Tracy,
There is something called "Mag Citrate" that you can get at any pharmacy. It is in the same aisle as the senna and other anti-constipation remedys, but it is usually on the very bottom shelf.
It comes in a bottle that looks like a small soda bottle, usually in lemon-lime and cherry flavors. The stuff tastes gross (it is very tart/sour) but it is very effective for relieving constipation.
My husband had to have 2 abdominal surgeries for cancer, along with chemotherapy, and he had a lot of constipation. The doctors tried the Miralax prescription along with several other things, but the Mag Citrate is the only thing that worked perfectly every single time.
My husband used to pour the bottle of Mag Citrate into a glass and mix it with some water and then drink it with a straw in order to remove some of the tart taste. If you like tart/sour tastes, then it may not bother you as much, but if tart/sour bothers you you can try mixing it with water to take the edge off.
Another thing that often helped him was glycerine suppositories. The Mag Citrate helped to get things moving in the right direction, the glycerine helped to get things out. Due to the abdominal surgery he had, pushing was painful, so using the suppositories helped to make the pushing easier and helped to make the whole bowel movement more productive.
One other thing that worked was massaging his abdomen. I would give him a belly massage, sort-of similar to a back massage. The chemo-nurses showed me some particular ways to massage in order to help stimulate his intestines to move (the chemo would slow his intestines). He used to joke that having the cat walk on his stomach was just as helpful as the belly massages... that might help you to better visualize the type of massage the chemo-nurses showed me....
But you should not massage or press on your stomach if you think you have a blockage or impaction because pressing/massaging the wrong way can make those worse. If you think that your constipation is caused by slowed intestinal movement, then the massage could help.
If you take pain meds on a regular basis they can cause constipation. A lot of members of the Chronic Pain forum have used something called the Yakima Fruit Paste on a daily basis to prevent and relieve constipation.
Here is the recipe for the fruit paste-
http://www.cancerlynx.com/fruitpaste.html
Quote:
Yakima Valley Anti Constipation Fruit Paste
1 lb pitted prunes
4 ozs senna tea leaves (at health foods store)
1 lb raisins
1 lb figs
1 cup lemon juice
1. Prepare tea; use about 2 1/2 cups boiled water, add to tea leaves and steep for 5 minutes.
2. Strain tea and remove tea leaves.
3. Place 2 cups of tea, or amount left, in large pot.
4. Add all of the fruit to the tea.
5. Boil fruit and tea for 15 - 20 minutes, until soft.
6. Remove from heat and add lemon juice. Allow to cool.
7. Use hand mixer/blender or food processor to turn fruit and tea mix into a paste.
8. Place in glass jars or Tupperware and place in freezer (paste will not freeze but will keep forever in freezer also very long in fridge).
DOSAGE: 1 - 2 Tablespoons per day Suggestions for use: Can be spread on toast, english muffin, bagel, bran muffin or rice cake. Good breakfast. lunch, or snack: toasted bagel or english muffin, spread with low fat cream cheese or goat cheese and topped with fruit paste. For a change of flavor mix in some raspberry or strawberry jam.
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I hope that helps, but of course you should discuss this with your doctor.
Take care,
Liz
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