Original email excerpt for context: Her doctor suggested to take magnesium 2000 which was about 12 pills.
I actually find magnesium to work best for me for constipation as well.
There’s 2 natural ways I’ve found that are very effective for constipation for me.
Magnesium and Probiotics.
Before I lose you if you feel you’ve already tried these, did you take enough? I found I have to take more than might be considered a “regular” dosage for the effect- once I raise it enough, it has completely resolved some chronic constipation I’ve dealt with the past few years due to my autoimmune illnesses and Lyme disease.
MAGNESIUM:
I take mine every single night before bed without fail. During stressful times or even a day that is going to be a lot more rushed than usual, or if I’m traveling, I MUST take more to get the same effect- my body locks up more in circumstances like this. I also found that when I’m a few days away from my period/starting my period, I need more magnesium as well – this is because progesterone is lowest during this part of your cycle and this lowered hormone level causes a slow down in your peristalsis/digestion too.
There are different types of magnesium and some have more of a laxative effect than others.
I don’t do as well with swallowing lots of pills, so what I do is actually take this powdered form of magnesium that I mix in a little water.
Source Naturals Magnesium Serene – Berry Flavor – I use 2 rounded tsp of this particular brand in about ½ cup of water each night. This dosage is 800mg of magnesium citrate. I definitely don’t need any more than that during regular times or it would wayyy too much if you know what I mean on the TMI side. You might need even less yourself, you can experiment and find out.
Other brands of powdered magnesium I’ve used I had to use more like 1 tbs or even 4 tsp- the mg of magnesium varies from brand to brand. – the other thing that works really well is higher dosages of probiotics (like more than the bottle says to take- that’s just what works for me). I take quite a bit of magnesium every night still- I just kept increasing until I had smooth comfortable bowel movements, and I also found that I need extra mag just before/during my menstrual cycle as well as I get more constipated during that time (this is because progesterone raises during this time which causes this).
For pills I also love and use:
Mag Glycinate – Metagenics brand – this is one of the known trusted high quality supplement brands. As it says on bottle, the type of magnesium is magnesium glycinate. It’s a highly absorbable form. I would take between 2-3 and these of these each night prior to my switch to powdered form. Each tablets contains 100mg. So usually 200-300mg of this brand was enough for me and during my menses I needed more like 400mg.
One caution on using magnesium- there was an article put out where a bunch of magnesium bottles were tested for heavy metals and when I read it, I had been using a magnesium powder that was on the list as one that tested too high for heavy metals – the article didn’t test every single brand though and they didn’t test many powdered brands so I am not sure if the brand I now take is okay but I do definitely avoid the ones on their list that were tested and came out not good.
3rd party testing of magnesium brands
The metagenics magnesium I linked to had the 2nd BEST score as being a good brand with good purity.
PROBIOTICS
I can’t remember how I discovered this, but I found out that large doses of probiotics also completely relieve constipation. I’m not sure what made me decide to take like 8 capsules when the bottle said to take 2. But I did. And it fixed everything. Here’s my vlog about that! That was back when I was actually in the midst of my hCG journey, pre-knowledge of magnesium.
Do that at your own risk in the sense of some feel that taking extra probiotics is not good for some reason. I have not had a problem with it myself.
These days I take 2 different probiotics every single day – I have read a LOT of conflicting information as to when the best time to take them is when you’ll absorb them the best, since our gastric juices etc. destroy much of it- I ended up settling on about ½ hour before I eat a meal. But some sources felt during or immediately following was better/good as well. The only thing I could seem to find agreement on was that taking them awhile after your meal (like an hour later when your body is in full gastric juices digestion mode) was the worst time to take it and most would be lost to digestion.
My 2 probiotics I take:
Innate Response Flora 50-14 clinical strength – I take 2 of these daily.
MegaSporeobiotic – 2-3 daily – this is actually a different type of probiotic – you can read about it on their site, it’s supposed to be kind of special. I have it on a subscription so a new one gets sent to me every month. OH my goodness I just looked at the price and I’m not sure but I think the price has really gone up since I began my subscription yikes! Sorry guys. Well, at least you have the info.
The innate response brand has quite a variety of probiotic formulations- the one I take is their highest density one, and thus the costliest, so I think you could also try out their other formulations for a reduced cost.
CAUSES OF CONSTIPATION
You might also look at possible root causes of constipation to see if it can be relieved the other way- by removing something.
CALCIUM SUPPLEMENTS
I discovered the hard way that calcium supplements can be constipating. Maybe for the average joe they are fine. But for me OH my. No. One supplement I was taking that greatly helped anxiety for me, had some calcium in it – even with only half a capsule, I had to take more magnesium than usual in order to combat the extra-constipating effect of this. I ended up having to stop using it.
IRON SUPPLEMENTS
These can be quite constipating as well.
FOOD SENSITIVITIES
If you are constipated on P2, consider the possibility that a food you are eating frequently on P2 is causing it. I have a very odd sensitivity to cabbage and it causes me to be constipated. Cabbage is a favorite P2 for more as it’s very versatile. I can’t even have a tiny bit in a salad at a restaurant!
So if there’s a food that you’ve been having on P2, perhaps try eliminating it for a few days to see if things improve.
ARE YOU ACTUALLY CONSTIPATED OR JUST USING THE BATHROOM LESS?
Do keep in mind there’s a difference between constipation and have less frequent bowel movements.
Since you are eating less food on hCG, you will have fewer bowel movements. Makes sense right?
Constipation involves hard stools that are difficult to pass- it is in these cases that the above solutions would be good to try out.
I hope this helps you!
