by MyBlanket » 18 Oct 2015, 13:25
Success!!!! Story below.
Thank you on the follow up post Annie, I actually got some advice along those same lines that helped me out, but the actual thing I believe to be the solution surprised me. I was uncomfortable all day because of stomach pains and the can't-stay-in-one-position-for-long-before-it-hurts phenomenon because of the blockage. I could tell Miralax and the stool softner were working because I started to get lots of gas--each of which felt like something solid because of the blockage. I tried again at ~5pm and had no success, but passing a lot of the gas did help my bloating and comfort. Still, if there had been a clinic open on Saturday near me I would have seen a doctor it was so uncomfortable. It was certainly a feedback loop of stress and pain.
I talked to my dad, who has been through more of the AF & related stuff than I, and he gave me these pieces of advice:
1) Mix the Miralax in Gatorade. I don't know if it helped, but it certainly made it easier to chug because I was kinda getting bored of drinking glass of water after glass of water.
2) Stick the B.R.A.T. diet to reduce waste. Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, & Toast (you can have peanut butter on the toast) is what it stands for. Knowing what I should eat was a big relief because I had pretty much stopped eating since the first failed attempt, so afraid I was of making it worse in the long run. Thinking about it after reading Annie's post, cucumbers and other veggies would be good ideas too. I know cucumbers, for all their tastiness, are mostly just water.
3) This was the piece of advice he gave me when he called to check in at 9pm--and it wasn't a conventional piece of advice so take it with a grain of salt. He knows I can be pretty high strung and that it had a big impact on my BM's as a kid (apparently parents notice these things), so he suggested I just relax and have a beer. I said "Well doc, you don't need to tell me twice!" and I had two stouts after dinner, just enough to get myself buzzed. I started to feel the need to go maybe 15 minutes after happy hour set in.
I had to try incredibly hard but eventually one piece came out (I laughed it was a such a relief). I was still in discomfort because other stuff was along the way but stuck, so I kept trying and eventually I had what I would consider to be a complete BM. Now, I will say, it was an incredible effort to make this happen. I am a mid 20's, physically active guy, with no history of heart disease related conditions like obesity or diabetes. If I was afraid I had clots in my CV system or for my heart, I would have stopped and waited to see a doctor or for things to get softer. It was really that much of mind-numbing, can't-breath strain.
I am going to continue to finish this bottle of Miralax and stool softner this week and am promising myself to never miss drinking water or taking fiber supplements again. But I guess the takeaway for anyone else who knows that stress plays a large role in their BM's and constipation is that relaxation (maybe with a little bit of chemical help) can make the difference. But hey, I'm not a doctor, this is just an anecdote. Thank you all for your replies! *relief face*