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Have used magnesium citrate, but last bloodwork showed high magnesium so Dr. said to stop. Went to GI Dr and he scratched his head b/c she suffers w/low sodium so bad she can't do normal laxatives or her sodium drops and it's an ER visit as heart goes into fibs, etc., Any suggestions helpful Do steel cut oats, apples in a.m. and high fiber waffles. Karo syrup in tea, more apples for lunch w/high fiber soup and whole wheat breads. Eats no refined cookies/cakes, etc. b/c by the time she eats all of her fiber too stuffed for desserts and junk food. Losing weight but difficulty eliminating. Thanks for input.

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Warm water, 1st thing in the morning, will stimulate her bowels. Practice good food combining - and do not serve fruit with anything else - EVER. Apples are great, and make a very good mid-morning snack. Tasteless fiber products, mixed in liquid are great. At least 64 oz water a day, along with watery vegetables/fruits. If you can get her to drink more than 64 oz that would be even better. Prunes are a wonderful snack, but as with any fruit, not to be combined with any other food - other than more fruit. Try prunes and hot tea. I find my elderly ladies will drink two mugs of tea with no objection, but one glass of water is a battle. Get herbal tea. Even "Smooth Move" tea, which I found to work very, very, very well. By the way - I wouldn't try a lot of these at the same time. I once tried Smooth Move and prunes, and ended up a prisoner of the potty for hours. :-) I don't believe adding more drugs is the answer to this problem, as it is probably the drugs which helped cause it in the first place! Stay away from processed foods, white flour, sugar, etc. Whole grains, combined with vegetables, are good. Vegetables combined with easy to digest proteins are good. Fruit on an empty stomach. Water, water, water. Warm prune juice before bed would probably work well, but I would be super careful that it didn't work really well at 2 in the morning! Good luck!!
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You certainly seem to be going about this the right way. My hat is off to you! This has got to be so hard for both you and your mother.

What about a higher fat content? Butter on the waffles, and a few strips of bacon? An egg fried in olive oil between slices of that whole wheat bread? Can she take a stool softener?

I hope some one comes along with something that worked wonders for them. Good luck to you!
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Sadly, almost all medications elderly folks take have constipation as a side effect. My MIL must use stool softeners and laxatives every single day.

Push fluids. This is hard for older ones because their thirst mechanism just doesn't work well. But shoot for 64 oz - leaning heavily on water. My MIL likes some of the flavored teas and green tea. She likes cranberry juice - but watch the sugar if you re dealing with diabetes. We water it down 50/50. Goes further and it helps the water go down. Whole fruits are better, much better, than juice though. More fiber and less sugar. My MIL takes a good probiotic each morning also and enzymes for digestion. These help keep the colon in balance. If you can get her to be more active - that may help - but many seniors can't be active anymore. Hope you get some more suggestions and that something helps. OH - forgot - there is an herbal remedy called 'Smooth Move' Tea that works. Ask her doctor if it would be appropriate. It comes in different flavors. The chocolate isn't too bad.
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My mom drinks about 3 ounces of warm prune juice every nigh..this has always helped her ..she has chronic conspt also. Course stress and nervousness get everything out of whack too
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Every day, my dad takes a few tablespoons of this "pudding" a dietician told me about: 1 cup all bran cereal, one cup applesauce, 1/2 cup plus a little more of prune juice. I can always tell if he skipped it because it works well and tastes sweet enough for the elder tastebud to enjoy.
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I will try more fat. She eats a lot of Promise but I will shoot for butter and more oils. Great suggestion.Thanks
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Also like oldcodger2 says..the docs have told us 64 ounces of fluid..water best..we usually mix with lemonade ...don't have to fight so hard to drink..also..docs have made sure we use Metamucil daily..
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Is you mom taking antidepressant? I didn't know until an ER visit due to impacted bowel that antidepressants draw fluid from the bowel causing impaction. She had been taking them for 3 years and noone had mentioned this side effect and of course I didn't read the 3 pages of "caution" that comes with the meds. After clearing out the impaction, the dr put her on a daily stool softener and that has helped tremendously. She is now on one every other day.
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Have you tried apricots in any form? They seem to be very useful for my family.
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Every single medication my MIL takes causes constipation. She takes 3 stool softeners and 2 Dulcalax every single night. Some days she does well with fluids - some days not. She gets tired of my 'reminders' and I get tired of reminding her.

She goes from constipated to diarrhea. Back and forth. It sure gets old.

One thing that really gets things moving for her is canteloupe. Hope some of these suggestions 'get things moving.' Pardon the pun :0)
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