TAH: in alot of pain...need advise

hi everyone. I hurt,im up now,i haven't slept but for about an hour last night. My doc has me taking iron pills and percocet for pain. I have kept up with drinking lots of water and taking a stool softner,but to no relief...my belly looks like I'm 7 mths. Swollen.. I'm sceduled for feb 16 surgery,im afaid I can't wait that long..i can't eat cause I bring it back up...im miserable right now. Anybody have any tricks to relieve constpation?

Im sorry you in so much pain! Iron pills and narcotics can cause constipation. So I would guess that taking both of them would cause a LOT of constipation. Have you asked your Dr about just eating foods that are high in iron instead of taking iron pills? You can also try when you can keep something down to eat foods that are high in fiber to help things move along. You should def call your Dr as soon as the office opens and let them know what is going on, maybe they can move your surgery date up, or at least let you know what you can be doing at home. One thing my Dr did that I never would have thought of is he gave me a script for a muscle relaxer saying that really the uterus is a big muscle...I had my doubts but it did work! And it worked well enough so that I wasnt having to take narcotics all the time. Of course it didnt fix the problem, but at least my pain was managable for the time it took to get me scheduled for surgery. Being in pain is bad enough without adding constipation to it! I had pain on and off for YEARS before my TAH, and I am so glad that its over now! Stay strong and I hope you feel better soon!

If you don't care for the taste of prune juice: mix it with apple juice (and warm it a little.) Other dried fruit to nibble on:
dried apricots (not so sweet), dates, raisons = high in iron.

some canned spinach in a salad. V8 juice.
canned beets. some have sugar, i like 'em without.
dried figs = do you like fig newton cookies?


Try different brands of iron : the one recommended by the pharmacist (slow release), stopped me up. I still take one of those in the evening though. And two more of my usual ones
at lunch-time. Sometimes the 2 at once bothers my tummy,
but i'd rather that, than forget.

I know my exhaustion is due to the anemia.
Please try to keep taking the iron, and supplement it
with iron-rich foods.

For the constipation I would recommend lots of fruit, but also having a cup or two of coffee would be great, it works great for that. Also eating that activia yogurt it "regulates" the bowels, but if you eat two or more a day you'll go like crazy, and it tastes good too! Good luck, and remember that atleast for this sister the worst part was the waiting, so far.

equal parts of wheat germ, prune juice, and apple sauce.

Other wise, I've only used ex-lax or Myalax for stool softener. Iron is way too harsh on my system, that constipates me awful! Hope you feel better...and call your doctor if you have to.

Hello,

I am so sorry you are in pain. Constipation is misrable and the last thing you need right now. I have been reading these boards while I wait for my time ( 12/21/2010 TLH
DaVinci) and saw something that may help it's called a MOM
Bomb ( Milk of magnesia and warmed prune juice)
I am sorry I cant tell you amounts of either part of the remedy but, if you go to older posts or type in constipation
in the spot where you would use a key word then you may find even more links to advice to your problem.
I know from personal experince when you are feeling a bit better flax seed in different forms like bread with flax seed in ground flax seed added to other foods and if you like vegatables kale is an excellent souce of fiber and iron
I hope you are feeling better soon
Patty