Awful constipation in third trimester

[rjb0206]

As the title says, this week I've suddenly become horribly constipated, to the point where for the last 2-3 days I've hardly gone at all (very unusual for me as I normally go 2-3 times per day). I went to the doctor who suggested movicol and I took 2 sachets yesterday and another two this morning but it doesn't seem to have made much of a difference. Perhaps they'll take a while to kick in...? Has anyone else experienced this? Any tips?? It's awful! Thankfully I'm able to work from home today so am between laptop/spare room and multiple unsuccessful trips to the bathroom

Plenty of water and keep going with the sachets. They will be doing something but not an instant fix.
Lie on your side and do some deep breathing and hopefully that'll help release some wind. Also getting on all fours if you can will help.
I find peppermint tea is great for soothing the tummy too.
I would try not to keep going to the loo if you can help it. I'm just thinking you may end up straining and you could end up with piles.
Hope you feel better soon!

Oh god I hear you. I'm 33 weeks and in the same boat. I had it with my last pregnancy too.

Movicol is useless, go to boots and get lactulose. And drink one cup of coffee each day (one cup's worth of caffeine is safe and it gets the bowels moving - midwife recommended to me!).

Eat LOADSSS of prunes.

Thanks all for the replies. Sorry to hear you're also suffering aadvark but somehow comforting to know I'm not alone! I've read online about glycerine suppositories and wondering about popping out at lunch to see if I can get some... might make a difference?

As well as the medication, eat lots of prunes (like the poster above recommended ) and then a really high fibre cereal as well such as all bran. (You can mix it with something more exciting as I’m aware it tastes of cardboard). I’m only in the first trimester but already beginning to get a little constipated , painful!!

Eat pears. Natural laxatives.

Prunes, prune juice every day. It’s gross but natural alternative. Also if you sit in the loo and rotate you body in circles the direction of your gut (I think clockwise) this helps move things along. Also rocking backwards and forwards on the loo.

I also had really bad constipation during my pregnancy and my midwife recommended isphagul husk.. you can get something like Fybogel on Amazon

Glycerine suppositories were the only thing that worked for me.... just make sure you are near a toilet for the 10 minutes after you’ve put it in.

All bran is a great suggestion as mentioned above as are the prunes and drinking lots of water! Also lots of homemade vegetable soup is great to help things along! I have at least a cup before lunch and dinner! Mine is a bit bland as I have to watch my diet but it helps I feel! Also stewed Apple is good, you can have it with the prunes to make them a bit more palatable! The prunes also work well if you blend them into a smoothie, it masks them a bit!!!😂😂😂

Weetabix, dried apricots and a massive dose of lactulose helped me but the suppositories will definitely help “soften” things up and make it easier to go. Really sympathise OP, the “bum issues” during pregnancy are one of the worst bits

So I just tried the glycerine suppository and after 15 mins of lying on my side suddenly felt like I needed to go... rushed to the bathroom but all that came out was the stupid suppository! So I guess I didn't put it in far enough?? As I was leaving the pharmacy I also noticed Kleen enemas behind the counter (are they the same thing as Fleet enemas?). Has anyone tried them?? I'm getting desperate now and feel like I won't be able to focus on anything else until I've got this shifted!

And clearly I need to get myself some prunes / prune juice. Have found some soft dried apricots in the kitchen cupboard so am munching on those in the meantime...

Please do not use a kleen enema without speaking to the GP they have a high level of potassium. Movicol is much safer. You might be able to increase the sachets but speak to your GP

Consider starting your day with six dates (or four medjool dates). Not only are they high in fibre and delicious so will get things moving, but a 2011 study suggests that eating this volume of dates in the last trimester correlates to a shorter latent phase of labour!

evidencebasedbirth.com/evidence-eating-dates-to-start-labor/

Update: have had a bit of success with glycerol suppositories but still very backed up. Still taking the Movicol (day 4 now) and my GP friend said fine to increase to 3 per day to see if that helps. This is grim! Sympathies to anyone else out there suffering with this.

Weetabix. 3 weetabix every morning and nearly drowning yourself with the amount of water you drink.

My first trimester was absolutely awful I constantly had piled and was constipated so badly it was making me feel really down and irritable.

Started on the weetabix and strict with lots and lots of water and after a day or two I managed to go and it wasn’t even that painful.

Maybe try putting your dried fruit into weetabix for extra oomph?

Im really struggling too @rjb0206. Found califig is helping a little. A dose every day. It’s like prune juice but fig juice. Grim but less grim than the pain I’ve been feeling. Hope it get better for you soon

So sorry to hear you're struggling with this too @Whatelsecouldibecalled . I've actually had a bit of an improvement down to a combination of Movicol and the glycerol suppositories. I ended up upping my Movicol to 3 per day, which when combined with the glycerol finally ended up clearing things. I've now stopped the medicine and am making sure to eat lots of fibre!! The whole thing was pretty unpleasant but might be worth a try if things don't improve. Hope you feel better soon.

Absolutely lactulose too. It'll help after labour too for the first postbirth pop so pick some up now and try it. Works for me

Oh no OP. You definitely want to get this sorted before going into labour or you'll be in for a very painful and unpleasant experience. Try to minimise straining as you're at risk of getting piles. You need a high fibre diet (think veggies and weetabix), prune juice and water water water

lactulose, prune juice, laxido - grim isn't it. :(

How much lactolose do you all take? Every day? I’m really struggling.

I just have a swig from the bottle each morning

Lactulose works but MY GOD I have never stank so much in all my life- the farts are well and truly the horrific and consistent in their stench and frequency.