Trouble with bowel movements

[retiredmus2010]

Hello fabulous forum !

It has been some time since I have posted last. LIFE with ALS intervenes and gets INTERESTING!

Ok so husband is having trouble moving his bowel. I Hoyer onto the potty chair and only allow him to sit for an hour. Yesterday, the results were not spectacular and we sat for 2 hours (2 different sessions).

I am putting:

1. Benefiber on his food
2. Drinking warm prune juice in am and in addition hot coffee
3. Before I put him in the hospital bed at night he eats 3 prunes
4. During the day he drinks one Ensure
5. He takes Cascara at night on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.
6. He eats the "recipe" with apple sauce daily one cup prune juice, one cup bran flakes, one cup applesauce mix together, place in a Tupperware type container and add to some more applesauce as a serving with 2 tablespoons of this "recipe"
7. I also try to see that he eats some vegetables, fruits and salad during the day.


Is there anything else I could be doing?
Thanks,
Ginger

 

[10steps]

Get Miralax - talk with the doctor first of course. It is over the counter. Worked awesome. My husband would drink it in tea(supposed to take it with 8oz of fluid). He NEVER was able to drink all the fluid....maybe in 2.5 hrs if I pushed it. Still worked. He'd have it in the afternoon and ready to go in the morning - no panic rush though. He went from hanging out 40-50 minutes to 5.

 

[Tom's Support]

Tom asks for exlax. I personally use senecot.
Not exactly natural, but both get the job done.
Mineral oil is also good, it lets stuff slide, but beware! the oil comes out too and it gets messy.

 

[tammyg]

I remember my dad going through this. It's like a man thing. Even in the movies putting the newspaper under their are and disappearing for an hour. My dad used a lot of emema's. He had a feeding tube though. The only thing I know that can help is it's called "Grandma's Dark Mollassas. In a jar with I think a yellow label. It is ok by itself or on food, in tea, you can mix it in his apple sauce. I remember going through a LOT of apple sauce with this disease.It's is usually by the pancake syrup, by the King syrup. It is great stuff, like a tea or table spoon a day is great for everybody. YoHas a lot of good stuff in it. If you can't find it , send me a private message with your address and I will send you some. Hope it helps. I hope this helps....

 

[trfogey]

According to my hospice nurse, increased fiber intake (especially fiber supplements containing psyllium husks) is not a good solution for someone who is not physically active. It can, in fact, create problems such as impaction if the patient has a problem with incomplete elimination. Her recommendation for an inactive person is regular use of stool softeners, occasional use of mild laxatives or enemas when needed.

 

[BarryG]

I had a lot of constipation problems and now take a stool softener called Ducoset every night and about 120 ml of prune juice every morning and it works for me. I am 100% peg tube so I get lots of liquid but make sure the fluid intake is sufficient.

 

[Dave C]

+1 for Barry, Jen takes it every night

 

[retiredmus2010]

Have some of the miralax but because a neighbor said he uses it 3 times a day and barely makes it to the bathroom it has spoiled it for my husband. he is now the "KING OF WORRIERS." I am soon going to have a "come to Jesus meeting" with him and explain that we are out of options unless he would like to do enemas daily.
Thank you for this one!

 

[retiredmus2010]

Mineral oil.... hmmmmm will need to think about that one... thanks for the cautions!

 

[retiredmus2010]

Ok... this is an interesting medical take on the problem.... thank you to all of you

 

[susanf]

My Dad swears by mineral oil. He's 87 and it always works for him

 

[Mrs C]

My PALS had this issue along with a fissure for at least 4-5 months. We did literally EVERYTHING mentioned here so far. The key is sometimes you need to take a look at the intake to determine the cause and treat the problem, not the symptoms. We removed all meds we could, including stool softeners, fiber additives, etc., and started over with strictly Miralax and a normal diet. It worked wonders! Remember to HYDRATE HYDRATE HYDRATE too. There are many meds and supplements that dry your entire system out, so be aware

 

[retiredmus2010]

You are so right! I push, push fluids and then he has to wake me up in the middle of the night to void. However, hydration is the goal. He constantly complains about dry mouth during the night. He uses a BIPAP.

 

[jacobwilson8]

My family has the same problem. & again the solution was Grandma! She used to force us to have a spoon of castor oil once in a week. It is a totally natural method to help bowl movement. Give it a try!

 

[rose]

Get 'generic' Miralax. Recommended by my doctor, okay to use everyday, no need to worry about becoming dependent upon it. This used to be a prescription, but is OTC now. Most grocery stores, pharmacies, etc have their own brand label, will have it sitting next to Miralax on the shelf. It dissolves completely, can even go into a glass of water if desired.

Even if you husband needs a stimulant type lax to start things moving, once this immediate problem is 'passed', faithful use of the miralax will keep it under control in for the future. It only takes running out of it, and not taking it for maybe two days before I have a problem.