Please help me find a meal plan for someone that's pregnant and has severe constipation.?

Question

I've been suffering w/ severe constipation for years now, ever since I started having gallbladder issues in late 1999 (I eventually had to have my gb removed in 2004). Anyway, I'm now currently 8 months pregnant (almost there) but miserable. If I thought the constipation was severe before, now that I'm prego it's like 50 times worse!! I asked my doc about it during my last visit but she told me there was nothing she could prescribe. She told me that taking Benefiber was ok and if that didn't help (which it didn't) to try Colace. She told me it was safe to take everyday. I'm gonna try that this weekend but would really like to see if I can find a website that will give me a meal plan on what to eat for my current condition. Does anybody know a good website that's specifically for pregnant women who suffer from severe constipation? P.S. I drink lots and lots of water daily too - about 112 ounces a day & I walk on the treadmill about 3 to 4 times a week for 20-30 minutes. Thanks

I just wanted to add my current diet:
For breakfast it's almost always a bowl of cereal either Kellogg's Shredded Wheat, or Fiber One cereal or All Bran Yogurt Bites cereal w/ 2 heaping teaspoons of Benfiber and I'll either add sliced strawberries or a banana to my cereal and drink a glass of orange juice. This morning I had a mix of the All Bran cereal and the FiberOne cereal w/ banana slices and 1 cup milk.
For lunch I had a big bowl of homemade chicken soup (consisted of rice, very little shredded chicken, cabbage, baby carrots and potatoes) to which I added 2 heaping tsps of Benefiber. And I drank water.
For dinner I plan on having some homemade potato pancakes (2) w/ homemade salsa and shredded lettuce on the side and maybe a side of beans and a big glass of water w/ 2 more tsps of Benefiber.
My breakfast is almost always the same thing. Lunch & dinner varies, but it's almost always homemade & NEVER consists of refined foods like white bread or flour and NO frozen foods.

Answer 1

Sounds like you could use some Power Pudding! This is great natural way to relieve and prevent constipation. We have used it for years in healthcare settings. Here is the recipe:
Power Pudding
2 1/2 c. Applesauce
1 1/2 c. Prune Juice
2/3 c. All Bran
Blend together. Eat 1-2 ounces, 2-3 times daily. This can be frozen also.
After you resolve your initial problem, you can eat 1-3 teaspoons daily for preventative. You can adjust dosing to your needs. I have never seen this fail! Remember to drink plenty of water and eat other foods with fiber also.
Good luck!

Answer 2

Best Constipation Cures

Answer 3

The key is lots of fibre, plenty of fluids, and exercise. You're doing 2 of the 3... So, adding a very high fibre cereal for breakfast (with fresh fruit) - like All Bran, Fibre One (at least 11-12 gm fibre per serving), you can mix it with yogurt too. Ensure at least 10 servings of fruits and vegetables a day - fruits with skins, lots of cauliflower/broccoli/carrots. Dried fruit can be a good snack with lots of fibre. Berries and pears have a fair bit of fibre. Eat whole grains - multigrain bread, brown rice, whole wheat pasta. Some people find that a hot beverage stimulates the bowels to move, and some find that eating a large meal will cause your bowels to move as well (it's called the 'mass effect'). Good snacks - prunes, popcorn, raw carrots, high fibre crackers.
Good luck!

Answer 4

Have you tried raw leafy greens like spinach? They help me alot. I have hypothyroidism so I am constipated alot anyway. When I got pregnant it made things much worse. If you do not eat much dark leafy greens, add them to your diet a little at a time. Sometimes to much can cause diarrhea. Of course drinking water is good to maintain. Good luck and this is what helped me. I can't say for sure whether it would help you. Also, try adding fiber cereals and veggies to your diet. As with the dark leafys, introduce them slowly. I hope this helps.

Answer 5

this helps me but maybe it can help you. when i am constipated, i eat boil chicken with some herbs. A little white rice on the side. Or sometimes i eat white rice with boil eggs. not the hard boiled kind, the kind you make into soup. Just add only salt and pepper. good luck.

Answer 6

Sounds too simplistic, but eat foods HIGH in fiber...apples, popcorn, raisins, prunes, and such...any fruit or veggie with the skin ON is a good choice...and also very good nutritionally for the baby...keep drinking your water...good luck...

Answer 7

I was told to get Colace as well. I think it comes in drops and in pills. I bought the drops because they were significantly cheaper. They taste awful.... spend the extra on pills!!! I know how uncomfortable constipation is.... I haven't found a solution to mine yet.

Answer 8

Eat whole wheat, no flour products. Eat things that have a good amount of fiber in them. Fiber is what makes y ou go.

Answer 9

cut out biscuits and other bakery items from ur diet, increase the intake of fruits. hving a cup of warm milk after dinner, shortly followed by some ripe fruits can relieve constipation. i dont know whether this will work in ur case, it really worked with me

Answer 10

please watch the colace and other laxatives because after prolonged use they will destroy the Filia in your intestinal tract and this can cause your i.t. to stop working that is what happened to me from doctors telling my parents to keep giving them to me and over the years it restored my i.t. to the point that they had to remove all of my large intestine and put an ostomy bag on me. although i don't like the bag i no longer suffer from the severe pain i was going through and i can pretty much eat anything that i like