Hemorrhoids and Constipation at 9 Weeks!

Try eating foods with flax seed in it for constipation. There are cereals out there that don't taste too bad.

My Hubby has hemorroids right now. His DR has him sit in a hot bath with 1/2 cup epsom salt. It has really worked for him and quickly!! 1-2 days to reduce the swelling. Hope this helps.

L.

I had a lot of issues with this while pregnant. I drank a glass of water w/benefiber every morning and night.

I was also taking colace (a stool softener)...about 3 tabs per day. Check with your dr. first, though.

The doc can also give you some creams to help with pain caused by the hemorrhoids.

Good luck and feel better!

Taking a magnesium supplement can be very helpful with constipation. Start with a low dose. The hemorroids wont subside until you can get rid of the constipation. Taking in alot of fiber will also irriate a non healed hemorroid. Vitamin C with bioflaviods is good to help your body heal faster and with hemorroids healing fast is important. Vitamin C can also help to soften bowl movements to avoid irriating the hemorroids.

I got the roids after I had my daughter. I have been taking magnesium for 2 years and it helps so much!n Lots of water and ask your doctor about the magnesium. Good luck!

I to had a horrible time with this in the beginning of my pregnancy and still have it some. For the constipation my Dr. told me I could take Colace (stool softener not a laxative) one pill once a day. I've been doing this since about 8-9 weeks and I am now 37 weeks and still take it daily. Also I try and drink Apple Juice at least a few days a week and it seems to help. Make sure you are getting at least 64+ glasses of water a day as you can have issues from to much fiber and not enough water to more it along. I would say stop drinking pop as it works as a diuretic and can make it worse.

For the Hemorrhoids try putting hot water in the tub only a few inches and sitting in it. As long as you don't sit there too long and the water isn't around your stomach you'll be ok to have it hot. The hotter the better as hot water will help shrink them. Another option is if you have a shower hear that comes off you can turn it on really hot and spray the area directly. The tucks pads and prep H all help some I found the prep H that has the cooling agent in it works best after the suppositories (which also help with constipation) One other thing is don't sit on the toilet for a long time and when sitting there lift one side of your behind off the seat so you're not staining the area and making them worse. Good luck hopefully something here will help.

I'm going through the same thing. My doc OK'd me to take Miralax no more than once a week. He also told me to take Colace (without stimulant) twice a day. Ask your doc about those two. Mine said he'd rather have me take that stuff than not have a BM.

It could be from the iron in your prenatal vitamins. You could ask your doc if there is a prenatal vitamin with less iron. This could get even worse as your pregnancy progresses. Don't let the doc "pooh-pooh" the problem. Drink lots of water, limit dairy and bananas and eat lots of really GREEN greens. Congrats!

Raisin bran, raisin bran crunch, or grape nuts trail mix! That`ll do the trick!

Gina -
Magnesium is a great idea! Make sure you don't take toxic levels thought.
I know this is going to sound totally crazy - but find a good chiropractor and ask them to toggle your calcaneus (heel bone). I can't explain the connection, but people with hemorrhoids get great results with it!
Also, chiropractic care can help with the constipation by removing interference in the spine so the nerves to the bowels can function properly!
Hope this helps!

Fiber is a misconception! While its true that we need upwards toward 40 grams/day and most ppl only get a fraction of that, adding it too much at once will only worsen the issue! It is bulk forming so if you are already constipated, you have just made yourself more constipated. Drink TONS of water with increased fiber intake...that fiber needs it to do it's job. In your digestive tract, fiber extracts water from your body to swell up and move things along, not enough water = a clay like consistency! Yogurt is amazing for your digestive tract. Amazingly it helps regulate both constipation AND diarrhea. I have terrible IBS and no medication/treatment in the world worked. I started eating yogurt everyday and my IBS is GONE. Not just better....GONE!!!! The acidophillus capsules are okay....but the active cultures in the yogurt are by far the best choice!

BTW that is a medical suggestion, not just opinion! ;)

My last pregnancy was 10 years ago, but at that time, the prenatal vitamins (prescrition) had a stool softener in them. Especially during the first trimester, it is a hormonal thing, and as the pregnancy progressed it got better. I remember because I had to ask my dr. to give me the one without the stool softener as I became further along.

I used NEW CHAPTER prenatals because they have all organic ingredients (you can even take them on an empty stomach and it won't upset it) but one of the big reasons was that they also include probiotics so that all throughout pregnancy you can avoid the constipation. Drinking water is critical though, if you don't get enough then using the bathroom is like trying to go down a waterslide with no water. :) If you like your prenatals then you could drink kefir on days that you need the probiotics. I drank it a lot to avoid being nautious in the beginning, plus its really good for your immune system and baby's! I'm not sure about the hemorrhoids, I was able to avoid those. Good luck!!!

