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[Ju Ju]

I buy the ready milled flaxseed. Too lazy to grind it! Costs more though. I also use fybogel ( and I know all about it if I forget) and prunes, plenty of veg etc. Still struggle though.

[CLKD]

I tried grinding flax seeds years ago but none of our machines could cope with them!  I love prunes in syrup but they make no difference at all 

[dahliagirl]

I can only say that my experience of cerazette was to add a further 3 days on to my transit time, likewise the lower dose pop I replaced it with (after a couple of days hiatus).  The one I tried a few months later after a year's break had me bunged within 5 days (and I ditched it after 7).  The combined pill also did the same, but in spite of the much higher dose of progestogen, was not so bad.

It is well known that one of the effects is to relax smooth muscle. This makes sense as that is the sort of muscle in the uterus.  It makes it easier for the uterus to carry the baby, and levels of progestogen rise in the second half of the cycle to prepare for pregnancy, then stay high.

The effects elsewhere are more variable for different people.  I don't have problems with pmt-like symptoms and progestogen that some people on here have, but my intestines are obviously very sensitive.

Kiwi fruits (if you can stand the things) work well as they are high in fibre but also have something in them that seems to do the job.  It is said to be an enzyme, but I have not found any papers that explain this.  However, one a day works and two will shift anything 

Fybogel is ok if your diet is low in fibre, but if you have slow transit constipation, the stools dry out as they pass slowly through the colon where the extra fluid is reabsorbed. It is rather like peat based potting compost in that it stays dry, then it slows down the passage through the colon even more, meaning more fluid is absorbed and so on.  This is the same for things like wheat bran.

You need something that holds onto the fluid, hence the soluble fibre and plenty of water so that you are not reabsorbing extra fluid from the colon to make up for not drinking.

Another thing worth looking at is Pelvic Floor Dysfunction.  You need to relax the right muscles to go to the loo.  It is something that we think comes naturally, but like many other things we do such as sitting and walking,  it can go awry, especially with constipation, prolapses, stress and tension in the body. Lots of pelvic floor exercise can contribute. Tense muscles seem to be a problem in menopause.  You need to practice pelvic floor relaxation exercises alongside the strengthening ones.

[Sooby]

Really useful post Dalia,

  my slow transit seemed to improve greatly when I started taking a new iron supplement called Iron plus from Health span but has become sluggish again which I not realise is probably the HRT.

The kiwi is worth a try though. After all the old saying that an apple a day keeps the Dr away was based on the theory that it held the fluid in the digested fibre so I guess Kiwi is just the same principal.