ridiculously constipated

i have never been this constipated in my life!!! i started antidepressants 2 weeks ago which have blocked me up even more so. not last night the night b4 i took a senna laxative because my belly was very tender and i hadnt done a decent poo in almost 2 weeks. i was very sore and feeling horrible. the next day i had so much relief.
i have a decent diet but i know i can increase my fibre, but i find that if i take to much i get constipated again.

what does everyone else do to try and keep them regular other than the obvious fibre and water??

are you taking iron tablets as well hun? they will bind u up b4 u can say constipation! try eating lots of dried fruit hun ;)

Tia- poor you, i hate being constipated, hate it HATE it!!! I just have weetbix every morning, lots of water and fruit. But my sister had the metamucil fibre caps and she took them all the way through her pregnancy and found it helped heaps.
Good luck. I know it feels yukky :)

Oh you poor bugger!! (that was my first thought when I read the title)

As you said youself... the usual fibre and water thing go along way to staying regular...
I try and get it in ways like a Yummy Helgas Wholemeal or Soy and linseed bread... Weetbix with banana and honey...mmmmmmmm :P
Green veggies are a good one also... About 3 nights a week we have Frozen veggies (broc, beans ect) and after I go shopping we will always eat fresh veggies... Much of a muchness I reckon.

Good ol' metamucile as well... they have an orange one that tastes like Vitamine C tablets... Dont know about anyone else but how yummy are the vitamin C tabs!! I could eat them like lollies! he he he...

Hope that helps and that I havent just rattle of the usualy stuff....
Hope you feel better soon!
xox

no havent taken any iron. i have lactose intolerance so milk products usually set me off when i am chockas. even that didnt work. i had weetbix and cows milk and it didnt make a difference. i also have IBS (all this thanks to my 1st child :( ) so my digestive system is righteously screwed lol.
fibrecaps might be a good idea. i used metamucil when i came out of hospital with my 1st but it was like drinking sludge. eww

I've been taking very strong iron tablets for about 5 months now. Iron tablets are terrible for constipation but I've been taking a combination vitamin at the same time of Primrose, Fish Oil & v.E. I've not experienced any constipation whilst on iron tablets so put my help down to this additional vitamin tablet but obviously can't prove it. I've taken iron tablets before with nothing else and have been constipated so that's why I assume it to be this tablet.

My DD also has issues with being regular and since giving her one dried fig a day, she's come right. Kiwifruit, Pears and Apples (last two you can grate and mix in blender for a drink) are all meant to help as well.

hmm ok. i ahve been eating lots of fruit (its my thing when im pregnant so it seems) but that vitamin looks like a good idea. sorry, im a newbie but what is DD? delightful daughter? lol

when I was pregnant I was severly constipated as well, I took metamucel and drank a lot of pear juice....a lot of laxatives shouldnt be taken in pregnancy but coloxyl drops or tablets that you can buy over the counter at the chemist are safe. Hope it gives you some relief soon nothing worse than being constipated and pregnant

Hehehehe - just a short cut - sorry.
DD - I always thought it was dear daughter
DS - is dear son.

Hi Tia
Try coloxyl amd senna tablets. You can get them from the chemist
I suggest that you take 2 in the morning and 1 at night.
If after 2 days nothing has happened then take 2 in the morning and 2 at night.
Make sure you are also taking lots of water around 3 litres a day.

yes i used senna tablets and they worked. im still a little bloated and feel a bit average but its a lot better. its just preventing having to use them again. im sick of swallowing pills!! haha if it means staying regular its ok, but to go thru a whole day of sitting on the loo, ill pass (no pun intended).
i have a funny thing with water. i cant drink it by itself as it tastes like im licking metal and makes me nauseas :( ill have to buy lots of lemons

Oh poor darling, it's awful isn't it? :( I hope you can "regulate" soon!

Aw, Tia, so sorry you're going through this. What about good ole prunes?
It must be tough getting enough water into you when you feel crook drinking it... A twist of lemon sounds like a lovely idea. The water is so important particularly if you're upping your fibre intake. The fibre won't help unless you've got the fluids as well.
Hope it gets better soon. :hug:

I also had terrible constipation when I was pregnant. I think it was worsened by the iron tablets I was taking. So on the advice of my ob I stopped taking those and started taking Floradix (a liquid iron) for my iron deficency. I also took psylluim husks in my porridge, had soy and linseed bread and heaps of fruit and veg! Unfortunately it was still a bit of a battle. I only wished I had been warned about taking the iron tablets before I started taking them. Hope your feeling better soon.

