# List of all possible causes for constipation?



## Flax (Jan 31, 2013)

Can you help me make a list of all possible causes of constipation?

I have been missing a list who provides "all" the information regarding constipation in one place. Such a list would be a timesaver when looking for answers, rule out serious illness and to get possible alleviation. As we learn along the way the causes can be found in almost all directions, but the advises we first meet are the the most usual ones. Please add all the information you know of - biochemical, problems with the "caliber", diet, nerve signals, bad toilet habits etc. A bonus would be if you also add the examinations that identify the different causes .

I would be very happy for information about the more rare causes.


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## Flax (Jan 31, 2013)

My english is limited, but I will try to add some of the causes I know of.

Bloodwork:
- Hypothyroidism

- hypercalcemia

Diet:

- Not drinking enough water

- Too much/ too little/ wrong kind of fiber 
- Side effect from iron supplements

- Diuretic food/ drinks such as much coffe

Caliber:

- Megacolon

- Narrowing of the bowels

Chronic illness

- Chrons

Lifestyle:

- Not enough exercise

- Too much stress

- Irregulair daily routines such as toilet visits, meals, sleep


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

good topic









off the top of my head...

diet---calcium supplements be constipating. a good way to avoid this is by taking magnesium--the 2 to 1 calcium to magnesium ratio. calcium citrate is less constipating than calcium carbonate. and i've read that calcium derived from food is less constipating than supplements.

i have slow transit constipation and have found that a diet low in fiber works much better for me since my colon moves so slowly. i also don't eat "heavy" breads like bagels etc--they really plug me up--lol..or tough meats. i eat "soft squishy" foods..no raw vegetables etc..

sometimes a diet too low in fat--the healthy fat--can worsen c--healthy fat helps stimulate peristalsis.

..

celiac disease can have C as a symptom

SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) can cause C--methane gas

medication: some meds have a side effect of C. opiods , vicodin, percocet, tylenol with codeine, tramadol etc, some PPI's,. muscle relaxers, some SSRI's, lyrica, neurontin (gabapentin) , etc etc of course we're all different in how we react to meds and supplements., food etc.

diseases--off the top of my head--parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, mitochondrial disease..hirschsprung's disease.. haemochromatosis. .i'm sure there are more..

adhesions from abdominal and gyn surgeries can cause C.

pelvic floor dysfunction. also other outlet obstructions like rectocele, entrocele, rectal prolapse--both external and internal. these can all be diagnosed with a defecogram (defecatory proctogram) .an anal manometry will also show how the pelvic floor is working--if there's problems in relaxing the muscles properly etc. and confirms the pfd dx.

i've also read of women whose C was worsened by a severely retroverted uterus. sometimes the uterus , vagina etc prolapses completely onto the rectum.

then there is slow transit constipation or colonic inertia as diagnosed by the sitz marker test (colonic transit study). there are a variety of reasons why colonic transit can be slow. here is an excerpt from a very comprehensive article on constipation from the NIH:

"Manometric studies have demonstrated marked differences in phasic motor activity, the gastrocolic reflex, periodic rectal motor activity, and colonic tone. More recent investigators have demonstrated a reduction in interstitial cells of Cajal and a loss of ganglion cells in myenteric plexus in colonic specimens of patients with colonic inertia... a reduction of serotonin receptors, and other investigators have demonstrated reduction in estrogen receptors in the left colon of patients with colonic inertia.... "

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2780146/

some people have an unusually twisted colon and/or redundant colon which slows things down. a colonoscopy would diagnose this.

growing older can also slow motility. some woman have worsening constipation problems with perimenopause or menopause.

witholding--ignoring and/or postponing the urge to have a bm can gradually cause that urge to lessen or go away entirely.

if i think of anything else, i'll post it...


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

also--constipation can be a side effect of SIBO--diagnosed by the hydrogen breath test

and of course--IBS...dismotility..


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## Diana63 (Oct 20, 2009)

Such a great informative post annie.I am sure it shall be of help to someone...xx


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

thanks, Diana..







xx


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## Maegwin (Nov 11, 2012)

You're right it is different for everyone. I'm definitely in the slow motility group like Annie.

Talking with everyone I find there are four main triggers or agravaters for constipation outside of an actual disease like chrons or celiac disease, or a physical obstruction like a twisted bowel or narrowing of the bowel.

Diet, Activity, Medicine, and Mental. I've had constipation issues since I was in diapers and I became laxative dependent when I was 16. I still don't know why I'm always constipated but these are a few factors that can make it worse for me:

Diet:


Wheat - bread, pastries, baked goods. White bread really does me in.
Starches - nuts, rice, pasta, potatoes, lentils, quinoa, some beans and legumes, most root vegetables unless cooked thoroughly.
Fat - Bacon, pork, cheese, heavy creams, deep fried anything
Spicy food
Dairy
Processed sugars - candy, pop, sweets
Processed food - fast food, instant meals, anything that has a longer than normal shelf life that's not canned or in a jar.
Not drinking enough water
Alcohol - frequent drinking is bad for anyone, especially for people with constipation. I do sometimes find that one drink will relax my body and allow it to work. Not always, I'm careful with how much I drink.

