The Constipation Code

Directions Website

The Constipation Code Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from The Constipation Code, Medical and health, Princeton, NJ.

I help women who’ve been told “you’re just getting older” uncover what may really be behind their gut issues, fatigue, aches + inflammation.

📖 Author of The Constipation Code
💩 Gut health • RootCauses • Better Aging ⭐️

10/18/2026

THEY SAID IT WAS YOUR AGE.

Exhausted by 2 PM? Aching joints? Brain fog? Constipation? Waking up in the middle of the night?

And the explanation you keep hearing is, “You’re just getting older.”

I’m 56, and I believe we need to stop blaming every symptom on aging.

Persistent fatigue, digestive issues, inflammation, poor sleep, and hair loss can have underlying causes worth investigating.

Hormonal changes, thyroid dysfunction, nutrient deficiencies, blood sugar imbalances, and gut health can all play a role.

Getting older is inevitable. Feeling miserable isn’t.

You deserve answers, not assumptions.

💬 What’s one symptom you’ve been told is “just your age”?

👉 Follow me for honest conversations about women’s health over 50, gut health, inflammation, and healthy aging.

Melissa Hall Klepacki, M.Ac.
Functional Gut Health Specialist
Author of The Constipation Code

10/18/2026

7 Things Every Woman Over 50 Should Know About Her Gut! 💩

If you’ve been told your constipation, bloating, or sluggish digestion is just part of getting older, think again!

Menopause, thyroid function, medications, and pelvic floor dysfunction can all play a role in how well your bowels move.

And here’s what surprises most women:

👉 You can p**p EVERY DAY and still be constipated.

👉 Eating MORE fiber can sometimes make constipation WORSE.

👉 Your pelvic floor muscles may be the reason you can’t empty completely.

👉 Some medications you take daily could be slowing your digestion.

Aging is inevitable. Chronic constipation doesn’t have to be.

As a Functional Gut Health Specialist, I look beyond the symptoms to investigate WHY your digestion isn’t working the way it should.

💬 I’m curious: Have you noticed your digestion changing as you’ve gotten older? Tell me in the comments. I want to hear from you!

📖 If you’re tired of guessing what’s causing your constipation, my book, The Constipation Code, explores eight often-overlooked factors that could be keeping you stuck.

👉 Get your copy at TheConstipationCode.com

Melissa Hall Klepacki, M.Ac.
Gut Health Specialist | Author of The Constipation Code

10/18/2026

If this happens to you, especially after 50, it can feel like your bladder suddenly has a mind of its own.

Sometimes the issue isn’t simply that you’re “getting older.” Changes in estrogen, pelvic floor strength and coordination, bladder sensitivity, constipation, medications, hydration habits, urinary infections, and even how much pressure is sitting on the bladder can all play a role.

And yes — constipation can matter here too. A backed-up re**um can put additional pressure on the bladder and contribute to urgency or frequency.

One important distinction: urgency is common, but it shouldn’t automatically be dismissed as normal aging.

If this is new, getting worse, causing leakage, waking you repeatedly at night, or accompanied by burning, pain, blood in the urine or pelvic pressure, it deserves a proper evaluation.

Your body usually gives clues before it gives answers.

Follow me for the health questions women are thinking…but rarely ask out loud.

10/17/2026

I think my 80-year-old mom may have just given Primally Pure the best review possible. 😂

Last weekend she looked at me and said, “What are you doing differently? Your skin looks glowing.”

Okay… I’ll take it. Especially at 56. ✨

Lately I’ve been loving Primally Pure’s tallow-based skincare because it feels incredibly rich, soothing and hydrating without making my routine complicated.

I’ve mostly been playing with their masks and balms, and I really love both the Antioxidant Balm and the Soothing Balm.

But my current favorite is the Plumping Cream.

They call it a cream, but to me it goes on almost more like a balm — rich, buttery and exactly what my skin seems to want right now. I especially love using these richer products to seal everything in and keep my skin from feeling dry.

Apparently Mom noticed. 😂

So naturally, after I told her what I’ve been using, I also informed her she should probably expect a few Primally Pure goodies in her Christmas stocking this year. 🎄

Nothing like your 80-year-old mother asking for your skincare routine to make your day.

If your skin is craving more moisture, especially as it gets drier and more mature, this is one line I’m really enjoying right now.

Have you tried
Primally Pure Skincare yet!?

You can shop at www.primallypure.com/KLEPACKI10

10/16/2026

You KNOW you have to p**p.

You head to the bathroom, sit down…and suddenly the urge is GONE.

What happened?

This can happen when the signal between your re**um, pelvic floor and nervous system changes once you sit down and try to “make it happen.”

Sometimes the urge was mild and temporary.

Sometimes the pelvic floor doesn’t relax the way it needs to.

Sometimes you’re rushing, straining, holding your breath or sitting in a position that actually makes it harder for stool to come out.

And sometimes the stool simply isn’t low enough in the re**um yet for your body to complete the bowel movement.

This is one reason I tell people not to sit on the toilet forever forcing it.

If nothing is happening after a few minutes, get up.

Walk around.

Drink some water.

Let the urge build again.

Then go back when your body is actually ready.

If this happens all the time — especially if you also strain, feel like you never fully empty, have to reposition yourself, or make repeated trips back to the bathroom — I’d start thinking about stool consistency, constipation, pelvic floor coordination and bowel motility.

