It's been three days since I... ahem....

Ok, so I'm suffering from a bit of constipation :( It's been 3 days since I've been... I'm not uncomfortable or anything, but I am terribly bloated. For the last couple of weeks things in that area haven't been normal (i'm usually a nice and easy once a day gal ;)) and I have been having trouble going and only able to go every couple of days. But it seems to be getting worse...

So before I call my OB, I thought I would consult you wise women for some good pregnancy related constipation relief. My diet is pretty high in fibre, I drink heaps of water, walk as often as I can and eat fruit (but probably could eat a bit more)...

TIA

I often find having a glass of metamucil helps gets things going even with a high fibre diet ;)

I ate a kiwi fruit every day skin and all. It worked perfectly for me. Kiwi fruit is a great one for natural constipation relief.
I chopped it up into mouthful pieces.

I use to have 2-3 prunes after work and before bed Id either released gas or been to the loo and it was much more comfortable. For me it stopped about 20 weeks.

hmmhmm I sympathise totally. Prunes for me too, but they're pretty sucky if you don't like them.
Dried Apricots to snack on?

glass of milk always worked for me :( hope you feel better soon xxx

I use artificial sweetner In my coffee, keeps me regular ;)
Good luck shifting ur poop

Benefibre. Get onto it. Best way for me - I wasn't too bad during pg but after for me was the tricky time!

Benefibre is tons better than Metamucil or Fibogel. Dissolves into water, tea, juice, anything, into nothing. No taste, no glug.

lots of fibre. Go for something sugar/additive free like plain physillium, as they can make it worse. I used to have allbran, but it's 15% sugar :wall:
Plenty of water.
Exercise.
Hope yiou have a clearout soon.

A glass of hot water can help stimulate things a little.

Oh boy, do I hear ya Miss E. So uncomfortable, you poor love.

Prunes and prune juice seem to be helping when things get backed up :)

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I ate a kiwi fruit every day skin and all. It worked perfectly for me. Kiwi fruit is a great one for natural constipation relief.
I chopped it up into mouthful pieces.

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And this is great for after birth too!!! The skin is important though - seems weird because it's furry, if you put it in water first it's a little more tolerable.

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I often find having a glass of metamucil helps gets things going even with a high fibre diet ;)

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Yeah that or I take Benefibre. I have to have a daily fibre supplement during pregnancy or I get blocked up in no time. My usual healthy diet just isn't enough!

Thanks so much ladies!

The good news is that we had a little movement at the station this morning :clap:

I've just bought some benefibre and had some in yoghurt - so easy! Thinking I will have another dose later today and see if we can clear things out. Thanks again ladies x

I actually meant to say Benefibre in my post (I have edited it now) because it's so easy to take! It's great stuff but yeah, you may need a couple of doses today. I hope it works quickly for you :D

i agree with the kiwi fruit, helped me when pg with dd

I hope you've pooed!!

A small bowl of prunes, with a glass of warm water with fresh lemon juice.

Keep a container of prunes in water in your fridge, so they soak up lots of water, I found it makes them work much better. You can drink the water then too, which also is good.

Some people get flaked bran and add it to their cereal, or just pop some in a glass of water.

And psyllium husks are also good. You can get them from health food shops.

Pear juice is apparently one of the very best things for pg and bfing ladies who need a little help in that department. Might be worth a try. Also making sure you drink plenty of fluids and as others have said, warm drinks can really help.

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Benefibre. Get onto it. Best way for me - I wasn't too bad during pg but after for me was the tricky time!

Benefibre is tons better than Metamucil or Fibogel. Dissolves into water, tea, juice, anything, into nothing. No taste, no glug.

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I love Benefibre.

I had the same problem at about 5 to 7 weeks, it didn't help that I'd had about 10 days off work, and wasn't really moving much. I found that a big bowl of apple all bran each morning helped (I think the extra sugar was good) and going back to work was a life saver. I'm a waitress so walking around for 7 hours a day was the real solution I think! 7 hours of walking a day may be excessive but I'm sure shorter bursts of exercise will be as effective :lol:

Are you taking iron supplements? If you are, I'd stop and talk to your ob about something gentler. I had constipation fairly frequently with my DD, but this time around I'm on a much lighter supplement, feel better and have had no constipation at all. If your stools have been darker lately, the excess iron could be contributing to your problems.

Lots of fruit and vegies are also good. Your bowels do change/slow down, but shouldn't be by this much. Hope you feel better soon!

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I often find having a glass of metamucil helps gets things going even with a high fibre diet ;)

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I'm with NaeNae - daily Metamucil works for me. I checked with the local pharmacist first to ensure it was okay and got the all clear.

Talk to your pharmacist to check for you, and yeah! It'll get you sorted!

No not taking any iron supplements, other than the little bit that in the Blackmores pg and bf supplement.... I too think it's really unusual, didn't have anything like this last time...

But, the benefibre is really helping. I had been taking two doses a day up until yesterday and was going once a day. But yesterday I thought I'd see how I went with one, and haven't gone yet today... Will see how the day pans out and maybe go back to two doses if there is no movement at the station.

Great that its helping getting things moving. I found that, like you, I needed two doses initially but I was eventually able to cut back to one. So you should get there! Be prepared though that you imght need to just keep taking it, for the whole pregnancy and maybe after.

I only stopped taking recently...

Hi guys, I know this thread is getting a bit old now, but just in case anyone else was interested.....I'm a pharmacist and can safely recommend lactulose in pregnancy. Most common brand name is Actilax, but there's other ones out there, that are equally as good. I noticed someone mentioned artificial sweetners. I'm sure you already know, but some of these are dangerous in pregnancy. However, the reason that some of these work is that they draw water into the intestine, just like lactulose does. So play it safe, and go with the lactulose as it is definitely safe in all stages of pregnancy. Of course the added fibre, prune juice advice etc is all excellent advice. Just wanted to add an alternative. Oh, and acidophilus can help too :)

hey luv! Benefibre, prune juice and liqurice*sp* always gets me going! Im on alot of iron at the moment so got the same trouble as you! It will pass!!! :)