Another thing that might help is a slight massage on your lower abdomen. Press gently with your thumbs just inside your hipbones in a circular motion for a minute or two. It can help. I know its bad for me, but sometimes I'll have a cup of reeeeally strong black coffee, boy howdy that does it.

hahaha yeah coffee doesnt work good with me, strong coffee makes me bounce off walls! i do find that massage helps when im mildly constipated but nothing was helping but the poo-pills lol. since i took the senna laxatives there has been some regularity established thank god. i went all out on dairy products yesterday (it was my bday so i spoiled myself hehe) and thats brought some movement about without anything too uncomfortable.
snacks...after my csection a midwife at the hospital was nagging me to drink prune juice. i had two sips and it was vile!! put me way off! im kinda scared to eat them now lol
i have been eating much more lately so ive been able to incorporate lots of fruits. hopefully it will start to all mesh together and establish some regularity!! *rubs hands together*

Great, Tia. I hope your bunged-up days are... ahem... *behind* you :lol:

its been 6 days and things are much much better!! i have a lot less bloating now so i can actually see my pregnancy, rather than my blocked up belly hahaha!! last night i had the belly on show in public in a club!! people noticed 'oh wow are you having another baby??' it was nice because normally i tell them and they just say, oh yeah pull the other one haha. i think the baby is a lot happier not having a big weight squashing and pushing it around :)

Glad to hear things are loosening up for you (Oh I'm just so funny arent I :rolleyes:) I had the same problem over Xmas, went to the chemist and he advised I go on Senna tablets temporarily which I did for 2 days and still nothing. I've been taking Metamucil Caps ever since and I'm more regular now then before I was pregnant.

Like you I have IBS and my doctor told me to take Metamucil (drink) but my stomach would gurgle contantly and wake me up in the middle of the night so I had to stop. I found the taking 3 caps a day keeps me regular without the heavy gurgling. Like you I'm sick of taking tablets, I'm chewing 5 a night (going from none to 5 is a lot for me) so I am going to try Fibresure (sp?). This is the powdered fibre that you mix in with your food.... that way I'm back down to taking just 1 tablet a night (Fefol). Hope it works just as well.

I have lots of fresh fruit and vegies every day, even if we are having something for dinner like pasta I'll cook some vegies for my self. I take a fibre suplement and drink loads of water. If I get sick of water I have watered down fruit juice or cordial, watered down enough so that its just got some taste to it.
But I find if I miss one day then thats it so I have to make an effort to remember.

It's important to try and keep yourself regular. Straining when going to the toilet can cause haemarroids and anal fissures - both of which can be very very painful!

I have to take matamucil every day, and for the week i was in hospital was having it around 3 times a day until i first went - didn't want to have any bad experiences especially with stitches in.

But seriously, take senna or metamucil or lactalose or agarol or something - just don't let yourself get constipated, because fissures really hurt!

Hi Tia,
I have irritalbe bowel syndrome which is enough in it's slef but now that i am pregnant it is worse, it's never been this bad, what i do is eat uncle toby's fibre mix and drink heaps of water and friut and thats helps but i think that the fibre mix is what gets it all going. i hope it gets better i know it's not fun. Mine can go from one to the other in the matter of hours.
So good luck.
i feel your pain , i really do

I have just found a new fix. It works wonders for me!!!

Cabbage - a small amount steamed with my dinner has made sure that I am as good as clockwork every day. I know its one of those veg that a lot of people don't like so maybe it isnt an option for a few of you but for myself I haven't had to eat a bucketload for it to work, it is just a small serving in with the rest of my veg.

oooo i love cabbage!ill give that a go! baked beans once a day are helping too

I have found a museli mix with lots of seeds in it has been fantastic. It has sesame seeds, pinenuts, pumpkin seeds plus coconut, sultanas, dates and dried apricots. I've gone with a toasted version because the raw just tastes like cardboard!! But one bowl a day and I haven't been having any problems, but I do notice if I miss it for a day or two!!! ;)

Hi tia-
With my first i was that bad i wasnt going for 2-3 weeks at a time. I stopped the iron tabs but still no movement... I tried metimucil and hated the taste, tried the fibre caps etc "increase fibre" if anyone else ate as much fibre as i do they's have the opposite prob... I found the only thing that worked was what Allen mentioned The senna tabs from the chemist- there a small pill (think you said you tried them) i think there fab... Had to use them through my preg and after (hurt to poop after bubs was born)

Its the worst thing possible and wouldnt wish it on my worst enemy...

Hope things work out hun and good luck

I had terrible constipation a week ago - I got stuck on the loo 'in progress' for 40 minutes!

The next day I did lots of internet research, and with the help of women like us and my pharmicist got relief within six hours:

Prunes
Pear juice (I found apple & pear juice had the highest pear content)
Licorice
High-fibre breakfast cereal
Senokot, which is a stool softener rather than a laxative and costs less than $4! The box says to take up to four a day, so I took one tablet every four hours until I got a result. Only had to take two in total!

Hope this can provide relief to some of my plugged-up sisters.

I am on iron tablets (have been for 3 weeks now) and expected to get bound up but it hasn't happened. I drink loads of water throughout the day and drink a large glass of water whilst eating a meal and I think this helps.