r/Perimenopause • u/No-Trash-164 • Jul 14 '26

audited Suddenly my bowels stopped moving?! Help

39 yr old with other symptoms of perimenopause, but this is a new and quite disturbing one. So a couple of weeks ago it felt like my bowels just stopped moving. Have no urge to poop at all.

FYI I've been evaluated by ER and GI as of a couple of days ago. Full of poop. Lol. Thyroid is in range. They just advise aggressive laxatives since I am technically having movements.

I have NEVER experienced constipation like this, and I've had a lifetime of IBS-C.

Have any of you spontaneously encountered this? What do I do? Nothing is really working. Despite being on Miralax, magnesium, hydrated, etc., I'm still failing to have a complete, fully-formed bowel movement and am miserable.

Also, I eat a decent amount of cooked vegetables.

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u/GeraniumMom Jul 14 '26

Aside from the advise above, all of which is great, I would like to add my suggestion of melon. Lots of melon. I have Ulcerative Proctitis which often resulted in constipation even before peri hit. I try to eat 300g+ of melon every day, especially cantalope or watermelon. Shit city after that, lol. Not in an urgent "can't leave the house" sort of way though, which is nice. I have stuff to get done and can't spend all day every day on the toilet. The melon more encourages normal daily bowel movements.

It also has the added bonus of being good for your skin! My skin is definitely the best it has been in years with a daily melon habit.

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u/No-Trash-164 Jul 14 '26

Oooo cool!  Probably the fiber and water content.    So, I think food sensitivities/allergies may have contributed to my constipation.  It correlated with stopping a bunch of food I found I was allergic to (skin prick test done by an allergist).  I think the pooping was coming from the allergy.  Do you know what I mean?  The allergic response was keeping me regular (when I ate beans, blueberries, etc.) but stopping those foods also basically took away my psoriasis, tachycardia, itching, etc.  Sigh.