Anyone have this problem?

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follmer20
follmer20 Posts: 129 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So ever since I was pregnant with my first baby, I was put on iron pills for being anemic and wasn't told to take a stool softener with the pills...so...I became constipated for like 2 weeks....ever since that incident, I have not been regular. I go sometimes over a week without having a bowel movement, or a good one atleast. A lot of the time I have to take a laxative to go. I've tried stool softeners with my diet and that hasn't worked...does anyone have this problem or know what can help?

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  • stephyy4632
    stephyy4632 Posts: 947 Member
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    My hubby is on iron pills currently and I buy him prune juice and One`s (they are single packaged prune hence the name one). Seem to work well useing those rather than a softener.
  • HMVOL7409
    HMVOL7409 Posts: 1,588 Member
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    Constipation is a common SE to iron. Increase your fluids, fiber or add in a stool SOFTNER.

    Edit: Forgot stool softners didn't work for you. You can try some Miralax every other day or definitely prune juice. If you're on a high dose of iron, try spreading it out through the day as well.
  • fatmom51
    fatmom51 Posts: 173 Member
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    If you're dieting, it's possible you're not getting enough fiber. Some experts recommend 20-25 g a day and with my low calorie setting, MFP has me set at much lower than that. I'm occasionally having a similar issue and will have to up the fiber anyway, even if it throws off the macros a bit.
  • virgomuse
    virgomuse Posts: 33 Member
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    Be sure to be drinking plenty of water. Avoid foods that can cause constipation like dairy/cheese. Walking regularly keeps your regular :O) Also drinking coffee can help stimulate them.

    Massage your abdomen (with light to medium pressure NOT DEEP) in a clockwise manner, You first have to clear the colon before actually moving in the circular motion of clockwise. The first sets of strokes are long and done about 3 times each. Be sure to start at the top of your left side under the rib cage then go down towards your legs (desending colon), then you will go across your abdominal region, under both sets of ribs (transvese colon) stroking right to left, then stroking up from pelvic to rib on the right side of the body (asending colon). It seems that you are working backwards from clockwise, but you're not. Now that the colon is "cleared" you can massage in tiny circular motions in a clockwise manner over the whole abdominal area, tracing over the colon. (if this is difficult to understand, ask your massage therapist to demonstrate)

    Also, when my oldest daughter was a baby, she had trouble moving her bowels so we were given suppositories/laxatives to help her go. It got to a point that she'd only go when she had the laxatives. Her doctor said to stop, she was becoming dependent on them and we had to retrain her bowels to work on their own. We were given an infant version of the abdominal massaage to help her. She is almost 17 now, and not had any problems since. So I wonder if your bowels have become weak???

    Most women don't actually have anemia during pregnancy, it's a false test. Due to the fact we have much more fluid in our system because of the baby, it may appear that we have less hemoglobin than we actually do based on the ratio of fluid to hemoglobin.

    I hope you feel better soon!

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