is this normal?

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2006
is this normal?
1
Wed, 07-25-2007 - 10:23am

Hello there,

I'm a 36 year old female and I've struggled with bowel issues/irregularity for as long as I can remember. I have tried to talk to doctors about this but they usually send me home with some packets of Citricel and tell me I need more fiber or to use a stool softener.

Oftentimes I only go #2 about 2-3 times a week. I go through phases where everything seems as it should be, but that's rare usually it's hard pellets or quite soft -- but the most troubling is that it never seems like I'm going enough. It seems like other people go at least once a day and completely empty their bowels and that that is what one should be striving for.

The funny thing about this is, is that taking more fiber, even using Miralax, doesn't change much. I can take psycillium husk power 2x a day for a week and still only have 1-2 BMs. The Miralax has made it go from hard pellets to softer, but I still only go a few times a week and when I do it just doesn't seem like I go enough. The good news is is that I'm not in pain...only sometimes I feel bloated and once in a while my lower intestine sometimes aches a little bit (below my navel about 2" on my left side).

Anyhow, sorry about the details but I'm sort of at wits end. I don't know if I'm normal or not or if I should continue to press my doctor for something different to try.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2006
In reply to: luky4elle
Wed, 07-25-2007 - 11:10am
sorry, I posted this in the wrong category!