constipation advice

Katmy

OK, ladies...
Here I am second chemo treatment and my gut is swinging in the constipation direction. Any advice? I have already tried the senokot-S and the ONC recommends Milk of Magnesia tomorrow if I don't turn on. Since I have 2 more treatments to go, I may as well learn some tricks of the trade. Any advice would be welcomed. Do some remedies wear off and others have to be tried? I am just curious where this SE could go from here.

Thanks for your help! Not a pleasant subject, I know.

cindycflynn

Not fun!
I also had this problem with my first chemo treatment, and the Milk of Magnesia finally did the trick for me after a couple of days of a lot of discomfort.

I decided to try Activia yogurt at the suggestion of my sister-in-law, and it really seemed to help. I had a lot fewer problems with my subsequent treatments.

Hang in there!

Cindy

joannstar

My onc recommended
Miralax. I took it almost daily during my last 2 chemo treatments. Very gentle.
Good luck,
JoAnn

CypressCynthia

Constipation 101
You have already gotten some good advice and I am depending on Chen to give us her constipation recipe. Where are you Chen? Here are some other tips:

Increase your fluid intake. Drink, drink, drink lots of water. This is important anyway while on chemo. Some beverages are good bowel stimulants: coffee, tea, lemonade, prune juice.

Increase your fiber intake. There are Metamucil capsules now if you don't like the powders, but you have to drink lots of water with them. Bran, fruits and vegetables can all really help. Prunes are great because, besides fiber, they are a natural laxative.

Increase your fluid intake (bears repeating). ;-)

Try and find a regular time to use the bathroom. It is best to try about 30 minutes after a meal as your body has what is called a "mass movement" then I am not making that up-my nursing instructor pounded it into my head. A mass movement happens after a meal and results basically in everything in your colon being propeled forward.

CypressCynthia

CypressCynthia said:

Constipation 101
You have already gotten some good advice and I am depending on Chen to give us her constipation recipe. Where are you Chen? Here are some other tips:

Increase your fluid intake. Drink, drink, drink lots of water. This is important anyway while on chemo. Some beverages are good bowel stimulants: coffee, tea, lemonade, prune juice.

Increase your fiber intake. There are Metamucil capsules now if you don't like the powders, but you have to drink lots of water with them. Bran, fruits and vegetables can all really help. Prunes are great because, besides fiber, they are a natural laxative.

Increase your fluid intake (bears repeating). ;-)

Try and find a regular time to use the bathroom. It is best to try about 30 minutes after a meal as your body has what is called a "mass movement" then I am not making that up-my nursing instructor pounded it into my head. A mass movement happens after a meal and results basically in everything in your colon being propeled forward.

P.S.
If you are beyond the above, you may need to try a glycerin suppository or glycerin enema (ask any pharmacist where they are). They are very mild and will also lubricate everything in the rectum which can really help. FYI, we often use them on premature infants as they rarely have the musculature needed to effectively evacuate their bowels.

2Floridiansisters

I suffered bad with constipation
I googled what helps with relief....................Castor Oil

It was nasty but it did the trick within 4 hours I went. After that I made sure it never happened again because I took stool softeners everyday practically.

Texasgirl10

2Floridiansisters said:

I suffered bad with constipation
I googled what helps with relief....................Castor Oil

It was nasty but it did the trick within 4 hours I went. After that I made sure it never happened again because I took stool softeners everyday practically.

Kristalose/ Lactulose
Now I promise this is the big gun, but ask your onc for a prescription. It will probably be best to use 1/2 the packet first and if you have not emptied your bowels within 2 hours use the other 1/2 of the packet. But 1/2 dose should do the trick.

Dawne

chenheart

Power Pudding~ the sure
Power Pudding~ the sure fire cure for what ails many of us...and this is also used in old folks homes for constipation as well. I didn't originate it, but oh yeah~ it works!!!!!!

The Recipe:

1 Cup All Bran Cereal
1 Cup Applesauce
3/4 Cup Prune Juice

Stir these yummy ingredients together...it will kind of resemble cake batter, and if you have a REALLY good imagination, you can even slightly fool your taste buds into thinking it IS spice cake batter!! Oh yeah...keep it in the refrigerator!

Eat a couple of Tablespoons; drink a ton of water, and wait for the magic! If the magic doesn't happen in a couple of hours, take another Tablespoon. But please drink plenty of water!!!!! The fiber in this "pudding" will make things happen~ I wish I had known about it while I was having chemo...I did however, use it last year after taking Vicodin post gallbaldder surgery~ WOW! Eat and drink water...it will work!

Another one of the joys of the journey to living Life After Cancer!!!

Gentle hugs,
Chen

carkris

chenheart said:

Power Pudding~ the sure
Power Pudding~ the sure fire cure for what ails many of us...and this is also used in old folks homes for constipation as well. I didn't originate it, but oh yeah~ it works!!!!!!

The Recipe:

1 Cup All Bran Cereal
1 Cup Applesauce
3/4 Cup Prune Juice

Stir these yummy ingredients together...it will kind of resemble cake batter, and if you have a REALLY good imagination, you can even slightly fool your taste buds into thinking it IS spice cake batter!! Oh yeah...keep it in the refrigerator!

