Tummy Troubles - Gurnee, IL

F.,
Some of this can be hormonal, too. For IBS, you should avoid fats. Also, it sounds like you need even more fiber. Have you tried using Benefiber? It's in a green plastic jar.
Good luck and Congratulations.
Amy

I don't know how this will set with your IBS, but I was a big fan of my "pregnancy power breakfast" to combat this very thing. Actually, my DS is now 5 months old and I still eat it because I like it so much.

It's a bowl of steel cut oats with salt and a little butter (I usually make a pot each week and microwave a bowl each day) and then a small bowl of plain yogurt with ground flax seed, pecans, and stewed dried fruit. (I usually mix prunes, apricots, and cranberries. Put them in a small pan with water and a cinnimon stick and simmer for about 30 minutes. Again, can be made 1x/week). This is really tasty and is a fiber blast.

Yes, two bowls of food each morning. You could space them out by a couple hours and bring the yogurt etc to work with you as a midmorning snack.

Either way, a lot of the food issues associated with pregnancy (except for being hungry all the time) should be getting much much better as you leave your first trimester behind. I was never sick but I definitely felt "better" after about 15 weeks.

Congratulations on your pregnancy!!

I am 14 weeks also (with my third). I have problems with constipation regularly, but especially while pregnant. I've tried everything and the only things that gets me working correctly is eating a bowl of mini-wheats every day. I don't know why my body responds to this while it doesn't to everything else. But, it works! I get bored and will stop for a couple of weeks and I pay the price. Good luck!

I currently take Florastor twice a day (it's a probiotic, you can get it at Walgreens or on line. I also take Digest Gold, it is an enzyme that helps digest food better (you can get this on line) before every meal and that seems to help. They are both non-prescription, but check with your doctor just to be sure. I have tried numerous products for IBS and so far these seem to be helping.
Good luck,
S.

Talk to your OBGYN or midwife and have them change your prenatal vitamin prescription. The iron in the vitamins makes you even more constipated, but there are some vitamins that have a stool softener to counteract that effect.

Also, drink lots and lots of water. By the time you actually FEEL thirsty, your body is already dehydrated. I know it is a pain to have to go pee every 5 minutes, but after a week or so you will adjust to it and your stools will be softer. Your body is in dire need of water while pregnant and nursing too.

Congrats!
Amanda

I just read a book that might interest you - Restoring your digestive health by Jordan Rubin and Joseph Brasco. They had info on all sorts of digestive problems, including constipation.

Good Luck!
C.

Hi,
Cololics. Just trust me. Perfectly safe while pregnant. You will be skipping after one treatment. Good Luck.

I suffer from IBS and I know your frustration. Have you talked to your doctor about it? I had to stay away from sodium, carbonation, and the usual suspects. I did eat a lot of applesauce, ate bran and all that good stuff, although you are eating small meals, try not eating until you are actually really hungry. I know that sounds opposite of what everyone says, but I could never really enjoy food until I waited until my stomach was grumbling and then I would eat very very slow and I would still feel stuffed quickly, but I could at least enjoy part of the meal. Your baby will be ok, b/c we are only supposed to consume 300 extra calories a day and you can have a medium size bowl of applesauce and get those 300 calories. This worked for me, I dont know if it will work for you. I also watched my iron intake, while Iron is good for the baby, it does cause constipation and a lot of doctors prescribe iron pills to pregnant women, so watch that as well.
M.

Hi......
Are you taking prenatal vitamins...because, those will definately constipate you from the iron. I'm not pregnant (have one child), but do have the same issues you do and make the same concoction (w/o applesauce). Actually, applesauce is constipating, but apple juice and apples are not. I do a mix of prune juice and metamucil and it seems to work well, but you may want to check your thyroid and food sensitivity (celiac disease; which is a gluten-sensitivity). Those things can emulate IBS and is very uncomfortable if not diagnosed properly. I would try and stay away from any wheat products and that may help eliminate the bloating. Good luck and congrats! K.

First off, I know that IBS can often be a catch-all term for doctors when they can't figure out what it wrong with your intestines, so it can be tricky to give advice that will work for anyone else. I can only relate what my own experience has been.

My IBS has me normally running the diarreah gamut instead of the constipation one. Pregnancy, however, reversed that end of things. There were actually points during my pregnancy where I felt "normal" even!

From that end, fiber, fatty foods, and too many carbs made it worse. Watch the gassy foods too - towards the end of both my pregnancies I found that my main problem was painful gas (my doctor recommmended I use the gas pills that have the same ingredients as the Mylicon drops for infants, and it did seem to work the best for helping get rid of that). Cheese and broccoli, for example, were all but forbidden from the house!

Other than trying to keep a nice, balanced diet going (diabetic diets, I found out while having gestational diabetes during the pregnancy too, are actually very good for IBS maintenance too!) I make sure to eat a yogurt a day and I take a vitamin B5 supplement - both to promote healthy digestion. B5 is found in fresh vegetables, which many people don't eat enough of these days.

When things get bad on the diarreah side, I tend to add alfalfa supplements into the mix. I also try to take these vitamins/supplements in capsule form, as I had one doctor explain that our bodies don't always digest all of the hard pills, so we don't always get all their benefits. I made sure my prenatal vitamins are in capsule form too.

I've found that breastfeeding seems to have kept the diarreah bug away too. My IBS did not return to "normal" (ugh) until a couple of months after I stopped breastfeeding my son, and hasn't returned yet this time since I am still breastfeeding my daughter. I have occasional issues with it only when I've been eating something fatty or otherwise bad for me.

I will likely have to readjust the diet again when my daughter weans. For me, that will mean bulking up on the fiber some, although I did used to take one prescription as well, and we'll see if I have to go back on it or not. Your doctor may have something safe you can take while you are pregnant too - it can't hurt to ask, especially if you see a gastroenterologist.

If all else fails - isn't chocolate a laxitave in sufficient quantaties? (just kidding!) Good luck!

Hi F., I too has IBS. I stopped taking any medication once I started having kids (four years ago). I am now pregnant with my third child and I have found that while I am pregnant I can eat pretty much what I want without any major problems. I do eat dried prunes or apricots and bran cereal everyday. I only drink water, nothing else. I do take metamusil once a week. Try taking your vitamins right before you go to bed. I don't know if this has any effect, but I have done that with all my pregnancies. Good luck and enjoy your ever changing body!

try luke warm water with fresh squeezed lemon. Hope it works!