Hyperemesis Gravidarum Support and Research Forums

Hey gals,

Any advice for zofran related constipation? I am on 24 mg a day and well, everything has stopped. Tried docusate calcium, prunes, prune juice, glycerin suppositories. Nothing. Ugh.... I even tried magnesium citrate and couldn't keep a sip down. Yuck. I guess I'm really in the HG hall of fame now. Hope all is well. Hugs and help please
Carrie

Hi Carrie,

I have definitely been there. Everyone, including the doc told me to take Colace. I take two a day and that seems to do the trick. You can take up to three a day. I take them every day to keep the constipation at bay. Hope this helps!!!

My home health nurse always recommended senekot. I used it once when everything else had failed and it worked. I was at the point where I could feel the hard rocks of stool if I pushed on my belly, and even an enema hadn't gotten them to move. Everything started moving (but I had to use another enema to get it to come out, sorry if this is too much) and I can't say that it was fun, but I felt sooooo much better after.
I never really ate anything after that so I didn't have as much of a problem.
Between the zofran, the not drinking, and then not eating at all, I remember that I only went twice during the whole month of July 2002.

My 1st HG pg, I had awful constipation w/ zofran. The only thing that worled was to do 2 or 3 enemas... even then it didnt work so well and was painful as heck.
This past HG PG, interstingly nexium helped to keep me going on a reg basis.

Jen reminded me how Reglan would always switch up the cycle for me. Even a small dose would turn the intractable constipation to diarrhea.
I didn't like the other side effects, but it might be nice for some people to take with the zofran and help with nausea as well as constipation.

Thanks for the advice everybody. Hope yall have a great day and are feeling well.
Carrie

Hey, I just started to take the Zofran reglarly, yesterday. Didn't have a BM this morning, and I'm usually an every am girl. So, what can I do NOW, that will get me moving, and keep me moving? I know how unbelieveble it is to need to go, and be stopped up. ICK! Please leet me know. And these rememdies are obviously safe, right?

Christy

Oh you poor things! I remember it well. I was on liquid Zofran via SQ pump and my constipation was out of this world horrible. Couple that with dehydration and your chances of a BM or slim to none. I actually had to do enemas often because nothing else helped. My home health nurse told me that after three days your feces become toxic and I was literally going once every week or two! I know enemas are uncomfortable, but it is important to do them if need be! I also tried every kind of stool softener, laxative, suppositories etc., but none really worked for me. I say find what works for you and go with it!
Good luck to you all!

Hey girls,

Just thought I'd let you know milk of magnesia helped tremendously and also gaviscon seems to be helping too. I am still on 24 mg zofran a day and it seems once I broke through with the milk of magnesia I have been going normally since, maybe your body just has to adjust. I hope this is a new pattern. I would try that, Christy and drink as much as you can ,girl.
Carrie

I too have horrible constipation. I had to buy a toilet augur both for my apartment and my friends' apartment... I seem to clog toilets everywhere I go (yuck)

Anyway, if left to its own devices, my body will only go about once a week, if I'm lucky, and then it's extremely painful. In the beginning of my Zofran regimen, when I was really dehydrated, it was 2 weeks and I had to use an enema (and boy did it hurt! I think I got a sneak preview of L&D) I've been using colace, taking the max 3 pills a day and milk of magnesia when I need to go. I don't seem to be able to go on my own, so maybe the combo will work for you too. Take the colace every day, and when you start to feel the need, take the M.O.M. Even still, I need to take the M.O.M. a couple of times usually. It's a good idea to keep track of when you go. My doctor recommended the colace/MOM combo, but she also said I should avoid taking MOM more than twice a week. Good luck!

Thanks for all your replies. Ok everything has stopped again. I didn't realize it was bad to take milk of magnesia more than 2x a week. I was counting on that cause everything has stopped again. I hate this. I am getting big tummy not do to baby but due to not being able to go. I guess thats the trade off though for staying hospital free this time. Hugs everyone
Carrie

I too suffered from terrible constipation with my pg with Hope. . .and I only went to 10-12 weeks. Always blamed the dehydration, never thought of the Zofran, which didn't work for me anyway. I even hurt my tailbone the day Hope was born. . .