Eat a couple of Tablespoons; drink a ton of water, and wait for the magic! If the magic doesn't happen in a couple of hours, take another Tablespoon. But please drink plenty of water!!!!! The fiber in this "pudding" will make things happen~ I wish I had known about it while I was having chemo...I did however, use it last year after taking Vicodin post gallbaldder surgery~ WOW! Eat and drink water...it will work!

Another one of the joys of the journey to living Life After Cancer!!!

Gentle hugs,
Chen

miralax, benfier, and
miralax, benfiber, and apricots.

Hippiechick58

carkris said:

miralax, benfier, and
miralax, benfiber, and apricots.

I use Dulcolax. It works
I use Dulcolax. It works like a charm!

Dianne

tgf

Hippiechick58 said:

I use Dulcolax. It works
I use Dulcolax. It works like a charm!

Dianne

FIBER ... FIBER ... FIBER
I tried all of those stool softeners etc ... and nothing really worked. I finally decided to be sure I ate AT LEAST one of those fiber bars a day (each with 35% daily requirement) ... and AT LEAST on fruit a day ... plus a stool softener ... and that seems to be working for me. So far anyway.

But ... I do understand how uncomfortable it is when your plumbing isn't working the way you want it to.

Good luck

hugs.
teena

VickiSam

tgf said:

FIBER ... FIBER ... FIBER
I tried all of those stool softeners etc ... and nothing really worked. I finally decided to be sure I ate AT LEAST one of those fiber bars a day (each with 35% daily requirement) ... and AT LEAST on fruit a day ... plus a stool softener ... and that seems to be working for me. So far anyway.

But ... I do understand how uncomfortable it is when your plumbing isn't working the way you want it to.

Good luck

hugs.
teena

I too suffered with constipation during my chemo infused
months -- 18 consecutive weeks of chemo. Sometimes I would not go 8 days with a bowel movement .. and once I did, I would have rashes on my bottom, where I would have to soak in a bath tub that helped with the inflammation, or sorts.

Please also ask you Onc and his/her staff for remedies, or advise as well. I must also say .. that the information provided above by our fellow WARRIORS / Kindred Spirits is so much more than what had been offered to me by my Oncologist and his staff.

Strength, Courage and movement.

Vicki Sam

laughs_a_lot

chenheart said:

Power Pudding~ the sure
Power Pudding~ the sure fire cure for what ails many of us...and this is also used in old folks homes for constipation as well. I didn't originate it, but oh yeah~ it works!!!!!!

The Recipe:

1 Cup All Bran Cereal
1 Cup Applesauce
3/4 Cup Prune Juice

Stir these yummy ingredients together...it will kind of resemble cake batter, and if you have a REALLY good imagination, you can even slightly fool your taste buds into thinking it IS spice cake batter!! Oh yeah...keep it in the refrigerator!

Eat a couple of Tablespoons; drink a ton of water, and wait for the magic! If the magic doesn't happen in a couple of hours, take another Tablespoon. But please drink plenty of water!!!!! The fiber in this "pudding" will make things happen~ I wish I had known about it while I was having chemo...I did however, use it last year after taking Vicodin post gallbaldder surgery~ WOW! Eat and drink water...it will work!

Another one of the joys of the journey to living Life After Cancer!!!

Gentle hugs,
Chen

Power Pudding
We use this in the mental health setting where I work with our not quite seniors clients. It is gentle and all natural. I would rather go this route than adding another drug.

Annette 11

Oh, constipation
Yes I had the same problem. Activia also helped me, also try Lentil Soup. I made it homemade but I'm sure the can will work. That always gets the pipes moving. You got some real good suggestions here. Good luck.
Annette

1acme

Ducolax + lots of Water worked for me
Well, I am having problem with constipation All my life.
After my surgery my pharmacist advised me to take Dulcolac (stool softener) with Tylenol 3 that I got for pain.
I must tell you it worked really nicelly, no runs, just smooth passage )

Ducolax is 100mg of Docusate Sodium per pill and about $5/bottle.
But if I do not feel like to eating pills daily, I will drink 2 cups of fressly pressed Carrot/Apple/Ginger Juice and it also work like a charm.
Also evening I would do a massage to my tummy to work better.
Plus drinking about 8-12 cups of water daily (2 cups before bed) ... no pops or coffee.

Good luck
Helen

NJMom10

Lentil Soup!!!
Constipation, by far, was the worst side effect for me. I suffered with it through 6 of 8 treatments, sometimes was driven to tears, before I hit on Lentil Soup. I drank LOTS of water (at least 10 glasses per day) and liquid based foods like soups, and made sure I ate at least 25 grams of fiber per day. I also took 4 senekot-s the first night of treatment and kept taking every night of the first week. But that lentil soup really did the trick. I ate it for lunch and dinner the first week then slowly went off everything the second week to let my body relearn how to do things on its own. I'm almost 8 weeks out of chemo now and I can tell you all is back to normal! Good Luck!

lovs2decorate

Ground Flax Seed
I had my "pipes " clogging up when I started Tamoxifin.

I went to health food store and picked up ground flax seed. Trader Joe has one with dried bluberries in it. Yummy!! I sprinkle it on/in yogurt, oatmeal, and smoothies.

Has lots of omega in it as well.

Justine