Not been in 1wk and a half! Help please.

[Danni28]

Could someone help with this please!
I have been on Atkins plan 5 weeks, 2nd day on OWL. I have not had a bowel movement in a week and a half. I have been taking psyllium Husk Caps for last 2 days and stil lnothing, also eating mountains of vegetables. I am feeling really bloated and getting deperate now.
Has anyone been in this situation at all,i dont really want to take a laxative,what else couldi do?
Alsocan psyllium caps cause you to stall?

Any help will be very much appreciated.
Thanks
Danielle

[Georgiana]

Re: Not been in 1wk and a half! Help please.

Are you drinking enough water? Otherwise taking extra fiber (flax, psyllium husks, wheat bran) will just make the problem worse.

[Zarabelle]

Re: Not been in 1wk and a half! Help please.

Poor you! I would take 3mg vitamin C - that should do it!

[Georgiana]

Re: Not been in 1wk and a half! Help please.

Poor you! I would take 3mg vitamin C - that should do it!

Yep... or magnesium oxide.

[Danni28]

Re: Not been in 1wk and a half! Help please.

Hi Georgina. Yep i am taking in about 3litres of water a day,i did read up on psylium Husks on internet so i realized the importance of water,good advice though.
Perhaps its just a waiting game, give the caps a few more days. If you had to name the best thing for it,what would you recommend?

Thanks again
Danielle

[Georgiana]

Re: Not been in 1wk and a half! Help please.

Perhaps its just a waiting game, give the caps a few more days. If you had to name the best thing for it,what would you recommend?

I never had this problem, even when I was doing Induction. But different things work best for different people -- for some it's flax, for some it's spinach, for some it's exercise. In my opinion, at this point you should try either vitamin C or magnesium oxide.

[kibskix]

Re: Not been in 1wk and a half! Help please.

i've never tried the husks before, I just stick to flax because It tastes yum, and it usually works within 6-12 hours.

[TGIFriday]

Re: Not been in 1wk and a half! Help please.

I know that you don't want to take a laxative but a week and a half is not healthy! You may end up in the ER and they will give you a laxative. Milk of magnesia is great for most people, just don't leave the house after taking it. Usually works in as early as 2 hours or within 8 hours. I have also found that the psyllium capsules do not seem to be as effective as the powder by spoon, at least for me. Sometimes you have to take more than the recommended dosage for the problem. I have never had a problem on this diet, in fact I have been more regular than ever with all of the water and vegetables. Funny how people can be so different!

[transypodge]

Re: Not been in 1wk and a half! Help please.

I find that drinking coffee gets me going. It is, afterall, a natural laxative. If you're squeamish about the caffeine, you could always try decaf. Just a thought.

[JulieB]

Re: Not been in 1wk and a half! Help please.

Everybody is different, but for me coffee & a walk gets me going.

Once you get past this...keep taking the psyllium (or whatever works for you) daily to avoid it happening again. I take psyllium or flax meal (make sure the seeds are ground up) everyday, and still don't go nearly as often as I used to. Flax is easy to 'hide' inside food - I just mix the psyllium powder in 1/2 cup of water and down it.

[Sunny_0ne]

Re: Not been in 1wk and a half! Help please.

I agree with the vitamin C. It needs to be big enough to be a slight overdose... mild diarrhea is the result. For me that was 2500 mg. per day.

Also, when I was on induction, I had major problems. The psyllium husks didn't help much. However, flax seed meal taken with LOTS of water finally did the trick. You can make a flax seed cookie and turn your medicine into a treat.

After you have been on Atkins for a while, your system will normalize and you should not have that problem anymore. FWIW, taking probiotics also helped me.

Good luck!

[chinadoll]

Re: Not been in 1wk and a half! Help please.

The psyllium caps (4-6 a day this time, last time I only needed 2) work for me on a daily basis but flax really moves things along for me. Different folks have reactions to different kinds of fiber so I would try a couple tablespoons of flax and some extra water for a day or so, but then keep on the psyllium or add the flax in a couple times a week. Good luck.

[imagood1]

Re: Not been in 1wk and a half! Help please.

before I started Atkins I had a bowel movement everyday -- just about the same time - like clockwork. Now I go every few days - I'm not put putting all the crap into my system I was putting into it before. I don't feel bloated or constipated and know when I have to go I will. At first I was taking psyllium caps and/or flax but I figured out I'm fine without them - I will go when I need to.

[blondegypsy]

Re: Not been in 1wk and a half! Help please.

As a last ditch effort. No fail, warm a cup of prune juice in the mirowave, tastes like warm raisins. It will probably stall you, but better to do that and "go" than have to do the ER! Never wait more than 3 or 4 days!

Sounds like you need more veggies! When your back to normal again, try brussel sprouts and broccoli in your diet when allowed.

[Georgiana]

Re: Not been in 1wk and a half! Help please.

No fail, warm a cup of prune juice in the mirowave, tastes like warm raisins. It will probably stall you, but better to do that and "go" than have to do the ER! Never wait more than 3 or 4 days!

Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't, but why cheat and stall your weight loss when instead you can increase your fiber intake (better choice of vegetables or/and fiber supplements; see DANDR 2002, Chapters 8, 9, 11, 12, 23), exercise more, drink more water, take a stool softener or, if everything fails, a laxative? There are ways to solve the problem without drinking prune juice.