Carrie,

I have had the "big tummy" for months due to being stopped up as well. I didn't realize it was due to that, though, until about 2 weeks ago.

Thank you all for the reassurance that it is not just my crazy body doing weird things, but it is a common side effect that I can get help controlling.

I didn't have this problem anywhere near as bad with the other three pregnancies. In fact, the past 15 years I have had the exact opposite problem with IBS. This kind of threw me for a loop! Since the first enema last week I have been unable to go on my own. And Yes, the cramping pain of that was quite similar to L & D for me also.

I am going to go pick up some Milk of Magnesia today!

Thank you all for being here!!!!!!!

I just wanted to share that this is my 4th HG pg and I did not have Zofran during my first two pgs (in the late 80's and early 90's), so I did not take Zofran until my 3rd pg in 2001. I had horrible constipation with that pg and finally gave in to my OB's suggestion to try the Senecot-S (which also has Colace in it). It really works for me. I take 2 tablets EVERY DAY to keep things moving and if I forget to take it, I will be stopped up and feeling worse. Things aren't exactly normal, but at least it is moving out of me. It does NOT cause diarrhea or cramping (which is what I was afraid of and why I was reluctant to take it). My OB said since it is a natural vegetable laxative, it is perfectly safe and will not hurt you or the baby even if you take it every day. I stayed on it until I was able to go off the Zofran at 34wks. I did not have any problems after that. Best wishes!

Okay, I'm right there with the constipation from hell. Yep, ever since the Zofran started...I did some enemas (left over from my daughter's own const. issues), which worked okay, tried suppositories, which hardly worked at all. I've been on the Colace x2 each day, but that hasn't really done much to help me. Every other day or so, I go the teensiest amounts, and it's still a struggle. I think I'd feel better if I weren't so stopped up. Someone here said they could feel the hard rocks of stool in their belly. I feel that all over, and it hurts. I know my belly wouldn't be this big if it weren't for how backed up I am. I increased my Colace to 3 pills, starting yesterday - how do you take them...1 pill 3x/day, or 3 pills 1x/day? Does it make a difference? Also is it safe to take the colace, then an enema on top of that?

Thanks all, for any input!

Oh man, ouch. I can still feel the pain. I found no real solution since I couldn't drink anything, but did stop the zofran since it didn't work too well anyway, except to back me up. If it's any help, Phenegran did the opposite...maybe phen supps would work for you for a while.

I am not sure of the safety of enemas and colace...I was doing all of what you did as well ( with the 1st hg pg). The only thing that helped were the enemas. I can tell you though, the more you do enemas, the more you willl feel you need them. I am wondering if colace becomes less effective when using enemas.
As I have stated, this time around the nexium worked great. Even on high doses of zofran, once on the nexium I had a bm everyday. And that is somethi9ng that is not of the norm for me, pg or not. Another thing that helps me w/ constipation in general when I am not eating well is keyodophilus.
Good luck.

I'm on 24mg of Zofran (just recently increased from 16mg). I was also told to take Colace and was taking 2x a day. Nothing much seemed to happen and it was giving me stomach cramps. I was able to go to the bathroom every few days anyway before the Colace, but it wasn't fun.

It seems though that now every time I go to the bathroom I get sick later in the day. I can feel it coming on. Feels like a big greasball in the back of my throat. And that's with just having plain toast for b'fast and nothing for lunch. Has anyone had that experience?

I have been having the worst constipation from Zofran that even the max colase wasn't doing anything. My Dr. gave me a Rx for Kristalose (Bad speller, so I hope that is right). It is a life saver! It is a class B drug like Zofran, so I don't feel too bad about taking it. I am taking it in a powder that you mix w/4 ounces water. It tastes like sugar water and works best if the water is warm. I take it an hour after eating after my Zofran has kicked in. The pharmacy had to special order it so it took a day to get, plus they had to call the Dr. and conferm because they didn't know what it was. So ask for it ASAP, I thought I was going to die, my intestines were so obstructed that even with the Zofran I couldn't keep anything down because there was no place for it to go. It may take a day or two to do its thing but it is really gentle.

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