My Constipation Doesn't Go Away

Constipation: The Inside Story

Help! I'm in a state of decay, my constipation doesn't go away!

If you ever felt like this way, then it’s bad news. You have chronic, stubborn constipation that plain refuses to go away and makes you feel all stuffed up and uncomfortable. Yeah, constipation is one heck of a painful experience.

Some folks experience a build-up of wind inside their tummy – it’s like someone is filling up a hot air balloon, only thing, it’s your tummy that’s acting like the balloon. Tossing, turning, burping, kicking, cussing, screaming – nothing helps, and the feeling keeps getting worse by the hour. The bile occasionally rises like a tsunami and engulfs the mouth with a rancid, bitter and unpleasant taste. 

Then acidity strikes. It keeps gnawing and biting at the chest, stomach and back. There’s pain as well – it’s like the stomach’s being left-hooked and KO-ed by an eager beaver pugilist. And, when it’s time to pass the stubborn, hardened stools out, it gets more painful. Some folks say that it’s as painful as childbirth. Constipation is like you’ve eaten a truckload of sticky clay bound by superglue, and this nasty mixture is just refusing to get out of your system.

The results are devastating. You lose interest in your regular activities, your work productivity drops, your love life walks out on you, you don’t have the stomach to eat good food or party with your friends, and you generally feel miserable and extremely demotivated.

Many of the examples above may seem exaggerated but then all you have to do is talk to a chronically constipated patient to verify the truth. So, what is constipation all about and why doesn’t your chronic constipation go away? Here’re the answers:

What is constipation and what are its causes?

Constipation is a condition in which the stool does not pass through the colon in the normal, regular way that it should pass. The muscles on the colon walls normally contract and push the waste matter – but in constipated patients, the colon’s muscles may not function normally because of a nerve disorder, which can be caused by diabetes, spinal injury, mellitus or Parkinson’s disease, muscle diseases, low levels of potassium, pituitary failure, etc.

Analgesics, iron supplements, and anti-hypertensive drugs can also cause constipation. Such drugs dehydrate the stool and meddle with the nerve function. Polyps, colon cancer, abnormal thyroid function, pregnancy, or abdominal surgery can also cause constipation.

Aside from the conditions mentioned above,many city folks get constipation because of their lifestyle habits, which can be:

1. Drinking inadequate water
2. Eating irregular meals at irregular hours
3. Lack of dietary fiber in food
4. Lack of exercise
5. Stress or depression
6. Frequent travel

Do I have constipation and how can I tell if I have it?

If you are impacted by any two of the following conditions/situations for a minimum of 3 months, then you have constipation:

1. Struggling and straining during a bowel movement for more than 1/4^th of the time
2. Passing hardened stools more than 1/4^th of the time
3. Partial passing of the stools more than 1/4^th of the time
4. Two, or lesser, bowel movements in a period of 7 days (1 week)

You don’t need to tell if you have constipation – you most likely know it. This feature has already described how a constipated person feels like. Still, here are the symptoms of constipation:

1. As you read above – very few bowel movements
2. Pain in the abdomen
3. Swelling in the abdomen
4. Pure pain!
5. Puking

Help,my constipation doesn't go away! How can I flush it out?

People suffering from constipation get very desperate very fast. They are at their wits end – there’s a massive cooped up feeling inside of them that just keeps building up. It keeps them from doing things and thinking clearly. They become walking, talking stuffed turkeys stuffed with gas! They want to get rid of constipation and they want their constipation to go away yesterday. Here are a few remedies that can help:

 

1. Include a lot of fiber in your food. Eats lots of fruits, vegetables and whole grains – such foods are loaded with fiber. Avoid refined and processed foods. Foods that have lots of fiber bulk up the stools and make their passage easier.

2. Drink 2 quarts of water every day. Try drinking 2 glasses of warm water every morning.

3. Mix Isabgol (Psyllium seed Husks) in water and drink up one glass before bedtime, every day.

4. Take a mild stool softener.

5. Avoid dehydrating foods like coffee and colas – these harden the stools and make constipation a more painful experience. Some folks are allergic to certain foods, and such food allergies too also can cause constipation. Some studies have revealed that dairy products, specially milk, cause constipation in some people.

6. Always exercise regularly. Exercise rejuvenates the body and makes the intestines absorb lesser water from the waste food. This allows the waste food to bulk up and pass through easily because it is well lubricated.

7. You must pass stools whenever you get the urge. Remember, some people pass stools 3 times in a day, and it’s considered absolutely normal.

These simple lifestyle changes should propel your constipation out of your body. However, if your constipation is because of a medical condition, then you need a doctor to help you. If your constipation goes chronic and makes you shout “why my doesn’t constipation go away?” then you MUST see a doctor. Also visit a doctor if you notice blood in your stool. You also need medical attention if you lose weight and your weight loss is not because of a diet, and/or if you experience severe pain while passing stools.

That was about constipation. So, if you don’t want the doctors to conduct a manometric study of your sigmoid colon and your anorectum and then tell you that you suffer from impaired rectal conscious sensitivity and disordered sigmoid motility, get going and get rid of your constipation instead of sitting alone and lonely in a corner, brooding to yourself "why my constipation doesn't go away!"