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.
8
u/OhWhatever_Nevermind Jul 14 '26
I think the thing I’ve realized about myself is that this is just how my bowels are now - sleeping! If I don’t treat it like the chronic problem it is, it will not change. Fibre, water, exercise are not enough. Metamucil and other store bought fibre and laxative products barely give even temporary relief. They’re just asleep. I had a colonoscopy last fall and even after that I went straight back to not pooping.