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Can Constipation Cause Nausea? Yes, and Here’s What You Can Do

Written by Dr. Michael Ruscio, DC on March 29, 2025

Written by Dr. Michael Ruscio, DC on March 29, 2025 — Reviewed by Hilary Watts

• Constipation Overview|
• Can Constipation Cause Nausea?|
• Quick Relief|
• Long-Term Relief|

If you’re constipated and end up with an uneasy feeling in your stomach, you may be wondering: Can constipation cause nausea? 

Yes, it can, but the reason isn’t yet fully understood. It could be that stool buildup in the intestines causes bloating, stomach pain, and fullness, leading to nausea. Or a sluggish digestive system may allow food to back up in the stomach, causing queasiness.

Constipation is a problem we tackle quite frequently in the clinic. No matter the root cause, we have many strategies for helping our clients find immediate and long-term relief from both constipation and nausea. 

Let’s take a look at what causes constipation and how nausea factors in. Then, I’ll get into the natural remedies we use to keep the digestive system on track.  

Constipation Overview

We’ve all probably had times in life when we couldn’t have a bowel movement—even isolated incidents of this can be maddening. So, daily bowel movements are not only essential for healthy detoxification but also for quality of life. 

Most of the time, depending on the cause, things get back on track fairly quickly. But for about 15% of the US population, having three or fewer bowel movements a week is commonplace 1. 

In addition to irregularity, constipation can make you go to the bathroom less often and cause difficulty when you do. It may lead to straining, dry or hard stools, and a feeling that you haven’t fully emptied your bowels.

What are the Symptoms of Constipation?

Along with the above common symptoms, someone with infrequent bowel movements may also experience 1:

• Blood in the toilet or on toilet paper after wiping (from straining during bowel movements)
• Hemorrhoids
• Abdominal pain
• Nausea and vomiting
• Reduced or poor appetite
• Unexplained weight loss
• Inability to pass gas
• Feeling the need to use a finger or other tool to get stool out
• Continual or frequent urge to poop (tenesmus)

What Causes Constipation?

Constipation can result from a number of different factors 1 2 3. For many of our clients, diet and lifestyle are the culprits. But other possible causes of constipation include certain medical and intestinal conditions or medications. 

Diet and Lifestyle-Related Causes of Constipation

• Inadequate dietary fiber intake
• Poor dietary habits (eating too quickly or grazing between meals)
• Poor bowel habits (not pooping when you need to)
• Not drinking enough fluids
• Consuming too much caffeine
• Drinking too much alcohol
• Being pregnant
• Physical inactivity
• Unmanaged stress
• Psychological issues such as depression, anxiety, and eating disorders
• A change in daily routine

Intestinal and Medical Conditions That Can Cause Constipation

• Hormonal or metabolic disorders such as hypothyroidism and diabetes
• Neurological disorders such as neuropathy and Parkinson’s disease
• Myopathic (muscular) diseases such as scleroderma, myotonic dystrophy, or amyloidosis
• Genetic predisposition
• Intestinal problems
  • Bowel obstruction (blockage) from abdominal scar tissue from surgeries, hernias in the abdominal wall, or tumors
  • Fecal impaction
  • Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
  • Diverticulitis (when pouches in the wall of the small intestine bulge and become inflamed)
  • Stricture (narrowing of the intestine that can lead to intestinal obstruction)
  • GI cancer
  • Anal fissure (small tear)
  • Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
  • SIBO (methane-dominant) 
  • Dysbiosis (microbial imbalance)
  • Food intolerances 
  • Poor motility 
  • Loss of the interstitial cells of Cajal (“pacemakers” of the small and large intestine that play a major role in gut contractions and motility)

Medications That Can Cause Constipation

• Laxatives (when overused)
• Antidepressants
• Calcium channel blockers
• Opiates
• Anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
• Antacids
• Antiparkinsonian drugs
• Antidiarrheals
• Chemotherapy drugs

Is There a Link Between Constipation and Feeling Nauseous?

