, then maybe that's not the problem.

I was constipated during pregnancy, and I've worked a lot with old people who often need a little something to be able to go, so I've had some experience of these things. You could try some kind of bulking preparation (I don't know what it's called in English). It's basically concentrated fibre that you take with at least a glass of water. It needs to be taken every day, but it won't give you the runs, it sort of normalises the feces. Another common type is osmotic preparations that retain water in the gut so the feces are softer, but that means things may be a bit too loose during the periods you're not constipated. Neither of these kinds affect the normal function of your intestines, like some laxatives can.

3 days of hard poop guys. i bulked up my salad, beans and even added more whole wheat. i am going to wait till after my period to see if i return to normal. this is not really normal for me...

Frowny face x1000

Maybe now is one of those times you should try a laxative? Sounds like an emergency level of hard poops. And drink lots of water!

I am drinking tons of water! Lots of hydrating foods...lots of raw fruits/veggies...It was not so hard to pass today, just a bit hard but still pretty solid.

You may then need to switch to less fiber.

My sad state is that I'm generally a constipated vegan. I'm better than pregan teenager, I'm usually around 2-3 days between poops instead of 5-6 then. I also drink a ton of water.

However, since I've buckled down and been doing a lot of school stuffs, my diet has been in the crapper, lots of lower fiber more processed foods, etc. And I've been pooping like a damn champ, it turns out. Now, I've also upped the prune juice, but even when I've been without it, I've still been better than the past. I'm going generally every single day in the last few months. When I've eaten better, making a ton of greens and beans, I've not gone. When I did Eat to Live, I was also really good. So there if definitely a fiber middle ground where there can be too much and it gets blocky too.

My poop:fibers- Pregan low fiber=bad, junky vegan = good, healthy vegan = bad, super healthy eat to live= good. Who knew!

So, the point is, maybe actually cut back on the mixed fiber for awhile and stick with some prune juice for a few days and see if that helps. That and some smooth move tea.

psyllium husk is amazing
when constipated (mega backed up) take 1T of pysllium husk + water (you have to drink a lot or you'll fork yourself up!) + walk around your home (you'll get an urge to move around) = easy shiitakes without tearing up your asparagus in 1-2hrs. psyllium husk is more natural and you won't have to push/strain so hard. laxatives, on the other hand, will make you cramp up, sweat like you ran marathon and can take hours to work. it's gross so avoid at all costs.

read up on soluble vs insoluble fiber. people mention eating more fiber (greens, beans and fruits) like all fiber is the same but it's not.
insoluble fiber - http://www.helpforibs.com/diet/fiber2.asp
soluble fiber - http://www.helpforibs.com/diet/fiber1.asp

the above is not an exhaustive list but you get the drift.
rice, oatmeal, bananas potatoes and applesauce are what works for me so i incorporate at least one into each meal. some people take 1-2tsp of psyllium husk everyday to stay regular which is an option.

i ate a big bowl of pineapple last night, i heard it helps break down foods and according to the Kardashian's it makes your vag taste good! results are not in on both accounts yet....stay tuned!

Oh also something I found lately is my trampoline. That thing makes me go more than any other form of exercise.

i would fall off...i am not allowed to even look at 'em!

I have been tracking my poo. I added a enzyme food supplement. Things were going great till my monthly visitor came. Then it was hard poo again. So I think the hard poo & my cycle are tied together.

i had colitis 2 years ago (which essentially caused inflammation, and a bottleneck, and so super hard bunny pellets) my doc gave me a month of butt medicine and suggested taking some citrucel each day to keep them soft. that was horrible. i hope i never get that again. (i assume it happened from either stress from work, or something like a hard poop made a scratch and i got infected. bleh.)

anyway, i recently learned that we only are able to absorb 3 oz of water per hour. so if you say you drink a lot of water and are peeing all the time, yet feel dehydrated, try spacing your water out throughout the day. (i was the type of person to drink a big glass in the morning and a few at night, and i thought i was a good water drinker, but i would consistently not think to drink during the day. so it's really not about how many glasses you drink, it's about whether you drink at least 3 oz each hour.

i am also generally a random pooper, but a few months ago i was all gung-ho about drinking water kefir each day. DUDE! i had beautiful daily poops. i should get back in to that. i've been having more poopless days than poopified lately.

actually, i think my best poop resetter had been a short juice fast. even 2 days could be sufficient to give you a clean slate. you could coincide it with your flow.

My poo gets all wacky around my cycle too. Not harder, just... more frequent? I'm not a doctor so I don't know what causes that, but I guess take comfort in knowing that you are not the only person in the world whose poo seems to be affected by your menstrual cycle?

oh yeah, i always get constipated a day or two before and then out it gushes when the cramps come in. it's pretty a pretty gross combo.

i used to get the gushing but lately it is the hard poo...i drink water throughout the day and now just try to take it easy.

My period gives me flu-like poos. It's horrible. There's definitely something to them being related!

I think it's the hormone shift that takes place when your body stops building up a uterine lining for an egg to implant and sheds it instead. You go from backed up to pooping all the time (at least I do, I call it the period poops). When you become pregnant, that hormone shift doesn't take place and many women have problems with constipation throughout the pregnancy. Fun stuff.