What can I do to have a normal bowel movement?
I have had constipation the majority of my adult life. I eat fruits vegetables and whole grains and drink lots and lots of water every day and still I struggle to eliminate my bowels. What else can I do to have a normal bowel movement?
Healthcare Providers (3)
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You understand and agree that use of the Website does not in any way create or establish a physician-patient privilege or physician-patient relationship between you and any Medical Professional Member. You should recognize that the information provided on the Website (including past questions and answers and articles posted on the site) is provided for your general information. These materials should not be relied on as medical advice and reading and reviewing them is not a substitute for direct consultation with a medical professional about a specific medical problem.
Without limiting the foregoing, you understand and agree that submitting a Free Question or receiving an answer to a Free Question does not in any way create or establish an physician-patient relationship between you and any Medical Professional Member, or between you and us. The information and answers provided in response to Free Questions is intended to be generic medical information, not medical advice, and is based upon the very limited information provided by you in a Free Question. Specific medical advice can only be given with full knowledge of all of the facts and circumstances of your situation. If you are currently being treated by a doctor, that doctor is the best person to give you advice about a medical case or medical matter. Under no circumstances should the information obtained on this site be used to make decisions about the quality of service provided by a doctor or about the proper course of a medical matter.
Aside from what you are already doing, exercise often helps. It’s a great way to help stimulate your bowels, to help you achieve a bowel movement. Eating a diet high in fiber along with drinking plenty of fluids in conjunction will only help! This is a natural and effective way of having normal healthy bowel function.
Constipation is multifactorial. It can be from a structural etiology, especially if the change in bowel habit is recent, from a slow colon motility/transit and/or pelvic floor dysfunction. You will need to be fully evaluated by a gastroenterology provider.
The next step would be to get a fiber supplement, just to make sure you are trying enough fiber in you as a trial. Blood tests and possibly a colonoscopy may be needed to rule our organic conditions.