If your body is not used to a ton of fiber you are making the problem worse. It basically turns to concrete in your intestines...try cutting back on the fiber and using a stool softener until the constipation is managable and then add the fiber in slowly over the course of a couple of weeks.

Gina ~
I'm a nurse and what we tell patients to help avoid constipation is:
increase your water
eat lots of fiber (sounds like you are)
walk - walking increases the movement within the bowels, called peristalsis

you can take colace...it's a softener, not a laxative. It pulls more water into the bowel to soften the stool that's already there.

the yogurts with the pro-biotics are probably a good idea.

ask your doctor if you can use Anusol HC....I'm not positive, but it should be ok. It's like the over-the-counter one, except it has hydrocortisone in it...that helps to shrink the hemorrhoids.

The causes could be your vitamins .. iron can constipate. Also, do you normally drink alot of coffee or tea, and you've cut it out because of the pregnancy? If so, I would say add back 1 cup a day and see if that helps. Yes, you should avoid caffeine, however, if your body is used to it, then stopping it can cause headaches, constipation, and other issues. One cup a day is fine.

good luck!
D.

Hi Gina,
I'm 14 weeks pregnant and have been having similar issues (not hemorrhoids, though). For the constipation, my doctor told me to eat one Activia yogurt everyday and to use Miralax everyday for two weeks. You can buy Miralax over the counter and you just mix it in with a drink. If you can cure the constipation, the hemorrhoids should improve. It's been working for me so far! Good luck!

Gina,

I had bad constipation issues when I was pregnant. I would suggest doing what you can to regulate your system on your own, before jumping into the OTC stool softners.

It's not enough to just bulk up on fiber. You NEED to drink lots and lots and lots of water. Baby is taking all your extra fluids... so YOU are getting dehydrated. When I was pregnant, I had to drink 2 LITERS of water every single day, otherwise, I became constipated.

I'm guessing the hemorrhoids are from the pushing due to constipation.

Also, no coffee, no sugary drinks. These will dehydrate. WATER WATER and MORE WATER!

In addition, you can start eating some good yogurt. Stoneyfield farm is a good option. Organic, has the live cultures and comes in some yummy flavors. By just eating lots of fiber, you are creating bulk to your stool. But it's not helping replenish your fluids. Your intestines take fluid from your system so your stool is soft enough to be moved by the parastolic action of the intestines. Sorry if this is too graphic!

Anyway, WATER! Lots and lots of water! My guess is if you start drinking lots of water you should see some improvement in a couple of days. Yes, you will pee alot. But, it's important. Remember, you ARE not only nourishing you...but baby. Baby is greedy and will take EVERYTHING it can from you. Which is good...it just means you need to ensure you are taking in MORE fluids and MORE vitamins then you normally would not pregnant.

Also, as you go through your pregnancy, make sure you get enough protein (you need 2-3 times more during pregnancy then normally), calcium, and other vitamins. Pregnant women need large amounts of vitamins. Make sure they are GOOD vitamins and do not have a lot of fillers in them. If they have a lot of fillers...you're wasting your time.

As I said, baby is going to take everything from you. If you aren't ensuring that both you and baby are getting what you need, then when baby is born you will suddenly notice lots of problems. Poor diet during pregnancy is one of the causes of lethargy, poor sleeping, cracking nails, etc... after baby is born. Obviously caring for a new born contributes to the tiredness and such, but that is all the more reason to ensure you are taking care of your body's needs. You are going to need ALL your strength and energy. Prepare now and through the next months... and you'll be much more prepared for childbirth and motherhood. The Bradley Method of childbirth has a lot of good information on nutrition during pregnancy, even if you don't prescribe to the birthing techniques.

WATER!!!

Congratulations!

I had the same problem and my doctor gave me a prescription for a cream for my hemroids, but I had them really bad from my first pregnancy with fisures that bled really bad. I also use colace. I tried eating all the fiber and drinking metamucil, but nothing worked until I started taking colace. That is the only thing that got it moving :)
Good luck. I know how bad it sucks!

Ugh, I totally feel your pain, Gina! I have had a heck of a time with hemorroids with this prenancy, my third. I have a Rx cream that helps better than OTC stuff, I would ask your OB at the next appt if you're not having any luck....

so sorry....never fun, but it's all worth it in the end, right?? :) Gotta keep telling myself that, even at 35 weeks...haha!