Constipated- HELP

[GaaaaarlicBread]

Sorry if this is tmi , but I really need help!
I haven’t been able to poo in 5 days . Hospital gave me Lactulose when I was on the ward and all it did was make me feel like I needed to go, but when I ran to the toilet it was just wind . I can feel the poo there , but it won’t come out. I’ve tried to massage myself as I read that on google but no luck it’s still stuck. It’s so dry and sore and I’ve just had an awful time in the toilet where I’ve actually torn myself and I have given myself piles .
I’ve tried : Drinking lots of orange juice
I’ve tried to eat some roughage foods like bread etc , but because I’ve not had a huge appetite it’s been hard to eat . My tummy is so sore from it and I don’t know what to do 😩
I’m just over 10 weeks pregnant .

Get prunes in prune juice, not syrup.

Drink the juice, about 2 tablespoons first time, wait for nature to do its thing. If not have a little more next meal, etc.

Be warned, it usually doesn’t take long or much of it to work!

Good luck 😉 and with the baby!

Poor you! Hot fresh orange juice and drinking hot water did it for me...but bread is not roughage, you need cruciferous veg and to be as hydrated as possible and walk as much as you can. Stop straining, it won’t help. If you’re really stuck you can see your midwife for an enema? Good luck

Oh OP I feel for you, I had the worst pregnancy constipation!

Lactulose can make you gassy, make sure you drink even more water than you think. Try to imagine water as medicine when it comes to being constipated. Personally I'd recommend Movicol or laxido they work better than lactulose. It didn't give me wind and made it softer when I did go as they are stool softeners.

You can take glyercine suppositories which work and are safe during pregnancy. You may need to speak to a doctor though (same for movicol) as I don't think a pharmacist will give you it pregnant - even though they are safe.

Also don't go mad on fibre rich foods, you've already got a blockage so this will add to it. You need some sort of medication to get rid. Once it's gone, then look at gradually increasing your fibre intake.

I found baths and a sitz baths a god send when I was your position.

People may recommend prune juice, it's rank and didn't work for me.. but another option I guess

Hope you feel better soon it's awful

@user1486131602 thank you ! I’ll give it a go, it’s absolutely horrific I’m so miserable !
@littlejalapeno ah ok I’ll try more veg etc , just got no appetite and this isn’t helping 😩 I’m seeing my consultant on Thursday next week so I’ll mention this to her and see if she can help.
@VioletVerity thank you ! I can actually feel the poo there (if I feel my cheeks you can feel a bulge where it’s stuck!) it’s utter agony !! It’s been such a rubbish time ! And the antibiotics I’m on from the sepsis recovery isn’t helping and they’re making me feel sick !

I struggled a bit earlier in pregnancy. Dried apricots and dried prunes did the trick for me. They were both as good as the other - it just depended which I fancied that day!

@itsemily it's horrible isn't it! I didn't know what to do when it first happened to me. Although it doesn't feel like it, I promise you it wont last. I think I was around the 10 day mark (at my worst around 35 weeks) and with taking movicol it didn't hurt when I needed to go.

I'd contact the doctor tomorrow and see if they can give you something effective. By all means try prunes / apricots / chia seeds / lentils etc but Id still contact the GP as it's not like normal constipation where you can go out and buy whatever you need.

Be mindful further down the line in pregnancy too, with a growing bump it really does play havoc with your digestive system. I still have a sprinkle of chia seeds on my breakfast every morning.

Have you tried elevating your feet on a stool while sitting on the toilet? It puts your body in a more natural position for elimination. It works well for me.

Also I drink a lot of sparkling water - at least a litre very quickly and it gets the works going - when things are stuck.

If you’re impacted at the bottom end, there’s no use putting things in the top end because it won’t get through to the hard stools causing the blockage.

You need an enema. Glycerine suppositories might help, but if the stools are solid it’s an enema that’ll make the difference. Don’t leave it too long or you’ll have to undergo manual evacuation, which is as unpleasant as it sounds! Especially as you’re already straining and tearing - you don’t want haemorrhoids and fissures.

