I have been completely on plan all week...

Lots of fruits, veggies, beans, etc... no junk

HOWEVER!!!!!! I have not used the bathroom (#2) in 6 DAYS!!

someone HELP ME... my tummy hurts and I dont know what to do...

I drank almost a GALLON and a half of water yesterday hoping it would...erm...loosen me up... no joy.

Advice!!!!

If you want to stay natural - you could try adding bran to stuff, however if it were me, I'd be getting myself a laxative. Just a gentle one to get things moving again.

Sugar free metamucil seems to work nicely for a lot of people.

I could rave about it, seriously.

It's been keeping me flowing freely (ok bad joke I know ) and I only have it in the mornings

<------------ jealous

A nice cup of strong coffee.

This happened to me, too, until I added ground flax seed (started slow with 1/2 teaspoon on oatmeal and am up to 1.5 tsp breakfast and supper). Seems strange--you up your fiber and water and you think it's going to "work." I think it's our bodies learning to be without all the junk that made us "go" before--high fat, maybe more dairy, maybe more processed wheat, whatever it was--it's gone now, so it may take a bit to get things back on track.

I feel for you, having been there myself, but adding a fiber supplement might just do it, or the natural cure of flax seed or the old prune standby.... hope you feel better soon!!

Taking 2-3 500mg of magnesium a day has been the only thing that keeps me moving good lately...didnt have a real issue with movement til about maybe 3 months ago. Tried laxatives til they didnt work anymore...Metamucil that seems to work for everyone but me lol.... prunes worked for a little while...tried the 2 tsp of warm salt water....you name it. Hope magnesium keeps working like it is for me now....

When I have this problem it is caused by not enough of one of these:

- fiber
- fat
- water
-exercise

It sounds like you have enough fiber and water. I think you should eat something oily, maybe a salad with lots of olive oil and then go for a walk. Hope you get relief soon.

After six days I say get thee to a pharmacist and get a laxative, you need immediate relief! You poor thing, I'm sure you're monumentally uncomfortable! I hope you get some relief soon!

THIS WORKS SO WELL:
NATURAL CALM is a hot magnesium drink that can do wonders in a healthy, organic and natural way. Usually find it cheapest at www.vitacost.com and I personally prefer the sweet lemon flavor (sweetened with stevia). And it really does create a calmness that is marvelous. It helps with so many things, but if you take it of an evening, next morning you realize you slept like a rock and going to the bathroom becomes no big deal!

Here is a list directly from the the Natural Calm website of other wonderful things it can help:

Millions suffer daily from symptoms that can result from a lack of magnesium. Due to the fact that magnesium is so vital to so many bodily processes, deficiency can contribute to a wide variety of conditions, such as:

• Stress
• Fatigue & Low Energy
• Inability to Sleep
• Muscle Tension, Spasms & Cramps
• Anxiousness and Nervousness
• Irritability
• Headaches
• Weakness
• PMS and Hormonal Imbalances
• Weakening Bones
• Abnormal Heart Rhythm
• Calcification of Organs

Have you been vomiting at all or is your abdomen distended? You could have an obstruction or something since 6 days is a long time, especially given the amount of fiber that you're eating. I would see a doctor to be safe.

I deal with this problem. If I don't stay on top of it, I get pretty irregular. But once I give myself a kickstart and stay in a good routine, I'm usually good to go. Things like stress, change in diet, TOM, major change in routine, etc can throw me off and I have to do one of these reset routines to get me going again.

First off...hold off on eating any more fiber. Fiber is awesome to keep you regular, but what it does is add bulk. Currently, there is obviously plenty of bulk already stuck there. Think of it like a clogged pipe (because that's essentially what it is). More fiber is just going to add bulk behind what is already there.

Second, get a laxative and take a couple. I personally take the maximum recommended dose. Also, get some Super Dieter's Tea (in the tea department at Walmart), it contains senna which is an herbal laxative and will clean things out. I like the cinnamon spice flavor. Finally, get some acidophilus vitamins and aloe vera juice. I get the berry-flavored aloe juice. The acidophilus is a live bacterial culture that is essential for proper digestion. The aloe vera juice both soothes and heals your digestive tract and encourages smooth muscle contractions.

Alright, here's my "digestion reset" routine. I'm not really an herbal remedy type of person, but doing this has got me going again every time:

Day 1:
- Stop eating bulky fiber, drink as much water as I can stand...at least 100fl oz
- Take the laxative pills mid-day
- Take an acidophilus pill before each meal, morning noon and night. Also drink about 1/2 cup aloe vera juice at the same time.
- Don't eat anything heavy or bulky. Soups, very soupy oatmeal, smoothies, etc. Lots of liquid. This will give your bowels a break from having a big blockage up there.
- Before bed, drink one or two cups of the senna tea.
- Walk for at least 60 min if you don't already exercise.

Day 2:
- Get ready for an epic event in the bathroom after the laxatives and senna tea if it hasn't happened already.
- Drink tons of water
- Acidophilus and aloe juice morning noon and night
- Keep walking
- Stay on the soupy food/liquid diet. You can get all the nutrients and calories you need, the goal is to keep it soupy and goopy. After a blockage like this, think of your intestines as a pantyhose that you tried to stuff a basketball through, they're overstretched. They need a few days to tighten back up to contract and push food through properly again.
- Drink the senna tea again before bed.

Day 3:
- I personally just repeat day 2 just for good measure. Maybe leaving out the senna tea.

And after that:
NOW is when fiber is important. Now that you've cleaned out and given your digestive system a break and some TLC, you can go back to the fiber, lots of water, and exercise to keep you regular.

Hope that helps...it does for me, and I used to only go once or twice a week. People always told me to "eat fiber, drink water, and exercise....and eat prunes!" but that never worked. Once I figured this routine out, I'm able to restart my regularity no matter what and I have my faithful morning event, hehe.

Thanks for asking this. I dont go as often as I used too. Ill try Metemucil!

I usual ignore stuff like this but in this case I really can't, A word of advice: Magnesium is not categorically safe for everyone to use. I wouldn't use this remedy as my first choice to tx constipation. Sorry if I am out of line.