Embarassing question about constipation
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Topic: Embarassing question about constipation
Posted By: Moochiecat
Subject: Embarassing question about constipation
Date Posted: 22 October 2008 at 9:48pm
Hi all, very embarassed about this post  , but I have to ask - I'm 15.5 weeks and am sooooooo terribly constipated all the time. I'm only managing to go about twice a week. I am eating more kiwi fruit than I can bear, I've tried prune juice and kiwicrush also, right now I'd just about try anything. I can sit on the loo for ages and nothing happens, apart from my stomach starting to hurt.
Does anyone know of any natural or safe remedies. Thanks in advance. |
Replies:
Posted By: cuppatea
Date Posted: 22 October 2008 at 9:54pm
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Make sure you are drinking lots of water and eating lots of fibre. You can also buy kiwijuice, its not as acidic as kiwi crush and it tastes yummy.
Perhaps talk to your midwife or phamacist about using lactulose, is just a non soluble sugar that helps hold water in the gut and helps you go so it should be safe, but probably not a good idea to become reliant on something like that. Oh and exercise helps the bowels as well, so if you aren't exercising at the moment try to get out for at least 30 mins of walking, it will make a huge difference. ------------- 
 
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Posted By: Mum2L
Date Posted: 22 October 2008 at 9:58pm
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You need to get more insoluble fibre in your diet. Kiwifruit and prunes are high in soluble fibre, but it is the insoluble fibre that helps solids love more efficiently through your digestive system. They stick more effectively to the gut.
Also making sure you drink enough water during the day helps as well. Since you are in your second trimester, your water intake increases quite a bit. Not having enough fluid can make it harder to poop. Also, are you taking Elevit or an iron supplement? These can also make you constipated. Thompsons Organic Iron is great, as it does not make you constipated. I know many women complain about Elevit and Ferrogard-C making them constipated. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: Mrs_B
Date Posted: 22 October 2008 at 10:06pm
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I don't have anything to add to what the other girls have said but since we are talking bowels I thought I'd add my question
Does anyone else get really bad bloating?? I get it really bad at night, it's so uncomfy it wakes me up and my stomach swells up like I'm 6mths pregnant! -------------  
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Posted By: Mum2L
Date Posted: 22 October 2008 at 10:21pm
Mrs_B - hehe, yes, I get bad bloating I feel sorry for DH, as I fart sooo much during the night, without realising it. He always says "do you realise that you fart at least 6 times a night"..... I just blame the baby kicking my bowels 
But by morning, my stomach is back to its normal size.... I just find that after I have dinner, I get really bad bloating... doesn't affect me during the day. ------------- http://lilypie.com">
http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: peachy
Date Posted: 23 October 2008 at 7:13am
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I totally recommend Benefibre. I had to use it my whole pregnancy and its totally safe and works brilliantly! ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: blondy
Date Posted: 23 October 2008 at 7:24am
I swear by bran on my cereal every morning!  It's the only thing that kept me going during pregnancy... -------------  
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Posted By: febbabe
Date Posted: 23 October 2008 at 7:42am
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I find exercise is really good, guess it gets everything moving! Drinking lots of water during the day and stewed apple on cereal is also a help |
Posted By: kmarie
Date Posted: 23 October 2008 at 1:30pm
My constitution is inclined that way anyway, and in the early days of my pregnancy I ended up severely constipated. 
Have you tried eating kiwifruit and orange? For some reason I seem to find that the citrus combined with the kiwi is quite effective - it's now part of my daily diet. I usually have 2 kiwifruit and one orange in a sitting. Along with prunes, dried apricots seemed to help while I was pregnant. The dr tried me on metamucil and lactulose, but I gave up on both because they seemed to increase rather than decrease the problem. In the end I just had to do what I could and try to relax about it - the prob is that with constipation, the more wound up you are about it, the bigger the problem becomes. Oh, and give yourself plenty of time when you pay a visit to the ladies room - sometimes it's worth taking a good book in with you so that you give your gut the time it needs! Be careful not to try to push too hard cuz it's not worth the risk of hemharroids (sp.?)
Hope this helps!! ------------- 
twins in heaven Oct07 Is 40:11 "He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart." |
Posted By: kriss
Date Posted: 23 October 2008 at 3:07pm
I was told by my dr to have vit c to help absorb iron when taking it, and not to have any caffiene or tea for 2 hours after to give it time to absorb. She also recommended sprinkling a teaspoon or two of ground linseed over cereal in the morning to avoid constipation, and along with 5 prunes a day has worked for me  ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
 Little Angel, April 10
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Posted By: Ella1
Date Posted: 23 October 2008 at 7:35pm
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Moochiecat, I feel so sorry for you. It's horrible.
There's little I can add to what's been said already. But do talk to you midwife. Despite taking kiwicrush, lots of fibre, prunes, drinking heaps and regular excercise (oh and I did take the Thompsons organic iron) I got so constipated I started throwing up, had severe cramps and could barely eat for 4 days (just a few pieces of fruit) . My mw prescribed me lactulose (a laxative) that I took for several days to loosen things up. I now eat 5 or 6 dried prunes (soaked in hot water for a few minutes) every morning before breakfast. I also switched to liquid iron (Floradix) and it seems to work. I have recently noticed though that whenever I eat meat I can't go the next day. Oh I've stopped taking kiwi crush. I know everybody raves about it and I like the taste, but it doesn't seem to work for me. I tried it several times. Good luck, I hope you feel better soon! |
Posted By: busymum
Date Posted: 23 October 2008 at 8:40pm
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Cutting down on breads and pastas can help too, depending on how your body usually deals with those foods. ------------- |
Posted By: Shezamumof3
Date Posted: 23 October 2008 at 9:08pm
I had this problem at around 15 weeks aswell, it totally sucks  . I just found lots of water and fruit and bran helped and like busymum said, cut out breads and pasta if you can cos they are bad for bunging you up.------------- |
Posted By: Moochiecat
Date Posted: 23 October 2008 at 9:30pm
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Wow what alot of replies!! Thanks everyone, great advise in there. I am on Elevit so I will ask my OB for a replacement, I think the exercise bit should also help - as at present I dont walk at night, mind you I'm a big walker and ants in your pants during the day at work. But I thnk I'll start at nightly 30 minute walk with Dh - will be a nice chance to talk to Dh without having to compete with golf or rugby or whatever else is on sky sport.
thanks once again everyone, its really lovely to come home and see people are here to help. And god knows everyone at work wouldnt want me asking about poos!! he he |
Posted By: LG
Date Posted: 24 October 2008 at 6:02pm
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Im eating heaps of prunes and dried apricots and trying to drink lots of water but think i might start nightly walks too to try help -------------  Angel Baby Aug '12, Feb '13 |