Food and Diet

Firmer poop, when water/diet/fiber/exercise don’t help

Firmer poop, when water/diet/fiber/exercise don’t help

I need my poops to be harder/easier to wipe but the obvious steps (water, fiber, exercise, diet) are not helping (cw: poop descriptions)

I was previously been on a medicine that tended to constipate me for 2 years, so I’m not sure what my norm actually is. After going off that med 4 months ago (so likely not longer adjusting to that), poop’s been unsustainably messy for months.

Poop is always very loose/soft and difficult to wipe away/clean up (taking many wipes, water on TP/bidet when accessible). It ranges from loose lumps to near-diarrhea non-lumps. I already use a bidet when possible, or water+TP, so not looking for recommendations for wiping, just how to change the actual poop.

After giving my intestines two months to adjust, I started making sure I got
1. daily more than the required water intake
2. gradually ramped up to at least 30g fiber/day (usually more, but that’s just the things I make sure to eat on every single day)
3. I get a lot of cardio, stretch, and weightlifting exercise (daily and weekly).
4. I avoid foods that tend to cause looser poops (e.g. fried, fatty, gluten, caffeine, etc. Googlable lists)

I’ve been doing all that for ~6 weeks, without much change to the poops. Have read and tried advice in previous Asks like this

I’m on various meds that could be contributing, but at fairly low doses that I cannot lower further. This is happening daily, so I don’t want to take any OTC meds that aren’t safe to take ongoing (are any safe to take daily?)

Any suggestions for how I can change the poops? Thanks

(YANMD, but until I can see my doctor…)

posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (19 answers total) 7 users marked this as a favorite

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