Always Get Constipated Before Your Period? Here’s How to Keep Things Moving

Every month, you get your interval. And each month, like clockwork, your digestive system slows all the way down to what seems like a full cease. In the event you regularly expertise constipation simply earlier than or throughout your interval, know that you just’re not alone.

“Hormonal fluctuations that happen earlier than a lady’s interval can actually have an effect on the intestine,” says Asma Khapra, MD, an American Gastroenterological Affiliation (AGA) knowledgeable, co-founder of Olvihealth, and a gastroenterologist specializing in ladies’s well being and IBD at GastroHealth in Virginia.

Learn on for extra about why constipation can happen within the days surrounding your interval, plus simple dwelling treatments to assist get issues shifting.

So, what causes constipation earlier than your interval?

Like different modifications chances are you’ll expertise whenever you’re menstruating (temper modifications, cravings), hormones are prone to blame right here. “Hormonal modifications, particularly elevated progesterone, decelerate the intestines, inflicting constipation,” says Sherry Ross, MD, an OB/GYN, writer, and co-founder of Oneself & the Girls’s Well being & Wellness College on the Mproov app.

Analysis on this matter is sparse, Dr. Khapra says—so specialists do not know precisely why or how constipation throughout this time happens. “However it’s clear that progesterone and estrogen play a job.”

Along with loads of anecdotal proof from ladies affected by constipation round their durations, we’ve got research on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel illness (IBD). Though these circumstances have completely different causes and signs, each can produce gastrointestinal discomfort. Analysis has proven that ladies with IBS and IBD can expertise flares simply earlier than their menstrual cycle, which suggests hormonal modifications as a transparent set off.

Treatments for constipation earlier than your interval

1. Drink loads of fluids

Although “water is the only option,” says Dr. Ross, fruit juice—prune juice particularly—may also help regulate your bowel actions, too. “Ingesting heat liquids within the morning can be efficient,” she provides.

Intention for between 11.5 and 15.5 cups of liquid per day from each meals and beverage sources, per suggestions from the U.S. Nationwide Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medication. (Simply do not feel like it’s a must to go manner overboard: “Staying hydrated is essential, however extra water than the fundamental quantity to maintain you hydrated won’t make a distinction,” says Dr. Khapra.)

2. Strive to slot in some train

Bodily exercise can really feel uncomfortable whenever you’re constipated, however even gentle train resembling a stroll may also help. That is as a result of “the colon strikes higher if there’s extra bodily motion—similar to different muscle mass within the physique,” says Dr. Khapra.

A daily train routine may also assist forestall future constipation earlier than your interval. The newest Bodily Exercise Pointers for People suggest 150 minutes of moderate-intensity bodily exercise every week, plus two days of muscle-strengthening train.

3. Enhance your fiber consumption

Upping your consumption of dietary fiber may also help you get by way of a present bout of constipation, in addition to help your digestive well being for the following time your interval approaches. “Fiber helps carry water into the intestines, softening the stool and making it simpler to cross,” says Dr. Ross. Intention for between 25 and 38 grams of high-fiber meals a day, resembling entire grains like oats, recent fruit like berries and apples, and veggies resembling broccoli, in addition to seeds and legumes.

4. Strive an OTC stool softener…

Also called emollient laxatives, stool softeners moisten the stool, per the Cleveland Clinic, permitting you to cross it extra simply.

Dr. Ross recommends taking 50 to 100 mg of Colace twice a day to assist ease constipation brought on by period-related hormonal shifts.

5. …or a bulk-forming laxative

One other over-the-counter choice to get issues shifting? Bulk-forming laxatives, resembling fiber dietary supplements like Metamucil, Citrucel, and Miralax. “These are gentlest in your physique,” says Dr. Ross.

They work by rising the quantity of fluid in your stool, making it simpler to cross, per the Nationwide Library of Medication. Simply remember the fact that it is important to drink loads of water whereas taking these dietary supplements, as a result of they will truly trigger constipation to worsen for those who’re not well-hydrated.

6. Add a magnesium complement

Including a magnesium complement at bedtime can enhance colonic motility, says Dr. Khapra. Our physique would not make this mineral by itself, so we have to get it from dietary supplements and meals (pumpkin seeds, Brazil nuts, and chia seeds are all good sources).

There are a variety of various kinds of magnesium dietary supplements in the marketplace, however magnesium citrate is usually really useful for digestion as a result of it could possibly produce a mild laxative impact.

Are you able to forestall pre-period constipation?

All the methods above may also help forestall constipation from occurring earlier than and through your interval, too. “Be per a high-fiber food plan, common train, staying well-hydrated, and controlling life stressors to assist reduce constipation,” says Dr. Ross.

When you’ve got heavy, painful durations or endometriosis, discuss to your physician about your choices. Some individuals might profit from oral contraceptives to assist handle their durations, says Dr. Khapra, and this will ease the frequency of constipation, too.

When to see a health care provider

It could not really feel like a “critical” concern, however constipation will be painful and debilitating, and many individuals do not search assist for his or her signs. A 2020 survey led by Cedars-Sinai, for instance, discovered that 3 out of 5 People who’ve constipation have by no means spoken to a health care provider about their signs.

Constipation is totally price a dialogue together with your practitioner, even for those who do not assume your signs are notably extreme. However it’s particularly essential to hunt medical care for those who discover any of the crimson flags beneath, specialists say:

• Constipation earlier than your interval is persistent
• You may have important belly ache and bloating
• You discover blood in your stool
• You may have sudden, unexplained weight reduction
• Constipation seems to be worsening and is troublesome to handle

And even for those who’ve tried the entire dwelling treatments above, know that your physician might produce other instruments. “There are such a lot of new choices, even prescription drugs along with over-the-counter choices, which can be very protected long-term that can be utilized,” says Dr. Khapra.

FAQ

Is constipation a symptom of being pregnant?

“Being pregnant will be difficult for a girl’s bowel habits,” says Dr. Ross. If you’re pregnant, you expertise important hormonal modifications, together with a leap in progesterone. Greater ranges of this hormone can decelerate the motility of your intestines, Dr. Ross says, presumably resulting in constipation.

On the similar time, “the iron and calcium in your prenatal nutritional vitamins and the shifting of your intestines by a pregnant uterus additionally create disruption in bowel functioning,” Dr. Ross provides. In keeping with the American School of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), constipation is very frequent on the finish of your being pregnant, so ensure to eat loads of fiber-rich meals throughout this time.

Can constipation trigger delay in interval?

By itself, constipation should not delay your interval,  based on Dr. Ross. Nonetheless, “the signs related to [constipation], together with stress, sure drugs, and dietary modifications to deal with constipation might have an effect on a interval,” she says.

In the event you’ve missed your interval, take into account taking a being pregnant check to be protected.

Do you get constipated throughout ovulation?

Ovulation is the section throughout your menstrual cycle by which your physique releases an egg, making it the optimum time to get pregnant. This normally happens round 14 days earlier than the beginning of your interval, based on ACOG. Equally to only earlier than your interval, you expertise hormonal modifications throughout this stage in your cycle, and it is doable for these shifts to have an effect on bowel functioning, Dr. Ross says. Throughout this time, you may discover that you just’re constipated and even expertise diarrhea.