It sounds to me that your bowels slowing down is causing you problems.
The best things I've found for getting the bowels moving are fruit smoothies and LBB. The LBB I use is Barefoot's and I love it. It's gentle and wonderful, it works, and makes me feel soooo much better. I tried psyllium in the past but don't use it anymore, as I think it scratches the intestinal walls. I tried Miracle-Mineral-Supplement in the past too, but now I think it may be dangerous. I still think it's still good for cleaning though.
Good luck with your snow shovelling. I can relate, there's lots of snow here too. Looks nice and Christmassy.