This is an ongoing problem for me and I wanted to share that I have begun to eat lettuce  and therefore am having a large salad everyday for lunch. It has no variety but tastes fabulous to me.  I eat about 1/4 head of iceberg lettuce, chopped up with some raw broccoli and some cooked broccoli. I found Olive oil was causing a flare, so now whip up in my little chopper, some cooked broccoli, melted butter, and somnetimes mashed squash, add some water and spread over the salad, sprinkle with kosher salt and enjoy.  It was better with regular olive oil and crunchy celery and chopped cucumber, but have put those on hold as I'm flaring quite a bit. The flares have improved some since doing that...but will retry as I go along. In the meantime this salad "as is" is  treat for me.  This seems to be causing better success with bms...I hadn't realized the lack of fiber and variety in diet may be causing constipation. I am sorry you have his problem too..it is disheartening I know, but  am trusting all who say it will get better..yes!

This has been difficult for me! I did not realize how for most my life i was constipated and I am certain that this must be one the foundational aspects of my IC. Staying regular this whole time has been a challenge but I would say it is slowly improving although I do feel like just recently I am going through a struggle to stay regular. I really have to work at it!When I added the bifidus is when things started to really improve- even the quality of the BMs was better. Matia did a post on this several months back and I think there was an informative poop chart!  You start to find the things that encourage bowel movements for you- for me I noticed spinach helped- raw cabbage- red green napa- whatever shredded on top of my salad helps. I really try to make 1/2 my plate veggies and eat them with my breakfast! Doing some kind of deep breathing meditation-some sort of thing where I am getting my lungs stimulated- i have a chanting practice I do anyway- but I actually think singing helps too?) I'm just a little eccentric like that- you know singing loudly and joyfully in the car at the stoplight/shower. in TCM- traditional chinese medicine there is a connection between the lungs and the large intestine! very gentle yoga is good.  Walking everyday- gentle stroll around the block. what else hmmmm.... a glass of warm spring water upon waking relaxes the intestines. so you could try -in the morning or upon starting your day- as part of your waking up routine-shower breakfast makeup get dressed - you know make it fun/special or something- light a candle or some inscence or whatever - get a pretty cup/mug - heat up some spring water and sip it. dosome gentle stretching- deep breathing for like 5 minutes- like just breathe all the way to your belly and exhale! during that 5 minutes imagine in your mind your intestines.bladder/insides getting a nice healing blast of light.you can visualize yout body as your health as sparkling and healthy! take some you time! also maybe visualize/imagine your bowels moving and eliminating? mind body connection is really something! take a short walk if you can? try to get one in at lunch or in the afternoon if not the morning.I find that if I do too much yeast free bread in one day it can block me up! It is really normal to be inconsistant with the bowels even when you are doing all the right stuff- its alot of stuff that is trying to come out and some of it is easier to move than others but it will come out eventually and the bowel movements will get more regular. it used to be I wouldn't move them for like 3-4 days and now if I'm con stipated its only for a day or two but mostly I'm more or less regular. It totally gets better!  t make sure through out the day you are getting some good roughage- In addition to my steamed broccoli or kale or squash or whatever I am eating I try to include a small handful of spinach&lettuce or celery with some finely chopped cabbage on top. I can drink coffee so I think the caffeine might help me a little bit. but actually not always! make sure you get plenty of h20 too! I have to work on that! pay attention when you did have a good BM what it was you did that day. hope these are helpful suggestions! peaceMary  

It took me a VERY long time  until I could accept a whole bif  and that was at 6 months.  I'm still working on a BM every day consistently it seems like after 1-2 months things were more regular but it's still at times not a perfect week. I am challenged this week for sure- not sure why!Mary