Hi all,
So this morning was quite difficult. For the longest time I've always, always gone in the morning. But this morning nothing was happening! I got so nervous I started drinking tones of water, tried squatting, etc. etc. Finally, I'd had enough and pushed. I had a bulky, hard bm, some pink spotting, and a little bit of stinging/stretching. After I applied my diltiazem there was also a bit more stinging than usual. I know you're not supposed to strain, but I was so upset over being constipated. Has anyone every resorted to straining out of frustration? I really hope I didn't push myself back too much.
And what's with this constipation? I'm eating so well and yesterday I had lots and lots of water. Can anyone relate? I'll try the colace again--just one after I finish nursing for the day.
I'm so super frustrated today.

I wouldn't fret too much. You may have simply dehydrated your stools through nursing or some other reason.
The straining is probably what caused the spotting...
Try to relax....and use the colace for a day or two...

MK,
Just checking...I thought you had LIS. Are you still having issues afterward or I'm I incorrect?
Thanks and I hope you feel better. It may just be stress. I've been reading up on the gut and came across the term "the brain-gut axis." Basically, the brain and the gut are linked a lot more then most people commonly know. After analyzinng my own situation, I'm positive stress played a huge part in my current condition. Unfortunately, it's a terrible cycle because once you get into it, the stress of the situation continues to mount. Of course it may be something else, but I think stress is playing a large part for most of us.

Hi,
Thanks for the quick replies! I'm going to see how the colace goes--I'll give it a week at the most.
No, I haven't had the surgery. I have a consult toward the end of this month to see if it's required. But you're right about the stress. It's funny, I've been more positive lately, but for some reason I've had this problem. *sigh* The annoying thing is I thought I was doing well in terms of recovery. Of course I think I'm still doing well, I'm just ready for this to be over. :)
--Merita

Did you happen to eat a lot of fiber yesterday with not enough liquids? That can make things harder to pass.
Yes, I have strained out of frustration too just to get it over with. If you can't take baths today maybe you can place a warm washcloth there to get some heat to jumpstart the healing.
And I think taking the colace is a good idea. You may be having some hormonal shifts still from pregnancy, childbirth and nursing still that can cause changes in bowels for no other apparent reason.
Chris-you are right about the gut brain connection. My CRS has told me that the gut is high sophisticated and tied into the brain very strongly and is more sensitive than we think.

Hey Lecia,
I had my usual amount of fibre with lots and lots of water. The funny thing is this morning--despite continuing with my increased water intake--my mouth was really dry. You may be right about the hormones, though. My son is just about 5 months old and a hairdresser once told me that at about the 5 month mark I might lose a ton of hair, which may be connected to some kind of hormonal shift. So maybe I'm going through some hormonal shift of some kind. By the way, I had to cut out the soy milk because I noticed a reaction in my son. Once I cut out the soy and switched back to skim milk my son was fine. Eventually, when I stop nursing--ideally I'd like to nurse for a year--things should get a little easier. In the mean time, I'm going to take colace for up to a week just to get me over this obstacle.
Thanks again for everyone's help! It's really appreciated! :)
--Merita

I too get hormonal constipation along with cramps which cause sphincter clenchings around that time of the month. I always seem to have a setback then, which is really disappointing after three weeks of healing. To even things out, I have been taking either MOM or Mineral oil (I digest too much flax oil and olive oil). MOM is an old standby for people with IBS, especially IBS-C. I have read of many people taking small doses for years, and it has helped them to regulate their problems. Mineral oil is commonly prescribed for children who are chronically constipated and it is prescribed on a long term basis 6 mos-1 year. Since the oil molecules are too big to be digested they just pass through, kind of like olestra. I'm not trying to advocate constant use of laxatives or anything, but in my experience over the past year and a half, these are the only things that have helped keep me consistent. But sometimes even they don't help enough. Still, they are more helpful to me than Colace and dulcolax, which never did anything for me.