Activity


Sedentariness
Strenuous exercise can aggrivate symptoms. My muscles get too tense and sore to allow my body to work.
I have a lot of lower back muscle tension so I avoid any strength exercises that target those muscles
Lack of flexibility and letting tension build up

Medicine


Pain killers - I've heard Advil is worse than Tylenol for constipation side effects. I'm not sure if that's true
Fibre suppliments
Calcium or Iron suppliments. Magnesium doesn't help mitigate my constipation at all.

Mental


Stress
Anxiety
Depression
Anger
I don't mean just when these emotions are strongest. Even if it's just for a moment my body doesn't let go of the tension for hours sometimes.


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## Flax (Jan 31, 2013)

Thank you so much for your contributions! Very informative


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## Flax (Jan 31, 2013)

Came to think of something... worms can block the intestines and cause constipation. But that is some of the more rare causes.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

a hernia--an inguinal, femoral, umbilical and incisional hernia-- sometimes has constipation as one of the symptoms.

a strangulated hernia can cause a blockage or obstruction--an inability to have a bm or pass gas.

http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/understanding-hernia-symptoms

adhesions can also cause constipation or even a blockage.


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## Flax (Jan 31, 2013)

Systemic diseases

(Diseases that affect a number of organs and tissues, or affects the body as a whole)  Lupus, scleroderma, and amyloidosis


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## Flax (Jan 31, 2013)

Lack of/ low vitamin B12 levels may disturb motility in bowels? Think I read this somewhere.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

i just read the following study so i thought i'd add it to this thread:

"Chronic idiopathic constipation: more than a simple colonic transit disorder"

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22011587


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

to add to the list here:

a few months ago, someone here on the board posted that her hemorroids caused her constipation. she had five internal hemorroids removed and she said that cured her constipation:

http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/topic/171031-cured-after-11-years-of-intractable-constipation/


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## flossy (Dec 8, 2012)

Sometimes I think the possible causes of constipation should be just listed as EVERYTHING. lol. It's almost true!


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## cwhizzz (Jul 3, 2014)

flossy said:


> Sometimes I think the possible causes of constipation should be just listed as EVERYTHING. lol. It's almost true!


I was just going to say the same thing lol. This post is interesting but highlights how difficult it is to pinpoint the cause of constipation. So time consuming and stressful ugh.


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## flossy (Dec 8, 2012)

cwhizzz said:


> I was just going to say the same thing lol. This post is interesting but highlights how difficult it is to pinpoint the cause of constipation. So time consuming and stressful ugh.


You got that right.


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## flossy (Dec 8, 2012)

I think for those of us who can't handle more fiber, it actually makes us more constipated? I'm thinkin' chronic constipation is due from an imbalance in the gut flora (dysbiosis). Either too much or two little.... Probably the opposite of people who have IBS-D.

(((Thanks, ChrisB85 for that line!)))

Dysbiosis (also called dysbacteriosis) is a term for a microbial imbalance on or inside the body. Dysbiosis is most commonly reported as a condition in the digestive tract.


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## LuvTheLoo (Apr 4, 2015)

Maegwin

Any updates?

"chime in" on this...

I second Advil or the ingredients of Advil and Naproxen stops a lot of colon movement for me. Now acetaminophen or Tylenol works for me but is slow to get workin and have to ingest at 1500mg. Dairy? So so. Depends on the type of Dairy. Straight milk, yes. Hard cheese, No.

Pieces of bread not really. Bagels, no. Pizza! YUUK! I love pizza but I go to hell's door if i eat pizza! I do notice that when i get at least 1 hour of hard exercise or 2 hours of soft walking i am much better with the pain down there.

For me it gets stuck on my left quad, above my belly button. If i lay down for a nap on my right side it drops (the painful ness) just below my belly button. Below my belly button, I can handle the pain. Above it NO!

THanks to all that post.

Vince

Hello Annie and Flossy!



Maegwin said:


> You're right it is different for everyone. I'm definitely in the slow motility group like Annie.
> 
> Talking with everyone I find there are four main triggers or agravaters for constipation outside of an actual disease like chrons or celiac disease, or a physical obstruction like a twisted bowel or narrowing of the bowel.
> 
> ...


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## LuvTheLoo (Apr 4, 2015)

LOL

Yes and yes !

DAMM it!

hehe

vince



flossy said:


> Sometimes I think the possible causes of constipation should be just listed as EVERYTHING. lol. It's almost true!


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## LuvTheLoo (Apr 4, 2015)

Annie

thanks dear, your always helpful!

lol

Vince



annie7 said:


> to add to the list here:
> 
> a few months ago, someone here on the board posted that her hemorroids caused her constipation. she had five internal hemorroids removed and she said that cured her constipation:
> 
> http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/topic/171031-cured-after-11-years-of-intractable-constipation/


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## flossy (Dec 8, 2012)

I believe the root cause of my chronic constipation is an imbalance in the gut flora (dysbiosis), which I got when I tried to become 'almost' a vegetarian several years back.

I also believe the other (and probably more important) root cause is what I like to refer to as bad genetics. Half my family has IBS (mostly IBS-D though).


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