Once you’ve passed the blockage, keep soft and regular with the tips mentioned above.

Oh god, I feel your pain. I had it bad in pregnancy and in the end I was so desperate that I used some Vaseline just inside and it finally helped it come out. After that I made myself a prune puree to drink every night before bed, simmered pitted prunes on the job in water and put in the blender. One tin used to get me through 4/5 days

On the job I meant

Hob... Damn autocorrect, sorry

Hope it resolved itself soon

I feel your pain. this is what I done to get rid of mine.
fybogel x 2 am and PM
3 kiwi all in one go
hot water

I also hadn't gone in 5 day and my belly was so sore..

hope it works for you too

Lots of prune juice and water its gross but works and quickly. Daily I try and eat weetabix and dried apricots and orange juice or coconut water as they have all helped me

Get yourself to the GP. I’ve had to take Laxido/movicol (same thing) every single day this pregnancy. One sachet in a morning usually, sometimes an extra in the evening.

It’s a gentle laxative but very effective, especially if taken regularly to keep things moving!

You can also take Laxido to help with an blockage/impaction which sounds like you may have. You take several sachets at once to essentially clear you out! But do speak to your doctor.. my grandpa accidentally did this & the results were grim. 😷

Don’t wait until next Thursday, go see you doctor ASAP for some help!

Glycerine suppositories. Or yes an enema. You need to get it out, you poor thing.

Thanks so much everyone , I’ve had this awful sharp pain consistently all darn night on my left side of my stomach and I’m pretty sure I’ve trapped a nerve from straining !! I’ll try every single thing you’ve all said , as well as booking into the drs asap as @Bol87 suggests . Thanks ladies you’re all great thank you for not reading and running . @Wereallsquare no I haven’t tried that, does that help it move better ? I kind of just sit down as if I’m going to wee , nothing special ! I’ll try anything !

Sounds to me like a job that needs tackling from both ends, so to speak. I'd also recommend the suppositories, which you can get from any chemist.

Dried prunes worked for me. About 10 a day. Was like magic.

Yes, google squatty potty for an explanation of why having your feet elevated on a low stool works. It puts your body in a more natural squatting position as opposed to writing.

It does sound like impacted stool. I had it happen a couple of times. The stool is so large and dry it has a hard time working it's way out. Not to be too descriptive, but the stool would "crown" and then get stuck and then retract. Awful. I had to try to sort of insert gloved finger to break the impacted poop up a little. It is gross, I know.

However, in my case it was not five days, just two. So if you do not get any relief soon, go to the hospital and they will help you.

Crossing my fingers for you.

It does sound like you need something that will soften the stool. Sorry, but lactulose should work for this much better than prunes or fybogel. It's not instant (frankly nothing is once things get as bad as you've described) and you do need to stay on top of it.

45 ml first dose, and after that 30 ml doses x2 a day until things go too far in the other direction, don't miss a single a dose, and only go down to 20 ml twice a day once it starts really working. It's literally the only thing that has finally worked for me. I feel your pain - it can be unbearable. As is the trapped wind and bloating. Ugh. Hang in there and fingers crossed xx

I feel your pain, I have chronic constipation. One thing that works for me is blending a bag of spinach in water and drinking it all at once. Avoid eggs and bananas. Drinking lots of water can help too, I know that might be difficult during pregnancy. Fybogel is also good but can take a couple of days to work. I have a squaty potty and that helps alot.

Thanks everyone for your help ! I managed to go for the first time today , it was awful but it’s gone now ! Thank GOD ! 😩

Hurrah! What worked?

Have you tried wheetabix?

@wereallsquare it was a mixture of orange juice (fresh) , Wheetabix , squatting thanks to your toilet position tip! And massaging it out (sorry). Once the solid bit was out, it seemed to get everything else out as it wasn’t backed up . DH massaged my stomach gently and you could feel how blocked I was !! Horrific !