Hey, MK. Just wanted to say that I can totally relate. About a week and a half ago, after having quite a good streak of little pain/blood, I had the worst setback ever. I stayed out later than usualy, got home, and felt like I kinda had to go. So I thought I'd give it a shot. I felt blocked up and ended up straining. Oh, man, it was a nightmare. Some pain...hard stool...and LOTS OF BLOOD. I was extremely frustrated/depressed the next day. I'm still not sure why I had a hard BM. Maybe stress. Maybe something I ate. Maybe something I ate a while back...since I believe meat can stay in your intestines longer than other foods. Who knows? Sometimes there's only so much you can do. The good news is that I've now had 6 days of good BMs...so it's possible to snap back even after a major setback. Hang in there.
I think my BMs have improved over the last week due to a few of the following recent changes:
--eating no meat...if I continue doing well, I may introduce fish at some point...I generally just eat whole grains like brown rice and various vegetables
--taking flax oil supplements
--taking nifedipine
--no wiping after BM...I use a squirt bottle to wash the area instead
--using vaseline before BM
--eating oat bran (and some chopped fruit -- I like apricots) for breakfast
Hope you feel better!!!
steve

Mineral oil does interfere with the absorption of some vitamins and minerals including, Beta-carotene, Calcium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, and Vitamin K. If you take a multivitamin with minerals you should take it 2 hours either before or after the mineral oil to ensure absorption.

If used at all, mineral oil should never be given internally to small children, pets, or anyone with a cough, hiatus hernia, or nocturnal reflux, and should be swallowed with care. Due to its low density, it is easily aspirated into the lungs, where it cannot be removed by the body and can cause serious complications such as lipoid pneumonia.[2] While popular as a folk remedy, there are many safer alternatives available.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral_oil

Precautions: (Colace users...)
Do not take mineral oil if you are also taking docusate calcium, docusate potassium, and docusate sodium (Colace). These drugs will cause the mineral oil to be absorbed into the body. (American Cancer Society)

I would never advocate long term use of mineral oil for anybody...if swallowed carefully, short-term use for adults should be fine. I have used it, but only for a day or two.

I agree. Like I said, I am not advocating the constant use of laxatives, neither the emolient like colace and mineral oil, nor the osmotic like MOM or propolene glycol. What I am suggesting is that occasional (sometimes for weeks at a time) use of these during periods of constipation has been very helpful to me in dealing with my fissure/hard poo problem, especialy during times when I am feeling constipated and especially after I have reinjured myself.
Still, I do think that I need to explain myself futher, as I don't take my health lightly at all, and I do rather exhaustive research when thinking about possible remedies to my situation, and I thought it might be valuable to share some of the conclusions that I came to regarding how to solve the tough hard poo problem for myself when remedies like more fiber and water don't seem to be working.
After reading through several medical jounrals, including NJM and BMJ, and here is what I found regarding mineral oil:
Lipoid pnemonia occurs only if one breathes in the mineral oil. That is why it shouild not be given to animals and children that are too young to be able to eat properly.

The popularity of liquid paraffin as a treatment for constipation and encopresis stems primarily from its tolerability and ease of titration. Although conversion of mineral oil to hydroxy fatty acids induces an osmotic effect, liquid paraffin appears to work primarily as a stool lubricant. Therefore, liquid paraffin is not associated with abdominal cramps, diarrhoea, flatulence, electrolyte disturbances, or the emergence of tolerance with long term usage, side effects commonly associated with osmotic or stimulant laxatives. These features make liquid paraffin particularly attractive for use in chronic constipation and encopresis of childhood, where large doses and prolonged administration commonly are necessary during the disimpaction and maintenance phases of treatment, respectively.

For the purposes of disimpaction, liquid paraffin appeared to be slightly less efficacious than an oral lavage [i.e. enema] solution in a small randomised study by Tolia and colleagues. However, liquid paraffin was better tolerated and compliance was improved compared with the polyethylene glycol solution.

The widely held belief that fat soluble vitamin absorption may be affected by ingestion of liquid paraffin is based on early studies. In 1939 Curtis and Ballmer showed a slight decrease in serum carotene values after a number of weeks of liquid paraffin use. However, concentrations of carotene in the deficient range were not observed in this study.....In contrast, Ballantine and colleagues, in a study of prothrombin time, serum retinol, and tocopherol concentrations, did not find any significant difference in values among 19 children receiving liquid paraffin compared with a group of control patients. Some of these children had received liquid paraffin for as long as six years....Clark and colleagues, using sequential measurements of fat soluble vitamin markers, showed that up to four months of liquid paraffin treatment does not adversely affect concentrations of retinol or tocopherol. In a more recent study, McClung and colleagues showed stable serum concentrations of vitamin E among 16 children taking liquid paraffin over a period of six months. Taken together these data clearly indicate that liquid paraffin therapy is inadequate to deplete tissue stores of fat soluble vitamins.

One article that summarizes everything nicely is http://adc.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/85/2/121.