Elimination Concerns

[FreeLily]

WARNING...my question is about poo! :)

I'm hoping someone here has experienced this or can give me some hope! A little background...I've gone raw a couple of times before but I always stopped due to the unbearable constipation. Well I've been getting colonics non-stop for the past 2 years now and did a 3 week cleanse (which my elimination was the best its ever been but I did eat cooked food) before starting raw so I'm in a much better place now! Although I still have problems in that area due to low thyroid (or something else?) ANYWAYS! I am feeling frustrated by my elimination now...Its not very much at once or little movements throughout the day...and all day long I feel like I could go...like I wouldn't run on a treadmill because it feels like my bowels are so loose...but when it comes to actually going...not much coming out and it never feels complete. I do the squatting and all that...and if I take a fiber supplement (one my naturopath does...psyillium husk, marshmellow, slippery elm, etc) I feel incredibly bloated and nauseated all day. I should mention that I "cheated" the other day and had gluten free chicken nuggets (I KNOW I KNOW!!!!!!! I was vegetarian/vegan for years but started eating meat to help my digestion...don't hate me...I hate myself enough!) and the next day I had a wonderful bowel movement...so that discourages me. I don't care that I'm not losing weight very fast or that I'm still having candida issues and am exhausted all day regardless of what foods I eat...but my digestion is sooooooooo important to me...I just want to feel normal and not be aware and focused on my stomach/colon all day. Anyone else relate? Any ideas?? I'm just feel discouraged...Thanks!! Oh I just realized that my diet would probably be of some help:

8:30am Green Smoothie (Banana, plum, mango, chard, parsley, beet tops, spirulina)

10:00 am Coconut Water/Meat

12:00 Salsa with dehydrated corn chips or salsa alone

2pm Melons or mango or pineapple or somesort of fruit or maybe olives

4:30 lara bar

9:30 when I get home from class I'm STARVING so I usually have some sort of dehydrated snack or coconut milk or something...if I cheat its organic blue corn chips...

Any ideas??? THANK YOU!

[Revvell]

Beats VFL into this one ~ two words ~ Green smoothies. :)

Yes, I see you one in the a.m. I'd suggest you do them throughout the day. Make a HUGE VM full... and keep some at home so when you get home you are not "starving". You've got something satisfying. (I think we mention this in either Rawkin' Radio #23 or#24 ... not sure).

I've found baby spinach helps significantly in the poo process.

Also, I have a friend who has always had difficulty defecating and our teacher told her that she should stop holding onto her... you know. Meaning being so uptight and mentally/emotionally holding onto "stuff"... if that makes any sense. Did to her cuz she finally let go of it.

Revvell

[livin]

I had a similar problem when I first jumped into 100% raw. Despite drinking up to 80 ounces of water per day, in addition to smoothies made with water and getting colonics every 2 weeks, "things" just weren't moving as had been normal. My Naturopath put me on digestive enzymes, and emulsified oil of oregano, saying that I had put my body into a major detox with the raw and regular colonics (& all toxins weren't able to get out as quickly as I was detoxing) and that I should have been taking digestive enzymes at the same time. The remedy worked, getting me basically back on track in less than 24 hours.
I understand that psysillum husks commonly cause people to bloat. That's what it does for me. Glucomannan (sp?) fiber is supposed to do work the same way that psysillium does, without causing bloatness.
The only problem with the remedy I used, is that I also decided to slack up on raw for a while (thinking it would help) and ended up really getting away from it. Now I am having a pretty difficult time getting back to 80 - 100%.

[Veganforlife]

Grapefruits are good "movers".

[FreeLily]

Thanks Revvell! I can't wait to listen to your show....and I can't wait for my health insurance to kick in so I can get back in therapy:p I am trying to settle down...I'm the total A-type capricorn! I see baby spinach in my future in the meantime.

[SeaSprite]

Hi Lily

It sounds to me like something you're eating is irritating your bowel. For me, it's garlic or onions, which are both in most salsas. I know for a lot of people it's fruit, especially dehydrated fruit.

It also sounds like you had one bm that felt normal to you after you kinda blocked up from the chicken and the breading. You may have just giving your colon a break and it healed up a bit?

[rawOrchid]

I know from experience that psyllium husks made me fell pregnant, and gurgly, and just downright un-sexy. So, I soon after discovered wonderful golden flax seeds, which, if taken gradually (1 tablespoon / day) then gradually increasing to 2, does wonders... I add these (GROUNDED) to my smoothies, and I make sure for adequate water intake, in order for the bulk to "move" and voila...

So anyways, its an alternative if you may...

:)

[StarFire]

and strangely enough slippery elm... I know many use it to help them go to the bathroom... slippery elm and senna actualy constipate me and make me feel very bloated... psylium can do the same thing if you're not taking in enough water...

I use cascara sagrada on occasion if I need a little extra help. I drink lots of water -- and sometimes I will eat prunes.

I know after I went raw I posted a question about elimination too... it was so confusing - how could I eat so much fiber and be constipated it didn't make any sense!

cascara sagrada is non habit forming - stimulates the peristaltic action of the colon. You can get it at any hfs.

good luck ... ;)

[dalimeindacoconut]

I myself never seem to have a problem evacuating, but the last couple of days are not going as planned, highly unusual, this morning I will have several scoop fulls of flax seed in my green smoothie (was out of that for a couple of days) perhaps this is the reason?!