Trust me, I know it’s not exactly the most comfortable conversation to be having, but if you struggle or have struggled with constipation, it’s worth talking about it! What if you’re not constipated?
So, if you wake up in the morning and after a few hours, you don’t have a bowel movement, do you think you’re constipated? Do you tell people that you struggle with constipation? Do you subscribe to the IBS diagnosis that’s virtually meaningless?
Don’t beat yourself up and don’t make any assumptions. You might not suffer from constipation. It is possible, as I’ve learned in my gut healing process, that what you’re experiencing is a motility issue.Â
While constipation is defined as difficulty emptying the bowels, it is associated with hardened feces. Hard little balls. That’s the image we think of when recognizing constipation. Is that you? Or do you just have trouble having a bowel movement?
Gut motility may be the bigger issue, as opposed to constipation. Gut motility is the movement of the digestive system. Movement is the key word. When you’re down to the bottom of the toothpaste tube, you squeeze the tube. If you’re really frugal, you start at the bottom of the tube and push while rolling the tube up. (My dad put paperclips on the edge to hold the fold… I keep meaning to do that for the kids!) Our colon has to do this too. It’s called peristalsis: the gentle waves that occur in the colon to move waste through and out. Sometimes, when you can’t have a bowel movement, you aren’t dealing with constipation, you’re dealing with gut motility issues.
The reason this is important is because of how you deal with a situation based on the definition or diagnosis you attach to it. If you’re constipated, you may reach for a laxative or one of these over the counter products geared toward constipation. Take it from someone who knows, if it’s not constipation, then constipation remedies will not change anything. Drinking warm water, staying hydrated, consuming fiber, exercising, and probiotics won’t help. If it is constipation, then those things should help.
Since motility has to do with movement of the GI tract and not the state of the waste in the colon, you have to look at it differently. In the SIBO world, we call these prokinetics. Prokinetics help increase the waves of the colon without disrupting the rhythm. The difference between a prokinetic and a laxative is that a laxative will force waste from your body, disrupting your body’s natural rhythm. Abuse of laxatives can permanently damage your body’s ability to expel waste. Prokinetics work with your body’s natural rhythm so you can naturally move your bowels. Below are the affiliate links to the products I’ve used, researched, and believe in.
The first prokinetic I tried was Iberogast. Oh my goodness it worked like a charm. I had a week of normal, healthy and regular bowel movements. Unfortunately, I also had a reaction to Iberogast that included a sore and itchy throat. I know better than to mess with those symptoms so I pushed it aside and continued my search. It might be perfect for you, though! 20 drops with each meal is the aggressive start. You can then taper down until you only need a few drops in the evening. It’s worth a try. It’s truly a life-changing product.
Another prokinetic is triphala. Triphala is an Ayuvedic herbal formula. I bought the powder and used a scoop a day. I still use this, however it is not the only product that keeps things moving for me. I know it’s incredibly healthy for you and serves many purposes including being a gentle bowel tonic and helping support gastrointestinal health. This is the exact product I used (below) and will continue to take daily.
My favorite supplement, though, for digestive health, is Atrantil. Atrantil uses peppermint, quebracho and horse chestnut to prohibit the growth of methane and hydrogen in the gut, which greatly contribute to SIBO and other digestive disturbances. It has been miraculous for me. I started off taking 2 capsules with every meal and eventually tapered to just 2 capsules at dinner. This wasn’t enough for me and I added in 2 more capsules at lunch, for a total of four. For our budget and my desired health, I wasn’t happy taking 4 caps a day. After talking with some people in my SIBO support group on Facebook, I’ve been taking one capsule with each meal with great success. I was nervous to try another supplement. I always am, but I am so glad I found this. You can take it for acute issues, like a meal that didn’t settle well, or you can take it regularly for GI motility. I definitely recommend keeping this on hand.
All of this in mind, you have a LOT of options for keeping your gut healthy and your bowels moving. That is key for preventing the recurrence of SIBO especially. Still, sometimes stuff happens, or it doesn’t rather, and you may find yourself desperate to use the bathroom. I’ve been there. For me, I’ve discovered it’s vitamin D!!!! Of all the things. This happened in May last year too. I was doing great, I had cured my SIBO and was using a prokinetic and everything was going smoothly (literally) until it stopped (literally). It happened after I took a dose of vitamin D, trying to get back into my vitamin routine. Everything stopped. For days. It was torture. Since then, I’ve switched up my fish oils and have started taking one that already contains vitamin D without any trouble. That is, until my doctor prescribed me vitamin D, for my low vitamin D test results. I was prescribed the kind you take once a week for 6 weeks. Every darn time I took that I would get locked up. It was like a nightmare. I tested it by skipping a dose and I was perfectly fine. As soon as I resumed taking it, I was not fine. I was advised to take it every other week to give my body a chance to recover, but I started searching for emergency bowel moving tips and now I’m going to offer them to you!
Prunes. Yeah, the old lady fruit. They’re actually really tasty. And usually 3-5 will do the trick. I think they work best on an empty stomach as opposed to taking them with breakfast or another meal. And I found some organic prunes on Amazon to keep on hand for those emergencies. This deal comes in a package of 3 bags so they stay sealed and fresh.