Constipation

Struggling with constipation? Here’s what you need to know to find relief.

Learn about diagnostic testing

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What is constipation?

You’ll feel constipated if you don’t empty your bowels often or fully enough, or have difficulty doing so.

This can be down to the sluggish movement of food through your gut (called ‘slow transit’), or how well you can actually go to the toilet (‘evacuation’).

Constipation varies from person to person, especially as some people’s normal routine is go to the toilet less often than others. While some will only have constipation for a short while, for others it can be a long-term condition causing pain and discomfort.

The most common signs and symptoms of being constipated include: stomach ache, painful cramps in your intestines, bloating, feeling sick, loss of appetite, difficulty moving your bowels regularly, hard and lumpy stools, unusually large or small stools, straining to pass a bowel movement, feeling of incomplete emptying after going to the toilet.

Why does constipation happen?

Finding out what’s causing your constipation is an important step towards helping you to take more control over your bowel movements.

Some of the main causes of constipation include:

Food moving too slowly through your gut (slow transit)
Weak pelvic floor muscles
Problems with the structure of your pelvic floor (such as a prolapse or rectocele)
A lack of fibre in your diet, and/or not drinking enough fluid
An excessive amount of bacteria in the small intestine (SIBO) or an imbalance in your intestinal bacteria
Anxiety and/or stress
The side effects of some medications and supplements
Not doing enough exercise
Pregnancy
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
Surgery

Diagnosing constipation

Diagnostic testing allows us to pinpoint the exact cause so we can recommend the right solution.

Testing options:

At the Functional Gut Clinic, we might suggest that we run one or more of the following tests:

Anorectal manometry– which tests the strength of the muscles in your back passage and rectum

Defaecography– which investigates any problems you may have when trying to open your bowels

Endoanal ultrasound– to image the muscles in your back passage and surrounding tissues, and assess their structure

Whole-gut transit– a non-invasive test which looks at how long it takes for faeces to pass through your bowel

Pudendal nerve function test– which looks at the nerves in your pelvic floor which control the muscles in your back passage

Carbohydrate malabsorption breath test– which finds out if you have certain food intolerances (lactose or fructose)

Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) breath test– which finds out if you have an overgrowth of bacteria in your small intestine (called SIBO)

Find out more and book your test

Hear from people we’ve helped, just like you.

"Very professional while welcoming and friendly"

"The manner and demeanour of all staff from reception to people carrying out the test was very professional but welcoming and friendly. Atmosphere is very relaxed and all instructions clear and concise."

London Patient

"Highly recommend this"

"Thanks to Dr Hobson and everyone at the Functional Gut Clinic. The whole team is very kind and generous and they are doing things that are cutting edge and they actually get results."

Manchester Patient

"Highly recommend this"

"After stopping my lansoprazole, every time I had a warm drink, I could feel it burn all the way down to my stomach. Thank you to Sam for making me feel at ease." - Manchester Patient

"My experience could not be better"

"Pleasant and knowledgeable staff that made the experience more enjoyable than it should be!" - London Patient

"Very friendly and knowledgeable"

"An excellent service from beginning to end. I would recommend to anyone who was considering having testing done. Very friendly and knowledgeable!" - Manchester Patient

"Very kind and helpful"

"It was also great to have time to talk to the clinicians – very important when you have problems. Reception staff also very kind and helpful." - Manchester Patient