Nausea is an uncomfortable feeling in our stomach that signals that we might vomit. Although answering the question, ‘Can constipation cause nausea?’ isn’t straightforward, the two can and often do occur together. And the same causes of constipation listed above can also cause nausea. 

After working with countless clients in the clinic, nausea may be a side effect of constipation in a few ways:

• Slow digestion may increase gas, pressure, and a feeling of fullness.
• GI discomfort alters the messages that are sent along the gut-brain axis. 
• When your body can’t get rid of waste through bowel movements, toxins can build up and get reabsorbed into your system. 

Quick Constipation and Nausea Relief

As an integrative provider, I’m always looking to target the root causes of symptoms. But that can sometimes take a while. 

So, we’ve developed protocols to help our clients find faster relief while we’re working to identify and target the underlying causes of constipation and nausea.

Since we don’t know if or when constipation itself causes nausea, there’s not one simple, direct way to treat both when they occur at the same time. 

The following tables describe our approach for quick relief for nausea and constipation. For people struggling with both, using them in combination may be the most effective approach.

Natural Nausea Relief

Natural Constipation Relief

Research suggests both magnesium and senna are helpful for constipation 6. We’ve added aloe to our list of constipation aids because we’ve found it very helpful in the clinic, but we’re still waiting on research to confirm.

Finding Long-Term Constipation Relief

Short-term measures can be helpful when needed. However, the goal is to implement strategies for healthy, routine bowel movements. To do that, we must address the root causes of constipation.

Now that I’ve provided an overview, let me share the specifics of why we recommend these therapies, along with our specific protocols.

Water, Fiber, and Movement

Water, fiber, and movement are foundational strategies that help stool move more easily through the GI tract. But, they’re easily overlooked. For some of our clients, this low-hanging fruit is all it takes to find long-term constipation relief. 

Research tells us:

• Both regular water and mineral water may improve constipation in 32–46% of people with chronic constipation 7.
• Psyllium fiber supplements (especially at a dose of 10 grams/day) are a type of stool softener that can increase bowel movements by three per week 8, and food sources of fiber promote stool regularity 9.
• At least 2 hours of aerobic exercise and walking each week can reduce constipation 10.

Here are some high-fiber foods:

If someone isn’t completely sure of the root cause of their constipation, I recommend starting with water, fiber, and movement. 

However, if consistently drinking enough water, getting enough fiber, and moving your body with exercise doesn’t fully relieve constipation, don’t get discouraged. There are many additional therapies to try.

Stress Management

Stress is a common constipation culprit that we may not even consider. Studies show that excess stress can alter digestive tract motility 11 12 13. And a large percentage of people who have early life trauma or PTSD seem to struggle with constipation 14.

Calming stress by spending time in nature, meditating, and speaking with a professional cognitive behavioral therapist can improve the gut-brain connection and translate into more routine bowel movements.

Bacterial Overgrowths

If a bacterial overgrowth is the root cause of constipation, we tend to start with diet and probiotics first and then move on to other options if needed.

Multistrain Probiotics

Multistrain probiotics and synbiotics (prebiotics and probiotics together) can increase the number of weekly bowel movements. For example, Lactobacillus/Bifidobacterium probiotic blends may be the most effective for improving constipation, based on the results of a meta-analysis (high-quality study of studies) 15. 

Low FODMAP Diet

Diet is a very effective strategy for many GI symptoms, including constipation. If increasing fiber and drinking plenty of water haven’t worked, a low-FODMAP diet may be the best next dietary step.

A low FODMAP diet effectively resolves bacterial overgrowth symptoms, including constipation 1 2.

A low FODMAP diet isn’t a long-term meal plan but a process we work through over the course of a few weeks to months. High FODMAP foods are removed for a period of time and then slowly reintroduced based on tolerance until we settle on a diet with lots of variety that works well.

For more help, download my printable low FODMAP diet guide.

Herbal Antimicrobials

If diet and probiotics haven’t resolved constipation, herbal antimicrobials are next on our list of therapeutics for bacterial overgrowths. Herbal antimicrobials can be at least as effective for SIBO as the antibiotic rifaximin 16. 

