(Note: My general gut health advice is here. )
The limited hangout team behind the AMD Substack recently posted an article on constipation, which is worth a look (comments were even better than the article). I decided to add some info:
Temporary benefit can be had from colonic irrigations (actually, those are important long-term, see next section), coffee enemas, vibrating rectal dildos (it really does work very well) and so forth, but root causes are important for the real cure. What are you eating? What is your exercise routine like? You’d be surprised how many people are constipated from eating bread without realizing it, for example.
Relaxation (see Hale’s comment), and Squatting are the best tips in the article, which everyone should always be doing. I personally find that even if the toilet cannot be squatted on (some are not connected to floor), lifting one leg to rest on the toilet seat works nearly as well for me. I don't have constipation issues ever, as long as I do this.
AMD also rightly mentions avoiding industrial milk, which is a huge cause of so many digestive issues. We could also mention wheat, industrial and inorganic food in general. Elimination diets are a bit difficult but they can teach you a lot about your triggers.
A huge issue not mentioned: parasites, which are absolutely a prime cause of constipation (or diarrhea, or cancer, etc etc) for so many people. I have info on detoxing from parasites and all kinds of other pathogens and toxins in this guide.
Partial Chronic Constipation, The Silent Killer
Parasites (and other factors like SIBO, anxiety, sedentary life, gluten, etc) can block fecal transport and this issue is actually much more long-term than just a couple days of constipation. You can get feces stuck in pockets (sulci) of the intestines which are extremely hard to image or break up.
I mentioned that colonics are a temporary fix for acute constipation but they are also potentially a part of a plan to fix pockets of old crusted feces (diverticula). I have more detailed info about the risks & treatment options for diverticulitis on my main gut page.
Colonics by themselves may not be powerful enough to really break thru the crust. But they can make it easier to break (first get cleared for safety by a gastroenterologist). My friend Pooyan has been trying for years to get this crust out, with partial successes from all kinds of brutal techniques that nobody would try. His latest groundbreaker was after doing a colonic, he started hanging from one arm. That stretching in his case seemed to really break the crap apart. He felt a very painful explosion in his abdomen and then pooped a lot. Since then he’s been super happy and health. This might be dangerous though for someone a bit less blessed than him, but I’m not sure what the alternative would have been since he’s tried nearly everything else imaginable. This is him now:
Sludged Bile, Liver Flushing
Sludged bile is a huge issue also underlying GI issues, which you can learn more about here (along with other top constipation fixes):
One of the main reasons that you feel so much better mentally and physically after some poops is due to eliminating parasite die-off toxins. There is also a pressure that builds up in the lymphatic system when the guts are clogged. That affects the glymphatic drainage system in your brain. Basically, your brain is sludged up when you are constipated.
Liver flushing and SIBO yogurt are important, altho liver flushing can be risky in some cases especially if not also using ZHoly2O or if you haven’t addressed other elimination pathways like sweating and yes, constipation! Careful also with SIBO yogurt, due to lack of histamine bacteria mainly or lack of pre-cleansing with dilute H2O2. Some other SIBO fixes mentioned by T.C. Hale again.
Dr. Schulze protocols and products have also helped many people with this and other issues.
How about your experience?
Relaxation itself is very important for treating the chronic constipation which I missed the most in my own experience. Of course so many ways for doing that from breath exercises, massage therapies, water, sound therapies to taking ayahuasca. Personally, dealing with constipation for almost all my life was teaching me how to relax in body.