I make sure to eat a huge salad everyday and also a grapefruit. I do my best to focus on a high fiber diet (whole wheat pasta, things like that.) I know it is really really really tough though! (Pardon the pun!)
ETA: I thought of one more thing- drinking sparkling water or sparkling juice really helps me digest! I recommend trying it! I also have to eat small amounts of food at a time or it is like my system gets overwhelmed- I can only digest a little at a time.
You may need to see your OB for a prescriptions for something stronger, there are women on the board who have been hospitalized for this same reason. I was having issues with this also but stool softeners, lots of water and a cup of tea in the morning usually helped. As long as I gave myself some time and wasn't all rushed. Sorry I don't have better ideas, hope it gets better for you soon.
Apples seriously....and walking....if you have been constipated for more then 3 days though, you need to talk to your doctor. I know it sucks, not fun at all.
I suffered a LOT in my first trimester... What worked for me: fruits (for the fiber), a cup of coffee each morning, TONS of water, exercise, and my two lifesavers were Colace stool softener and Fleet glycerin suppositories. My OB cleared both of them but you might give yours a call in case they feel differently :) Also, you might try a prenatal without iron for a bit. Iron can increase constipation.
I had a terrible time with this during my first trimester. Get some "plum smart" juice...that is what finally did it for me! I second the recommendations for apples and water.
Also, my prenatals do not contain iron, which was helpful...I have IBS and tend toward constipation so it was just easier for me to try to get in extra iron with foods.
I also tried different dried fruits when prunes just weren't cutting it anymore...for some reason, dried cherries with a ton of water did the trick.
But at this point, a call to your doctor/nurse line is in order!
I also take zofran and have been having the same problems. I upped the colace to 3 a day, tried miralax, and sometimes use fleet enemas and glycerin suppositories. My doctor told me to try to take breaks from the meds to help w the constipation, but that was making me just way too miserable.
even with all of those measures, I still go rarely, but after taking the breaks from the meds, I decided that for me the misery of the extreme nausea was worse, so i just try a glycerin suppository or an enema when I have an 2 hour window free. Tip on the suppositories: you have to keep one in for as long as possible, like an hour, for if to work with zofran. Put one in, and lay down on the bed for an hour.
good luck!
LOL at "a cup of poop total." LOL. I've never heard poop measured like that.
I went through the same thing in my first trimester. In fact, for one doctor's appointment I was so constipated that when I went back a few weeks later for a checkup I was three pounds LIGHTER. My doctor asked me if I was eating and I said yes, I just hadn't gone to the bathroom in days before my last appointment. Embarrassing.
I second the Colace. And lots of water. Here's hoping there's some relief for you as the weeks wear on!
@kelly105: Ugh... I experienced this for the first time today... I empathize with you... and I may have to try the suggestions of the ladies
I'm so sorry you are going through this. I know how hard it is. I started having problems when I was told that I was anemic so I had to take iron supplements. The iron pills made me miserable. Also, if you are taking iron supplement, they have what they call slow release iron which is easier on your stomache.
What worked for me is adding ground flaxseed to my meals throughout the day (yogurt, unsweeten applesauce, oatmeals, eggs, salad, etc...) I would have about 4-6 tablespoons of ground flaxseed daily. Also, make sure to drink a lot of fluids.
You can find ground flaxseed at specialty markets such as whole foods market, trader joes, the nuggets, etc...I use Bob's Red Mill whole ground flaxseed meal. You can buy whole flaxseeds but then you will have to ground them yourself so it is easier to buy it ground.
Good luck and I hope you feel better soon.
Well i even had a laparoscopy because it was causing me bad pains. Linen oil and lots of probiotics. I had pains for 1 year, did different kind of tests, skin allergies. untill i started to take these things last month after laparoscopy, it did magic, no pain, no constipation. I'm taking a probiotic in poland which is called Day Joy, you drink it, it taste awfull though, but it worths. Now, i don't know if you will ever find this one in US but buy any of them which are in the bottle, liquid, the one in pills do not help as much.
@Sweethart: I actually have an appt with my OB tomorrow. I am about 13-1/2 weeks now and my nausea is tapering off. So hopefully I can stop taking the nausea meds. That should help.
I totally plan on turning my back to the scale tomorrow. I feel so heavy. I bet I'm carrying 10 pounds of poop. But still, I don't want to see a +10 on the scale when it should only be +2.
@Cady: i was never pregnant and i'm not but i had constipations that were staying for 6 days and nothing helped me, only bowel irrigation. 3 days is not that bad :) Her doctor won't tell her more than what we advise, laxatives mostly, all of them advise that, your bowel will get used to it in just a few days and it won't work anymore. it also depends of your nervous system, if you're adding the stress it makes it even harder. I personally got over it with linen oil and drinkable probiotics. It helps, no need to irrigate my bowel anymore. lol :) i know that's cruel, but i was feeling happy feeling empty :D
@legatorain: Thanks for the tip. My problems started the same way. About 7 years ago I started taking iron supplements because I was borderline anemic. It totally screwed me up and I never got back on track. About 4 years ago a gastroenternologist diagnosed me with IBS. I am more prone to constipation and I've always just 'dealt with it'... but things are getting really bothersom now.
I have never tried flaxseed. I will give that a whirl! Couldn't hurt!
