Explosions from back passage

I remember the comedian Sarah Millican saying that she thought she was allergic to dried apricots but years later found that she'd been 'allergic' to 42 dried apricots. One or two were OK. You have been warned?

Please see your GP before you try the self-service route.

Not something I've ever had a problem with but I live on fruit and veg mainly. Anyway 8 ready to eat prunes for breakfast will keep you regular as can be.

Prunes, licorice tea and sweet licorice works well for me.

Crazyhorse

I have four prunes warmed in the microwave most mornings. A glass of warm water first thing helps constipation too.
A sensible diet should be all that's needed.

If the running to the loo has started suddenly perhaps you have an infection. Best get checked out.

Sorry but when I saw your heading, it reminded me of fireworks night when I was a child. My Dad and his equally mad brother (meant to be the sensible adults) let off some bangers in our back passage. I still remember the row, smoke and giggles.

Seacliff that's the best laugh I've had all week!

Lots of vegetables. I don't really enjoy fresh fruit except for pears, so eat those in season.
I never get constipated (famous last words)!

Interesting side effect of beetroot harvested from the garden last week though.
I picked some beetroot, peeled it and cut it into matchsticks, then stir fried it with some spices and served it with the meal we were having.
The next day I went to the toilet to discover that my poo was an interesting shade of pink.
DH was disconcerted to find he peed pink.

A vegan diet with lots of beans, lentils etc no dairy. Try it.

My (retired now) nurse friend recommends on waking that you lie on your back and bending your knees, pull one knee at a time up to your abdomen and gently press down. Squeezes your gut muscles whilst protecting your back.

You can hum to yourself as you fart away.

Psyllium husk powder is a natural form of fibre extracted from plantain.
Works a treat for keeping you 'going'. I discovered this when using it in a recipe for low carb keto bread.

My mother made senna tea and later in life took liquid paraffin without fail. Can't have been good for her.

Urmstongran That is a good exercise for your hips and back too, stretches the joints gently. So is the one they had you doing in the maternity ward - lying on your back, lengthen one leg as far as you can while shortening the other esveral times,then change legs. It is a kind of walking-on-the-spot while still lying down. There is also the one where you hold onto the table, washbasin, chair back or whatever is available, and stand on one one leg and swing the other one back and forth ten times, then change legs and repeat. These all keep the spine joints flexible.

My acid reflux tablets cause constipation, prune juice, a small glass every day seems to help.

Rhubarb, especially the juice!

My late mother swore by sennacot and had a tablet every day of her life to keep her "regular" . Her diet was not good in my opinion, but suited her. She hardly touched fruit and vegetables and loved cheesy biscuits and ginger ale.
After only one day of illness, she died of pneumonia aged 93.

Fennel it’s a good job that you are a regular poster otherwise, with an OP title like that, people may have thought
‘Uh oh!’ The Summer hols?
Hope everyone has helped you anyway.

Asda soft dried figs are lovely. I have a few every morning with mixed fruit, walnuts and a dollop of honey yoghurt on top.

I find that prunes certainly help and I have about 5 of them on top of my breakfast cereal (Weetabix with a little muesli, bran cereal and milk) every morning. I love peanut butter and will eat it straight off the spoon as a snack, that may help too if you’re not allergic to nuts. I also have half an orange about 2 hours before bed and quite a lot of fruit and veg during the day. I’m not s veggie, by the way, but don’t eat loads of meat or fish. I should drink more water than I actually do, but I don’t normally have any trouble in the toilet department. Twice a day for a number 2! Sorry if that last comment is “too much information!”

Thanks again to all of you .
honeyrose - I think it's better to be open about these things, it's just practical biology etc after all.
As for going to see the GP I've nearly given up on that these days. Can't even get through on the phone. I suppose I could write a letter. They do have a simple scheme for renewing prescriptions though.

I have this problem too and I remember when I was a child my Mum soaking senna pods and making me drink the liquid, yuk! So it is something I have been prone to all my life but it has got worse since I developed a prolapse. I agree that regular use of laxatives such as Dulcolax will make your system lazy and can be harsh resulting in the explosion you refer to in your subject heading.. My doctor recommended Laxido, little sachets that you mix with water and take once or twice a day, apparently they help your gut absorb water. I try not to take them too often but they do work. I eat lots of vegetables and fruit as well as seeded bread and drink lots of water but nothing really makes much of a difference except prune juice.

I think whatever our politics, we OAP's can all be sympathetic to the 'delights' of old age!!!!! I did laugh about the beetroot!! I love it and at times, years ago used to almost binge on it until one day, I happened to glance at the loo and to my horror saw what I thought was blood! I really thought my last hour had come and tearfully confided in a work colleague, (she was a geriatric nurse,I was an assistant!) who immediately asked me what I had been eating! When I told her! well you can imagine!!! I felt very foolish!
I do know though, that you shouldn't take laxatives on a daily basis! The, I would consult your GP and take it from there.

Yes, agreed that daily senakot isn't good. I find that for breakfast All Bran with something like Actimel, soft fruit and lashings of yogurt help with regularity most of the time.
A family member suffers with IBS so swings between diarrhoea and constipation which is uncomfortable for her.
If all else fails then half a pint of beer cam shift things if that is to your taste.

I have a teaspoon of inulin syrup in my morning coffee which seems to keep everything moving. It’s soluble fibre which I buy from Waitrose and it doesn’t taste particularly sweet. Two teaspoons and the world falls out of my bottom (sorry tmi ) but one seems to work.

I agree Jabberwok we are all older women on here, usually parents and grandparents and have much in common on many subjects.I take each thread as it comes, regardless of politics ( never even think about that tbh) and regardless of who starts a thread.?
Activia yoghurts are both delicious and good for the gut, one a day is all you need.

Prunes in the morning, or just add a small spoon of sugar to your tea. If you are drinking a lot of water add a drop of orange juice to it. These things replace the salts in your body to keep you hydrated.

Thank you, Fennel - I like to be as honest as I can be! I also find that hot drinks help. I always have a cup of coffee first thing and that seems to help, although it’s may be a combination of things, as well as the fruit and veg etc. A cup of tea would no doubt be just as good as coffee. I remember my grandmother, who died about 40 years ago, always had a glass of hot water every morning and she said it was beneficial. I never knew quite why - and I never asked - but she may have meant that it helped her go to the loo! Hope you get things moving, so to speak!