constipation!!! Confusion

[rhallacroz]

Hi Everybody
Hope you may have some suggestions. Does anybody have any magic formulas for constipation. My dad gets constipated and then manually evacs himself usually in the early hours of the morning. Not pleasant for mum. Have tried senokot and milk of magnesia but still find the situation difficult.
Suggestions gratefully received

 

[christine_batch]

Hello Rhallacroz,
Does your Father have Cereal? You could ask the Doctor of the Pharmacist. there is a mild laxative they can provide. It would all depend on medication that he may be on.Good Luck. Christine

 

[connie]

Movicol or Lactulose are two mild laxatives thatI know you can buy over the counter.

Lionel has been prescribed both at various times in the past.
Good idea of Christine's to ask the pharmacy for advice.

 

[rhallacroz]

Hi Connie and Christine
Thanks for that. He only takes Digoxin and usually before his dementia kicked in he would go daily. Now he doesn;t know what the toilet is for and this of course causes a problem. Will try the movecol. He is unable to swallow cereal and just messes about with it in the bowl.
Very sad to see. I know but were not alone. I think this is the only thing that keeps me going knowing that you are all here. I find it terribly hard being a wife and mother and daughter and hold down a job albeit parttime. I am taking 48 hours out of all this as I am so stressed and cry all the time. My kids dont; deserve this. Neither does my marriage.
Will let you know how the situation is.
Thanks

 

[Grannie G]

Keep posting and taking all the support you can get. You sound very stressed indeed.

Does your mother have any help or is she a sole 24/7 carer?

I find it terribly hard being a wife and mother and daughter and hold down a job albeit parttime

I`m not surprised, you are probably doing far too much.

Take care

Love xx

 

[christine_batch]

There is someone here on T.P. 24/7 and have been a great support for me and have made so many friends. We share, cry, laugh together. There is someone who will always come on to offer advice. With this illness all help is gratefully received.
How about prunes and custard. Just a thought.
Take care because as you have a family and work it is so much harder. Don't forget T.P. is always here.
Best wishes. christine

 

[elaineo2]

Hi hunny.constipation and confusion go hand in hand.constipation is just like a uti and can cause confusion.manual evacuation is a problem.like other posts i agree that lactulose and sennas may work,movicol????????????maybe.if there an ongoing problem that can't be identified,get in touch with inco services.love elainex

 

[rhallacroz]

THanks friends for all your support what would I do without you. I often read these posts and think how brave we all are strugging to cope with this awful disease. I will now look up my train time for tomorrow. Although the children don;t want me to go feel I have to do something for me. Hope I am not being too selfish. ITs not me at all.xx My mum has 17 hours care package and day centre support she also has help from my cousin who is living in at the moment. But still they all shout me for help in dealing with dad it seems I am the only one able to sort it all out. Even the carer can;t mangage at times. Oh well I wont be here tomorrow night so they will have to cope. Hate doing this to my mum but can;t carry on like this.
Night Night God bleess.xx

 

[elaineo2]

your not bein selfish,your bein human.no matter what goes on in your world,there has to be times that we stand back,take stock and make a stand on life.whatever may happen,whatever may pass,you know your know where you are at.theres a thin line somewhere that has to be faced.
love elainex

 

[Skye]

Hi Rhallacroz

I went through the manual evacuation with John, and it's awful. It gets everywhere, towels, taps, walls, door handles -- you name it!

One thought -- does your dad have piles? If he is having pain, that might explain his 'helping things along'.

I'd be inclined to see the GP and ask for help.

Enjoy your break, you deserve it. Not selfish at all!

 

[gigi]

hello rhallacroz! Is your dad drinking enough fluid? A lot of constipation remedies are bulking agents(ie;they swell up in the bowel by taking on fluid ) so he must drink. Water (not well accepted usually!) Orange juice/prune juice/extra cups of tea.As long as he's not diabetic and you don't say he is. Fybogel is another good one-can be taken with lactulose-but again important to get fluid intake with these. Senna syrup for a good clear out(be warned) At a push a district nurse could give an enema to get things "going"-or suppositories(never without medical advice) No-I don't have shares in Andrex! Good luck - Gigi

 

[Margaret W]

Hi Rhallacross (spelt wrongly, sorry), try Prunes. 5 or 6 at breakfast time, either on cereal or separately.

As someone said, water is vital, 2 litres a day. And fruit and veg, tinned are just as good for the bowels as fresh, so you can provide anything he fancies all year round. Avoid bananas and eggs - they are regarded as "binding", but reintroduce them if the problem is resolved.

Hope this is helpful.

Margaret

 

[Blacksheep]

We have this problem with Mum. As someone else has mentioned, the fluid intake is vital. We also give Mum lactulose when needed. Does your dad have a sweet tooth? I find mum will happily munch on some liquorice which helps.

http://www.lakeland.co.uk/product.aspx/!3984_10574_9156

They have several different flavours of the soft eating stuff at Lakeland. (I just noticed they have a warning stating that people suffering with hypertension should avoid excessive consumption).

 

[jenniferpa]

That's true about the hypertension - my mother loved liqorice but I had to ration her

 

[rhallacroz]

update

Hi ALL
Just returned from over night stay. HAve tried to stay away tonight as I needed to sort the children out and let them know I am ok. Dad apparently very constipated may have to call gp out tomorrow. What a nightmare.
Thaks so much for all your kind advice will take it on board.
Angela

 

[elaineo2]

hi hun.it may be a case of an enema being needed.lactulose,sennas etc usually just get rid of the overflow of faeces,not the bulk!sorry to be so graphic.constipation builds up without detection espescially if laxatives are px'd.
love elainex