First trimester constipation hell....

[JellyCurls]

What can you take in first trimester to cure constipation? I have tried fruit, water, fruit juice, exercise but nothing is helping. I have syrup of figs in house but can't find out if its safe to take or not. Any ideas?

[HavingALittleFaithBaby]

Probiotics are the only thing that really helped me, can't face yoghurts but managed Yakult ok.

[muffins]

Prune juice + lactulose should fix it :-)

[muffins]

Ps I tried syrup of figs once which did work but also had kiwi with skin on, water, prune juice and about ten million other things the same day so not sure if figs were the key!

[RightUpMyRue]

Sorry if this is TMI but it works.

Finger or thumb up your fanjo and help the poo out manually. It may take a couple of times to get out all which has got stuck but finger up the fanjo has to be better than up the bumhole or not going at all.

Apologies for rather graphic post but you're PG, get used to fanjo related stuff

Good luck. It will hopefully get better soon.

[JellyCurls]

Would never have thought of that right... will give the figs first though if you don't mind. Can you buy lactolose over the counter or do you need a prescription?

[muffins]

Over counter, I drank oodles of the stuff with a big prune juice every night and used to go most days ( and I was pretty bad before this)

Some pharmacists get their knickers in a twist and have to read the paperwork to check its safe. You could get prescription tho, be free then :-) my midwife got me one from gp for first load

[Chloebw]

I have the opposite problem....it's awful!

[bonzo77]

Movicol

[Mutley77]

Lactulose - my chemist said that was fine to take regularly for as long as you need it.

[Kilkers]

I was prescribed Movicol, it tastes absolutely horrendous as it's full of sodium so tastes salty (even if you have it in squash or juice). Was 7 weeks pg at the time so feeling quite nauseous anyway and really couldn't stomach it. Have now been prescribed Lactulose and it's far more bearable.

[Springforward]

I find that iron supplements cause this problem for me in pregnancy - if you're taking Pregnacare/ own brand version but can do without the iron, have you thought about switching to a folic acid + vitamin D supplement instead? Worked for me....

[phoenixrose314]

Iron supplement and orange juice - worked for me (ish).

Nothing will totally solve it though... but I promise it will go away in the second trimester!


.... (and then come back with a vengeance at the end of the third!!!!!)

[AdmiralData]

Prune juice. Lots. Don't leave the house :)

[TheCatIsUpTheDuff]

Prune juice is working for me. From one extreme to the other... My friend's advice, though, was not to suffer and get to the Dr as soon as it becomes a problem.

[Sunnysummer]

Agree with TheCat - definitely worth mentioning to your doctor early. Without wanting to be too depressing, in my experience this symptom got worse over the 2nd and 3rd trimester...

Jogging and other exercise helps me lots, and after I had to go on extra iron and got really blocked , the doctor recommended magnesium salts (aka milk of magnesia), which has been my saviour. I don't use it all that often, but if it has been a few days they help to restart things effectively but gently and without all the gripes I get from fruit-based ones - personally I also only need about 1/2 to 1/3 of the recommended dose, so you can start small! You can get it from the pharmacy over the counter.

[Discolite]

Once the initial (ahem) blockage has cleared make a point of eating prunes/dried figs every day and drink a lot of water. If that doesn't help, go to the docs! My mum is still having trouble with piles she got when pregnant with me 32 years ago!

[space21]

Fybogel is your friend. Also prune juice/dried prunes very effective too. I was advised to elevate my feet on the toilet to "help it along" and it was quite effective.
My sympathies.

[PaulaPixie]

Yes it's a nightmare isn't it - Fybogel worked for me too, and some gentle manipulation........