Funny thread! Yes, it's normal to pass flatus ... ya sure don't want it staying inside ya!
Yoga poses? Really.

X

A lot of people I knew that were doing south beach and especially Atkins had this problem & would drink a cup of tea every day.

Sadly- I will never EVER have this problem.

for years i have only gone once about every four days. i heard it wasn't normal, but it was 'normal' for me. only recently (im talking in the past few weeks) have i started eating almonds and i've been having a movement everyday.

however, if you have always had regular movements and then suddenly stopped.. maybe you should see a doctor??

Try cutting down the fiber. It really isn't a "laxative" like it says. It just adds bulk to the stool. And if the bowels are moving slowly then the bulk just sits there. Keep with the stool softeners too. They do take a couple of days to work. You might consider some Miralax (you can get it at the drug store). It just went over-the-counter from prescription and is very effective (again might take a couple of days). As far as the senna tea goes, senna is a good laxative also. If you don't want to find the tea (not readily available) then you can get senna tablets at the drug store. But remember it is a laxative, so you can get dependent on it after a while. A few days isn't a big deal, but a few weeks would make you dependent.
I also agree to get it checked out, especially if cutting down the fiber doesn't help.

Kerri

I've found that drinking a cup of white tea in the mornings helps me stay regular.

If the regular laxatives give you cramps, then I definitely would not recommend the senna tea. Honestly, I wouldn't recommend using a laxative approach like Ex-lax, Correctol, Senna tea, etc. because your body can get dependant on them, to where you have trouble going without them. They are only for occasional use.

Metamucil, and other fiber supplements are only for if you are not getting enough fiber in your diet naturally-so I wouldn't take those, either.

The best thing you can do is change some of your fiber SOURCES. If most of your fiber is from oatmeal, crispbreads, breads, pastas, etc. than you can get stopped up. Try to switch some of the fiber grams out from those sources (although you still want some fiber from whole grains!) in exchange for some fiber grams that come from fruit, which will naturally provide fiber, but also provide "softening" of the stool as an extra benefit.

Avoid bananas and applesauce for the time being, because they are commonly known "binding" foods. Try grapes, cantalaupe, peaches, etc. instead a couple times a day, and see how that goes. A small serving of apple juice would help as well.

I am just really against taking meds or supplements if it is unnecessary.

I think the only one of those poses I could manage right now is the 'corpse pose'.