Pooping should be a body reflex.

Not a 20-minute negotiation.

Follow me for more Embarrassing Gut Health Questions No One Wants to Ask — because your bathroom habits can tell you a LOT about what’s happening in your gut.

10/16/2026

Green stool can look alarming, but it doesn’t always mean something is wrong.

Sometimes the answer is very simple: you ate something green.

Spinach, kale, matcha, green powders, food coloring, frosting, candy, drinks and even certain supplements can change the color of your stool.

But there’s another reason I pay attention to green p**p: transit time.

Bile starts out green. Normally, as stool moves through your digestive tract, bile gets broken down and the color changes from green to brown.

If things are moving through your intestines too quickly — for example with diarrhea, loose stool, an irritated gut or increased gut motility — bile may not have enough time to fully change color.

That can leave your p**p looking green.

So if I were trying to figure out WHY someone had green stool, I’d ask:

→ Did you recently eat a lot of leafy greens or foods with green/blue coloring?
→ Is your p**p loose or watery?
→ Are you going more often than usual?
→ Did the color change suddenly?
→ Are you having cramping, nausea or diarrhea with it?
→ Is it happening once, or over and over again?

One green p**p by itself usually isn’t something to panic about.

But persistent green stool — especially with ongoing diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, blood, weight loss or a significant change in bowel habits — is worth discussing with your healthcare provider.

Your p**p color is just one more clue about what may be happening with digestion, bile and gut motility.

Follow me for more Embarrassing Gut Health Questions No One Wants to Ask — because yes, even the COLOR of your p**p can tell you something.

10/15/2026

If you sit on the toilet long enough, especially leaning forward or putting pressure through the backs of your thighs, you can temporarily compress nerves and reduce circulation to your legs.

That pins-and-needles, numb, “my foot is asleep” feeling can be even more noticeable if you’re straining, scrolling on your phone, or sitting there waiting for something to happen.

Your bathroom rule: go when you have the urge, don’t force it, and don’t turn the toilet into a chair.

If you regularly need 15–20 minutes to have a bowel movement, that’s the bigger clue I’d pay attention to.

Save this for the next time your legs go numb on the toilet — and follow for more embarrassing gut health questions no one wants to ask.

10/14/2026

If coffee makes you p**p almost immediately, you’re probably feeling your gastrocolic reflex at work.

The gastrocolic reflex is the natural communication between your stomach and your colon. When food or liquid enters your stomach, your digestive system can send a signal to your colon to start moving stool along.

Coffee may make that signal even stronger.

That’s why some people can be only a few sips into their morning coffee and suddenly feel an intense urge to p**p.

Coffee can stimulate bowel movements because of several things happening at once:

* caffeine can increase digestive activity
* warm liquids may help stimulate the gut
* coffee itself contains compounds that can increase colon activity
* your gastrocolic reflex is often naturally strongest in the morning

And surprisingly, decaf coffee can make you p**p too, so caffeine isn’t always the whole story.

If you regularly experience coffee-triggered diarrhea, loose stools, abdominal cramping, bowel urgency, IBS symptoms, or an urgent need to p**p after eating or drinking, it may be worth looking deeper at your overall gut function.

Your bowel movements can tell you a lot about your digestion, gut motility, colon health, and digestive health.

Pay attention to your patterns. They matter.

Save this if coffee is basically your morning laxative. ☕️💩

10/14/2026

If your stool looks soft, ragged, fluffy, or like it’s breaking apart in the toilet instead of coming out as one smooth, formed piece, it usually means the stool is holding more water than usual.

That can happen for a few different reasons:

• Faster transit time — stool is moving through your colon too quickly for enough water to be absorbed
• Diet changes — especially suddenly increasing fiber, fruit, vegetables, or magnesium
• Stress or nervous system changes — your gut motility can speed up when you’re anxious or under pressure
• Food intolerances or digestive irritation
• Recent illness, antibiotics, or changes in your gut microbiome
• Too much of certain supplements that loosen the stool

One fluffy bowel movement once in a while usually isn’t a big deal.

What I pay attention to is the pattern.

If your stool is consistently fluffy, loose, urgent, greasy, unusually pale, or accompanied by pain, bloating, weight loss, or other digestive changes, it’s worth looking deeper.

Try this: think back over

10/14/2026

Are you actually getting 35 grams of fiber a day?

Most people aren’t even close.

If you’re not intentionally paying attention to fiber, you may be getting around 15 grams a day. I generally have my clients shoot for closer to 35 grams daily to better support gut health, bowel regularity, and the microbiome.

Fiber helps:

✔️ Support healthy, complete bowel movements
✔️ Feed beneficial gut bacteria
✔️ Support microbiome diversity
✔️ Keep waste moving through the digestive tract
✔️ Support healthy blood sugar and cholesterol

And here’s the important part: eating a few vegetables every day doesn’t necessarily mean you’re getting enough.

That’s why I created this post — to show you what 35 grams of fiber can actually look like in real food.

Think berries, avocado, beans, lentils, vegetables, sweet potatoes, nuts, seeds, and other high-fiber whole foods.

If you’re currently eating very little fiber, increase slowly. Jumping from 15 grams to 35 grams overnight can leave you feeling more bloated and uncomforta

Address

Princeton, NJ
08540–08544

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Constipation Code posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category