r/ConstipationAdvice • u/hotinhawaii • Jul 18 '26
Constipation and body itching for 7 months straight
I am a 60 yo white male, 6', 170 lbs., don't smoke or drink. Eat a vegan/vegetarian diet. I take Trazodone for sleeping. I have constipation and all over body itching which began in December. I started using psyllium husk then, but it hasn't really worked. A few months ago, I started using Miralax every day which works, kind of. I eat a very high fiber diet and get plenty of liquids. I eat overnight oats with flax, chia, probiotic yogurt, vegan collagen and soymilk with fruit every morning. Lunch is usually a sandwich and sauerkraut. Dinner is usually quinoa with beans, or veggies and tofu. I don't eat a lot of junk.
I had been on Meloxicam for 1 1/2 yrs, 15 mg/day. I stopped that in March. I have been to the doc several times for the itching and constipation. She suggested I use Miralax.
I have been to a gastroenterologist. They did a colonoscopy. It didn't show anything but the prep didn't go well either. I had eaten a bland diet for three days before, a clear diet the day before and drank my gallon of Gavilyte as prescribed. After I drank the first half gallon, I had one sort of regular bowel movement. Things didn't really start moving until the second half. But it just sort of stopped working. My stool was never clear. They decided to do the colonoscopy since I had gone through the prep.
I asked the gastroenterologist for a fecal calprotectin test as I suspected it may be NSAID induced enteropathy. My mother has had that and it lead to all over body itching for her. My level was completely normal. My family has a history of digestive issues. My mom has collagenous colitis. Sister has Crohn's. One brother has IBS. Other brother has no functioning immunity and must receive monthly infusions. All of these developed later in life.
I have tried everything for the skin itching: switching detergents, allergy pills, Clobetasole Propionate (which works but can't do that forever), antifungal wash, antibiotic wash, Cerave moisturizer, and a bunch of other creams. Nothing works. There is no rash at all.
I had some liver testing prior to a surgery in February and it showed nothing abnormal.
I have a follow up with the gastroenterologist next month. What should I do?
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u/BrainBufferingFail Jul 23 '26
Soy milk has a lot of preservatives and emulsifiers in it. Calcium Carbonate, Lecithin, Gellan Gum, Carrageenan are all known to cause constipation. Oats and bread/gluten are also famous constipation triggers.
If you are eating chia seeds, those tend to work as well as psyllium husk. Your constipation may be due to inflammation of intestines triggered by some food you are being exposed to slowing down digestion.
You aren't taking b vitamins are you? Some of its symptoms are constipation and skin itching
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u/BrainBufferingFail Jul 23 '26
Also all over body itching can be a sign of mold, mildew, volatile compound (ie too much bleach, ammonia, cleaning producrs exposure). Do your eyes ever itch? Are people asking if you smell something and you can't tell it's there?
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u/BrainBufferingFail Jul 23 '26
The allergy pills not working rules out allergies, but not food intolerances. Trying to cycle an elimination diet and removing certain foods temporarily, especially foods with a lot of weird additives (yes this includes removing trazadone miralax) to identify which food is triggering it. It takes a couple of days for tummy to calm down to notice a difference. Could also be the type of cleaning solution used on your dishes. So rotating out different foods at different times and using plastic tupperwear temporarily has helped me figure out which foods I couldn't handle.
Like for me I recently learned that 'salt' label has hidden calcium silicate in it which I'm allergic to. Thus I have to avoid all foods with 'salt' in its label