Faecal impactation - graphic content warning!

[Marnie63]

Still nothing today. Have spoken to 111 again today and the doc advised me to give 6 doses of Laxido today and again tomorrow if need be. It is moving, but very slowly, and I'm having to help things along a bit and mum finds that really painful. Doc said she may have haemorrhoids adding to the issue. Poor mum. I'll be sending my friend out for tinned prunes tomorrow, but am really hoping that by tomorrow something shifts more easily. I would rather the Laxido route than the suppository as hopefully this will be gentler, but if nothing moves in a few days then maybe they will come to do that anyway. To cap it all, mum now has the urine infection back again, so back on antibiotics, which fortunately I still have plenty of from the last time. The antibiotics gave her diarrhoea last time, so maybe this will help our cause. She isn't in pain or discomfort otherwise, so probably just a bad case of constipation.

Trust dementia to try to ruin Christmas as well (so far it's failed, we are still doing OK!). It's not exactly down to the dementia, but it's all in the mix as you will all know ...

 

[Prudence9]

Oh hugs Marnie!
Am loathe to suggest anything in case the antibiotics kick in, but when Mum was bad I used to give her a spoonful of set honey in warm water to drink as she hated prunes.

It sounds pathetic when you're up against the really tough stuff, as you are, but it always worked for her - took about an hour to move her.
If she's using the commode or toilet, try to put something under her feet to raise her bent knees a little higher than her hips, it straightens the passage and helps it out.

It's good to hear it's not ruining your day xxx

 

[Marnie63]

You know folks, mum may have advanced dementia, but she remembers what's about to happen when I put the blue glove on!

 

[Marnie63]

At last, we have movement, first thing this morning. It was really hard, no wonder mum was struggling and in pain, and now some diarrhoea as well, so that means it's clearing out, thank goodness. We did two days of 6 doses of Laxido, which obviously did the trick. Now I need to clear the UTI, but we're on day two of antibiotics today.

I think I may have to start doing less eggs for mum. She loves them, and she loves them quite hard boiled, but I suspect that these may have added to the constipation issues. I will do them softer in future, and less frequently. My friend, who is still here, did poached eggs for breakfast yesterday, that, or scrambled, may be a better idea. Same friend has just left to find somewhere open selling prunes and bran! The out of hours doc said to try to alter diet to avoid future constipation. We had a laugh last night playing Monopoly - we both remarked that it must have been a very long time since we last both played, as this time we both needed to put our specs on to read the cards!! I lost, but we're having another round tonight. Mum wasn't interested in presents at all, so we opened them for her. It's all stuff I can either use or eat anyway. She's calm, not agitated or distressed, so that's all good.

I hope everyone's Christmas Day was bearable.

 

[canary]

Actually, Marnie, the idea of hard boiled eggs giving you constipation is a myth. I remember saying to a friend who keeps chickens that mum was "egg bound" and she laughed her socks off. Apparently being "egg bound" exists - but only if you are a chicken!

What about giving her a regular dose of something like lactulose, or the set honey in water that Prudence suggested to try and prevent the constipation.

 

[Prudence9]

Oh yea - that's great news Marnie!

Hope your Mum's feeling more comfortable now xxx

 

[Marnie63]

Actually, Marnie, the idea of hard boiled eggs giving you constipation is a myth. I remember saying to a friend who keeps chickens that mum was "egg bound" and she laughed her socks off. Apparently being "egg bound" exists - but only if you are a chicken!

What about giving her a regular dose of something like lactulose, or the set honey in water that Prudence suggested to try and prevent the constipation.

Canary - two people have recently said that a hard cooked egg will help 'bind' things if there's diarrhoea, so I kind of followed that with my idea, but maybe it wasn't the eggs at all - more likely it's one of many 'issues' now coming to the fore as a result of mum's stroke, limited mobility and more affected mental state. I only used to do eggs for breakfast once every two days, at the most, and one of those would have been scrambled, not boiled.

It has been suggested before to give her a regular maintenance dose of lactulose, but I will try prunes and bran first to see how that goes (I'll do it myself as well to see how it affects me, if at all!). Thing is, I am a great believer in avoiding medication unless absolutely necessary, so I will also try the honey in hot water idea, if she'll drink it. I might have to add a chamomile tea bag as she will recognise that! My cousin keeps bees and I have a stash of honey in the cupboard, waiting to be put to good use! She is diabetic (Type 2), but fully under control with tablets, and at this stage, I think avoiding constipation is more important than a bit of extra sugar in the diet.

 

[Marnie63]

Oh yea - that's great news Marnie!

Hope your Mum's feeling more comfortable now xxx

Thanks Prudence - she seems to have a look of relief on her face!!!

 

[Beate]

Is the Lactulose and Laxido GP prescribed? I'm only asking because the GP prescribed Fybogel sachets for John twice a day on repeat, and he took it for a very long time with no side effects. It basically adds fibre to the diet, making bowel movements easier and regular, and if the GP prescribes it, it would be free of charge.

 

[nitram]

My experience with Fybogel was that if not swallowed fast it turned very gelatinous and unappetising.

As my wife was unable to drink it fast enough I used to add it to jellies.

 

[Bunpoots]

Thank goodness things have started to move. As a family we have very sluggish digestive systems. I haven't noticed that eggs cause a problem, but things are much easier to move along if we eat plenty of fruit and veg - or good old baked beans!!

Scrambled eggs and baked beans for breakfast? Delicious!!

 

[Beate]

My experience with Fybogel was that if not swallowed fast it turned very gelatinous and unappetising.

As my wife was unable to drink it fast enough I used to add it to jellies.

Yes you have to stir it a lot to keep the consistency right but I never considered that a major problem as John drank fast usually. But adding it to jellies is also a good idea.

 

[LadyA]

@Marnie63 , fybogel is just psyllium husk and flavouring. You can buy bags of psyllium husk in health food shops. Plain, it's pretty disgusting though. Like wallpaper paste!

 

[Beate]

Yes but I guess in health food shops it would cost a lot. Plus, the doctor can prescribe one with flavour - we had orange and it tasted ok. In fact I still have loads over. I wish I could get it to you somehow.

 

[LadyA]

Yes but I guess in health food shops it would cost a lot. Plus, the doctor can prescribe one with flavour - we had orange and it tasted ok. In fact I still have loads over. I wish I could get it to you somehow.

It's very cheap, compared to the full price of Fybogel. But, yeah, I'd go for the orange flavour stuff from the chemist myself, if I needed it, rather than the plain.

 

[Marnie63]

As I understand it, Lactulose stimulates the bowel to work, but Laxido/Movicol softens the stools. I was told by a nurse, I think, that Laxido is gentler. Mum's system has gone the other way now, but at least it's coming out. Prunes at the ready for when everything settles again - they might start making an appearance on the morning porridge!

 

[LadyA]

I understood that the Lactulose was a softener!

 

[jaymor]

Lactulose is a softener LadyA. It helps to keep water in the bowels and soften the stools and help normal bowel movement.

 

[eddiesgirl]

I'd advise a small regular dose of Lactulose once the current problem is sorted out. I did this with Mum after a similar episode - just 5-10mls every night - and it kept her comfortable. I believe it's the gentlest of the maintenance treatments available, in that it doesn't have an irritating or stimulant action, merely keeping the stools moist.

 

[crazyone]

I have had to manually clear Dads bowels several times. Impacted bowel can make people really ill. The doctor put him on Laxido (he had been having Lactulose and Fybogel), and he went completely the other way. Suddenly doubly incontinent. We then stopped all of them, and are now gradually re-introducing the Laxido. Fingers crossed.