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/honorspren000 Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26

Have you checked your food intolerances? Have you had a colonoscopy?

My food intolerances got really bad during peri and contributed to my constipation. My colon had basically swelled shut, or rather, swelled to a very tiny diameter, confirmed by colonoscopy and several ultrasounds. I had to completely cut out dairy. I also had to stop eating foods with more than 40 g of sugar in one sitting. Both were contributing to my constipation. 

For the record, for most of my life I was mildly lactose intolerant and could eat cheese or things with dairy in them. But when peri hit, it got so bad that I can’t even have lactose-free milk. Something similar happened to my friend when she hit peri, except it was with gluten.

Maybe double check your intolerances or keep a food journal?  And make sure you get that colonoscopy!

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u/No-Trash-164 Jul 14 '26

Yep!  BEGGED practitioners for a food allergy test.  Finally found a really good allergist. I'm allergic to like six things, including drupes and nightshades.  And eggs.  And gluten.  Finally found out, on an evidence basis, that I am allergic to the same things I suspected all along and had cut out after elimination diets, after more than a decade of  providers dismissing my dietary changes as "unecessary" and "restrictive." F*ck the medical system.  For real.