Constipation Problems and 8 Wks Pregnant

Prunes! My cousin actually ate the Gerber, prunes with apples...sounds funny but she swore by them. She never cared for the taste so the apples help cut the taste a bit.

I had the same problem during my pregnancies and waited to ask my Dr until I had hemhorroids (sp). I wish I would have asked about it sooner because they put me on Colace and it worked wonders and isn't a laxative.
Congrats and best wishes,
J.

Hi, if you haven't tried prunes you could give those a shot. I know it sounds gross if you haven't eaten them, but I swear they work. They have some that are cherry or orange flavored and honestly are REALLY good.

I have the same problem now and also had it when I was pregnant with my first. Have your tried prune juice? You can drink it every day without worrying about side effects and it is also a great source of iron. If you don't like juice, dried prunes work almost as well. I was warned by my doctor against laxatives because they can cause contractions, but she did say it is okay to take a dose of a stool softener made of Docusate Sodium every day. That seems to be working fine for me.

I swore by flax seed to keep me regular when I was pregnant. I just mixed it in with my breakfast shake or oatmeal. The flaxseed work better then the flaxseed oil for me. It comes in the whole seed form then it has to be ground, like with a coffee grinder or it comes in the flaxseed meal, that is ready to eat. You can get it at most grocery stores in the natural foods section and it is 100% natural for you and baby. Good luck!

J.,
I have a handout that my doctors office sent home with me.

Over the Counter Medications You May Take During Pregnancy

Constipation
Increase fiber and liquids Citrucel, Colace, Doxidan, Metamucil, Milk of Magnesia, Peri-Colace, Fibercon, Senokot, Senokot-Plus

Hemorrhoids
Preparation H Suppositories, Anusol HC, Tucks Pads

Indigestion
Gelusil, Pepcid AC, Riopan, Titralac Plus, Tums, Tagamet,
Gas-X, Zantac, Calcium Rich Rolaids, Maalox or Mylanta if
no relief

Diarrhea
Imodium-AD, Kaopectate

Headache/Fever/Pain
Tylenol, Extra Strength Tylenol,NO Aspirin containing drugs or nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs

Yeast Infections
Gyne-Lotrimin, Monistat May require treatment for 14 days

Colds/Upper Respiratory Infections
Tavist, Chor-Trimeton Sudafed, Sinutab, Tylenol Cold
Actifed Cold & Allergy, Sudafed Plus, Tylenol Multisymptom
Formula, Claritan D, Theraflu, Tylenol Sinus,Tylenol PM, Vicks, Dayquil Cough Drops, Robitussin Cough Syrup
Increase liquids and rest

Others Benadryl, Dramamine, Hydrocortisone 1%, Calamine Lotion,
Caladryl, Sunscreen (adult and children)

I have it as an attachment as well so you can see it came from my doctor's office. Let me know if you want me to email it to you! I hope this helps!

Hi J., I had that terrible problem with all 3 of my pregnancies! I was told never to take a laxative. With my first two I drank a lot of water and prune juice and tried to eat a lot of fruit and vegetables. I still had major problems. With my third child I found out that it was okay to take Shaklee's herb lax. They are made out of herbs and it was wonderful not to feel so uncomfortable through out my whole pregnancy. (and that it didn't hurt me or the baby). You might give that a try. Because of this, I have been a distributer for 22 years :) Best wishes for a healthy pregnancy :) C.

i dont know if you are taking prenatal vitamins but i when i was in the same situation i talked to my doctor and he said that i could take a multivitamin instead. that really helped.

Hi

Crangrape slushies in the blender mixing crangrape with ice everyday was great for me and tasted yummy!! Dulcolax gave me an allergic reaction and put me in the hospital. Good luck!

B.

You shouldn't being taking a laxative if you are pregnant. Call your doc to see what they suggest. I worked at an OB clinic. In addition to what the other responder put from her docs office, we always recommened a stool softner (NOT LAXATIVES) called Surfak.

Good luck!

This sounds weird, but it works (and for your soon to be born too!).... Foods that start with the letter "P"

Pears/Pear Juice (my personal favorite, and it works every time!)
Pruns/Prune Juice (a bit more "rough" than Pears, but works)
Pineapple/Pineapple Juice - not as good as Pears, but helps

Stay away from apples.

Hope that this helps.
~J

I'm right there with you. This third time around has been hell on me. What's been getting me through is oatmeal (the whole oat kind in the "barrel" not the microwave sugar-filled kind) and Mini-Wheats cereal. Eating pears also seems to help. I'd avoid laxatives as they're not safe during pregnancy. Stool softeners (like Colace) were recommended to me by my Midwife, though I've not tried them.

If your doctor agrees, try drinking aloe. There are many varieties of drinkable aloe and they are flavored as well. The one I drink tastes jsut like juice and my daughter loves it as well.

If not, try bananas. That is supposed to be good as well.

J.,
The natural stuff usually seems like the best way to go, but some of them can be hard to stomach. I actually swore by three prunes a day and I actually got to really like them. I would buy the flavored ones, like orange or cherry essence, and they kept me totally regular. Didn't taste as bad as the juice either. Good luck, I know it's miserable!
S.

My doctor told me to take Dulcolax (I think that's what it was called).