I say 3 days because that is what my doctor said. I should have specified, sorry.
I was going to recommend some exercise as that usually helps me. But your case sounds severe enough to warrant a doctor's visit. But consider incorporating exercise into your week.
I am still dealing with pretty severe constipation at week 15 of my pregnancy. I usually go every 5 days or so. Coffee helps, but not always, and not as much as it used to. Going for a run helps. Metamucil seems to do absolutely nothing, but I keep taking it anyway. I'm worried it will get even worse if I stop! All the classic things that are supposed to help keep you regular - prunes, a high fibre diet, drinking TONS of water, eating fruit, all bran - have done absolutely frigging nothing. Coffee and running are the only things that have helped at all.
apparently the progesterone causes the intesetines to stop contracting, so im not sure if laxatives wil help you much. the only thing that works for me is exercise. the motion of walking/jogging is the only thing that gets my poo moving. ive never ever beeen constipated before, i am allergic to dairy and it used to give me diarrhea, but now it doesnt matter how much i consume i still cant poop daily without going for a walk. yes doing everythign else might make it easier, but it wont necessarily make you poop. GL and seriously all it takes is a half hour walk a day. better than feeling like your cooking a giant crap.
@Cady: Ohh come on you don't have to say sorry to me :) i didn't mean to sound harsh or something. I was just remembering my "cruel" times and indeed doctors do not really do you anything else than giving laxatives, but i was never pregnant so constipation might mean something else in pregnancy.
Exercise is the one thing I have been slacking on recently. I've been so busy at work, and so exhausted from pregnancy, it's really hard for me to get the motivation to put one foot infront of the other. I guess I need to make it a priority.
Bumping this. I'm 6w3d. I'm not even going to admit how many days it's been since I've been able to go. I was up all night with the WORST abdominal and gas pains ever. It almost mirrored contractions. I've done so much of the above and nothing seems to be working for me.
May have to go the enema route..but also don't want to be confined to the bathroom for hours.
I totally hear you, I am also taking anti-nausea meds and am super constipated. I started bleeding from my cervix because I was straining so hard to try and poop--terrifying! I am now on 3 stool softeners a day and NOTHING still.
CALL YOUR DOCTOR before you do this, but I ended up doing an enema a few days ago because I seriously hadn't had a substantial bowel movement in 3-ish weeks. It got SO MUCH stool out without me straining really hard, I could not believe how much was inside of me. You aren't really "supposed" to do enemas when you are pregnant, but obviously not pooping for weeks is pretty serious too. Just call your doctor and ask about it TODAY, trust me, I wish I had done it sooner! I felt SO much better afterwards!!!
That being said, I am right back to being super constipated after doing the enema. I did it on Sunday and haven't had a bowel movement since. Even taking 3 stool softeners a day. UGH! This is the pits! But being so super nauseous is totally worse, so I continue taking the meds.
ETA: I tried everything, too. Exercise, fiber supplements that just made my abdominal cramping worse, drinking tons of water, prune juice, everything. When my cervix started bleeding I said enough is enough and did the enema because the bleeding was so scary--I only figured out after that it was probably from me straining so hard to try and poop. Now I am just super afraid to even push at all to go because the bleeding has finally stopped.
@cowgirlace: I went to the Dr. and you were right! Same thing happened to me. The bleeding was caused by the straining and the irritation it caused. But honestly...I haven't stopped straining because my abdominal pain is SO bad from not having gone in so long. I know it's not good, probably going to result in hemroids. THAT will be a fun bridge to cross.
@KateByDesign: glad to hear it was nothing too serious, although any type of spotting/bleeding is still frightening.
This is probably more TMI but I just did a glycerin suppository--you have to hold the thing in for like an hour, but it helped me to go. I am just getting worried that I am going to get dependent on these things to go every time while I'm pregnant--that can't be very good either. But seriously trying to attack it "from the top" with stool softeners, diet, etc. just is not working and it is so frustrating! The suppository wasn't as strong as the enema, but they both suck to "insert".
OHHHHH the joys of pregnancy I keep telling myself! Haha!
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but as you can see in my post above, I was on Zofran for a long time (almost until I was 17 weeks) and the constipation never got better until I was off Zofran. Now that I'm off it--I'm back to normal!!
I had to constantly switch up what I was doing, because even the enemas stopped working after a while. I was drinking TONS of water, taking 3 colace a day, and nothing would happen for over a week, sometimes longer. When the enemas stopped working, I called my doctor back and she suggested good old fashion Milk of Magnesia.
I bought it and took the max dose--the instructions said it would work within 30 minutes-6 hours. My constipation was so severe it took 24 hours, and I had to take a second dose the next morning----but when it finally worked, IT WORKED.
It *did* make me feel nauseous, but I was nauseous all the time back then, so it was just more of the same.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel---when you are off the meds, it will go back to normal!
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I'm prone to severe constipation when I'm NOT pregnant. Now I am pregnant AND taking anti-nausea meds which block you up even more. In the past 3 weeks, I have pooped MAYBE a cup of poop total. I'm completely miserable. It's causing sharp pains in my abdomen and presistent cramps.
I have tried eating 14 prunes a day, I have tried stool softeners, I have tried Mirilax, I have tried drinking tons of water...
Please tell me what worked for you! I will try anything!