Constipation- someone PLEASE help me

[HelpMeMelpHe]

I have been constipated for 7 days. That may not sound like a lot but I usually go 2/3 times a day without issue. I was away on holiday and ate crap food and basically survived on crisps and pizza as I was so hot I had no appetite.

I am currently lying on the bed in tears, I have tried:
orange juice
4 suppositories
3 x enemas
putting my feet up
relaxing
black coffee
a special vitamin tablet which DP says always makes him go
Drinking loads of water
pushing from inside my vagina
actually trying to manually remove the stool (sorry for the way TMI)
sitting in a warm bath
massaging my stomach
dulcolex

ill be ringing my GP first thing in the morning but can ANYONE suggest anything else. I’m in a total panic, I can just feel the rock hard stool, I’m in agony, shaking and it hurts to walk. To top it off I’m on my period which I hoped would get things going but nothing. Someone please help I am desperate and I’m worried my gp will just prescribe everything I’ve already tried. I’m a nurse and working all weekend and at this point I can’t see how I can go into work which would leave my team in the absolute shit (pardon the pun). I don’t know what to do 🫨🫨

OP this sounds dreadful and I’d be seeking medical advice. An old colleague once went 7 days with constipation and she needed a bowel resection. Not saying that’s what’s going on for you but better to rule out the serious stuff than keep fancying about with rubber gloves and laxatives. You’re a nurse, you must have some medical friends that could see you quickly?

I'm not pissed, I've just got fat fingers and I've had my nightly medication! Apologies also, latex not plastic. I didn't mean shove a marigold covered finger up there!

Please let us know what worked and if you’re ok.

You have my sympathy, I used to suffer when I did a low carb diet too extremely (not enough veggies!) or if I took codeine type pain killers, but did find that the enemas from the chemist worked.

I now have Squatty Potttys in both loos at home (and eat lots of yogurt nowadays)

It’s horribley distressing and this sounds like an extreme case - I’m sure if your patients were in this state you would’ve got help for them?

for me a good curry

This happened to me and I did get it out with the enemas that you do yourself. You really do need to hold in the enema for as long as you can stand it, just resist the urge to sit on the toilet as long as possible. It took me a few hours of suppository and enema but it did all come out in the end so keep trying

I know it’s late and you’ve gone now but I just thought I’d offer my support as I’ve suffered like that once. I went for a hysterectomy and it went wrong.. I ended up having emergency 2nd surgery and I was in for 3 weeks. I went 9 days without pooing. And I was in so much discomfort. Lucky plastic gloves were in hospital so I had to try to deal myself before letting them do a manual extraction.
I used teeny syringes and squirted water right up every 5-10 mins about 10 times. Then the first time I tried to push from my vaginal wall as you cold feel how rock hard it was. The water helped and it shifted lol. I had to resort to double gloves and getting my finger up the. It was gross and I’d just had abdominal surgery for the second time and I was VERY sore I tell you what there is no chance on gods earth that I would ever ask my partner to assist. I would struggle til the bitter end 🤣 For one the smell- it made me wretch and it was mine!
we are a very open couple but anything smell related is a no no 😡
that started the ball rolling anyway. The nurses gave me some pessaries that evening and well the ball rolled fast🤣 best feeling ever!!
so I hope by the time you read this your ball has started 🤣🤞🏻xx

PH work if you are moving but do not take it under your circumstances OP, they will swell up and cause a high blockage and could cause you devastating problems.

PH is great if your guts are moving.

I would advise an oily enema retained as long as you can bear but I suspect you will need to go to hospital and have it all evacuated there.

Manual extraction (gloved hand!) in the bath. It was the only thing that worked for me post birth when I’d gone a week without a poo and had been taking iron tablets. It was rock hard and I had to keep alternating from being sat in the bath to standing up as it was so painful. Then suddenly it came tumbling out, reminiscent of a horse emptying its bowels. Nasty clean up job but the relief was immense!

Good luck!

Right pay attention, fellow nurse here. Take the top off the shower hose, insert into rectum once turned on of course, clench and release, repeat. Works every single time. TMI I know but for emergency blockages it is fantastic.

Laxatives.

Andrew’s liver salts were the only thing that worked for me, even post c-section with all the movicol I could drink.
still painful but oh my word, so worth it x
ive used it since after codeine as it has a similar effect, it really is the only thing that has ever helped me.

Hope you feel better soon op

I was once constipated for six days, it was really bad

I cannot believe some of the nonsense on this thread.
Prunes, apricots, figs, date water, coffee, cigs, etc may well be useful for mild constipation but impacted faeces is totally different and can be a medical emergency. As can a torn bowel from using a spoon or other foreign objects to try and extract the blockage!
Some advice is useful such as warm baths, squatting over the toilet or raising feet, drinking plenty of water, and gentle exercise. Useful to help OP relax but unlikely to be effective at actually releasing the blockage.
However. by now, the OP either needs to see her GP as soon as possible or go to A & E before the situation becomes even more serious

I overdid sugar free gummy sweets by mistake and they had an unfortunate effect on me but they were very effective in getting rid of my blockage. Just don’t overdo them. I got mine from Amazon.

check this out

I guess you realize that this is now fecal impaction? Best to consult a doctor asap.

This!
Continue to drink lots of water and eat prunes when you wake up, and then call your GP surgery as soon as they’re open!

Go on Amazon or to Holland and Barratt and buy Slimmers Tea. (aka Shitters Tea as it's known in our house.) A cup of this before bed for a night or two will sort you out in no time. But be warned, it could be extreme.

Also get a Squatty Potty. A raised platform for your feet that you put at the base of the loo. It really does help to straighten out your posture when you sit on the loo which means your bowel is not so bunched up. It makes it easier for the contents to move through smoothly.

Yes, sugar free sweets containing Sorbitol will have a violent laxative effect if you eat you many in one go. Just make sure you are near a bathroom and be prepared for the most godawful wind.

Please be careful. I did this when I was constipated after gall bladder surgery (thank you codine tablets) and ended up giving myself a rectocele. I would rather of had an another baby than shit that rock out. Absolute agony. Hope you get sorted soon xx

Have you tried sitting in a squat position to push- it changes the angle to a more natural one so things slide out more naturally. If squatting is too difficult, sit on the toilet with your feet raised on a footstool. It really helps!

This is painful to even read! I hope you got some help, OP?

As others have stated, there is a difference between constipation and faecal impaction. Faecal impaction is caused by hard stool which cannot pass due to the amount and hardness of it so it can tear your soft tissues on it's way out or by staying in and continuing to grow or push on your insides!

Go to the doctor!

Presumably, you ate low fat and drank a lot on your holiday? Happened to me and never again!