Our clinic is working on publishing a small clinical trial where we found herbal antimicrobials, with or without enzymes that dissolve biofilms, cleared SIBO in about 40% of our patients. That’s not too far from the 50–60% success rate of antibiotics 17 18. 

Additionally, when combined with probiotics, herbal antimicrobials may be nearly as effective as antibiotics with probiotics, which can clear SIBO 86% of the time 19.

We recommend a 2-month herbal antimicrobial protocol. The following table details our two-month antimicrobial protocol:

It’s important to speak with a healthcare professional before adding new dietary supplements.

MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane)

MSM is a high dose of sulfur found in certain foods. It may have antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. Dr. Kathleen Janel pioneered its use, but there isn’t research on its efficacy for digestive health yet. 

However, Dr. Ilana Gurevich has run experiments in her clinic that suggest it’s effective at treating bloating and constipation. And we’ve been using it with some clients in the clinic with success.

Our recommended protocol:

• Start with half a teaspoon of MSM and gradually increase up to 2 tbsp (30 g) per day
• Stop after 2 months 
• If symptoms return, take a maintenance dose of one-half to 1 teaspoon

Elemental Diet

An elemental diet is an anti-inflammatory liquid meal replacement shake. Because the formula is predigested, low in fiber, and contains nutrients that are easily absorbed, it allows your gastrointestinal system a chance to rest and repair. 

Elemental dieting may clear bacterial overgrowths even more effectively than antibiotics, possibly by 20:

• Starving bacteria of nutrients
• Stimulating the gallbladder activity that reduces small intestinal bacteria
• Boosting the gut-associated immune system
• Directly eliminating microbes

Our article, The Liquid Elemental Diet: Rest, Reset, and Restore, provides a step-by-step process for implementing an elemental diet.

Prokinetics

If working through diet, lifestyle, probiotics, herbal antimicrobials, and an elemental diet hasn’t remedied constipation caused by bacterial overgrowths, we may consider adding prokinetics.

Prokinetics can help stool move through the GI tract more easily. They have been found to effectively treat constipation when laxatives, diet, and lifestyle changes haven’t worked 21. 

Prescription prokinetics are available and should be used under the supervision of a physician. Natural, over-the-counter options like Motility Support are also available, but I still recommend working with a provider.

Structural Support

If structural causes (altered anatomy in the gastrointestinal tract that allows gut contents to get stuck) are at the heart of constipation, abdominal massage and biofeedback therapies can be great additions. 

Abdominal Massage

Research shows that abdominal massage can improve constipation 22. Here are instructions for this home remedy that doesn’t take much time and is easy to implement: 

• Lie flat on your back.
• Using your fingertips, start a gentle circular motion at the lower right side of the abdomen.
• Continue while moving up to the bottom of the ribcage.
• Then, head directly left to the other side.
• Then, move down to stop at the lower left side.
• Start over and repeat for 5–10 mins 1–3 times per day.

Biofeedback

Biofeedback therapy, guided by a pelvic floor specialist, can also help with constipation by training you to contract your abdominal muscles and relax the anal sphincter at the same time 23. 

Make Constipation-Induced Nausea a Thing of the Past

Can constipation cause nausea? Yes, it can, but there are many natural strategies for both short and long-term relief. 

Ginger extract can be very effective for getting rid of nausea fairly quickly. And magnesium citrate, milk of magnesia, senna, and aloe are helpful for short-term constipation relief.

Nausea that’s associated with constipation can be remedied by targeting the root causes of constipation. Addressing insufficient water and fiber intake, lack of movement, excess stress, bacterial overgrowths, and structural issues can mean long-term relief.  

If you would like a more comprehensive step-by-step guide for addressing gut health, check out my book, Healthy Gut, Healthy You. 

If trying the above tips hasn’t led to the expected improvement, we’d be honored to assist you in your digestive health journey—contact us at the Ruscio Institute for Functional Health for an appointment.

The Ruscio Institute has developed a range of high-quality formulations to help our clients and audience. If you’re interested in learning more about these products, please click here. Note that there are many other options available, and we encourage you to research which products may be right for you. The information on DrRuscio.com is for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.