Dad’s bowel movements are difficult to manage. He goes 2-3 days without a bowel movement, then I have to give him a laxative. I feed him fruits/fiber and plenty of water. Any natural way/food/products to make him regular?
One of the easiest ways to help constipation to to have the person hydrate themselves but many older persons do not like to drink water. Prunes, pitted, taste sweet and two a day should help, and if you can get him to drink water with them all the better. Other choices might include Benefiber, or a generic form of it, a probiot (make sure it can get to the gut by being acid resistant) increasing fruits, vegetables and grains, and watching how much protein is ingested as it can constipate too. Dolcax one to up to three times a day can help but again he needs water to help this work too. If he develops diarrhea from it experiment until you get the best dosage for him. Also is he active at all? If you can get him to walk or do some physical activity that might help also. I would also encourage him to try to have a BM at the same time each day whether he is successful or not.
You may want to inform MD and try SennaGen 2 tabs twice daily (it's what we used in Hospice but in higher doses due to narcs on board); it's a very common bowel regimen that combines a softener with a stimulant lax.
Often , hydration and diet are not enough to cover for bowel laxity and OTC meds are enough to restart regular BMs.
Avoid the laxatives. Gut will become dependent on them. Go with natural as much as you can.
Papaya (if he will eat it) works well. Watermelon as well. Flax seed or powder in things he eats. A couple of colace per day is also helpful.
Check his meds. More than likely at least one of them causes constipation. Any kind of pain pill will slow the gut down. If he has to have them, then the colace can help offset some of that problem.
Sitting a lot and not walking slows the gut too. People that used to have a bm each and every day can start focusing in on it not being a daily thing anymore. Moving the legs and walking helps with gut movement...if he is still mobile.
My 88 yr old mom has always had this problem. We recently figured out what works. She loves a occasion lrish coffee iced, from one of the local coffee places, non alcohol of coarse. I get it with Oatmilk. It the oatmilk that helps. Because I have gotten it with half and half, it doesn’t work. It’s definitely the oatmilk that gets things moving. You can buy oatmilk creamer in most grocery stores. I’m not a doctor and this is not medically proven and if you have a sugar issues you need to check the sugar content, before consuming. But it works well for my dear mom.
Is your Dad eating less than he used to? Has his diet changed? Maybe he just doesn't have enough in his system to "empty" out.
In addition to getting up and walking, I found that hot liquids, e.g. coffee, tea and hot water, help my insides relax so they move through the system a little better.
Personally, I would stay away from laxatives.
...and I don't know if this applies to your situation, however, my brother started noticing he had constipation a lot. At first, vegetable soup helped, then he started using Benefiber in addition to the vegetable soup. When Benefiber, no longer worked, he went to the doctor and they found out that he had stage 4 pancreatic cancer. It didn't show up in his bloodwork and no other signs other than he was constipated and it was getting worse. They found the cancer with xrays.
So if your Dad hasn't changed his eating or his "exercise" and the constipation seems to be getting worse, please see a physician to see if there is a reason for his constipation.
We tried everything - metamucil, prescription drugs, dulcolax, miralax, etc. Then one of our Doctors recommended an "old fashion" remedy - mineral oil. FANTASTIC!! We put it in juice..it has no taste or odor. Gave it daily, Never had a problem again!
A supplement call Colon Max is great. I've been taking it for years. I take two capsules each night. I recommended this to a husband of a friend of mine and he has been using it ever since.
I take Trazadone for sleep and sometimes get so impacted with slow functions that stools are large and hard enough to plug the plumbing! I'm going to try for a can of purple plums!
Some people regularly "go" every 2-3 days and not daily. As long as his poop is about the size and shape of a banana and without "cracks" in it or diarrhea, he is fine.
Try 2 oz of Milk of Magnesia with 2 oz of prune juice warm it up a little in the microwave...about 10-20 seconds. Drink it and chase it down with at least 4 oz of warm water. Do this before having breakfast. Within an hour or so, he should get the urge. I'll warn you that if it works, then he may have the urge to go more than once until his cleaned out.
Now if that does not work, then wait 48 hours and next time increase all portions by an ounce..3oz MoM, 3oz prune juice and 5 oz warm water. Again same caveat he may get the urge rapidly more than once until he is cleaned out.
You can add about a teaspoon of apple sauce to it if he cannot tolerate just the two.
Going every other day is quite normal in the elderly.
Swiss Kriss is a marvelous herbal tablet that helps within 6-8 hours. No cramping. I would start off with 1/2 a tablet until you see how that person's body handles it. I get it on Amazon.
Often , hydration and diet are not enough to cover for bowel laxity and OTC meds are enough to restart regular BMs.
Papaya (if he will eat it) works well. Watermelon as well. Flax seed or powder in things he eats. A couple of colace per day is also helpful.
Check his meds. More than likely at least one of them causes constipation. Any kind of pain pill will slow the gut down. If he has to have them, then the colace can help offset some of that problem.
Sitting a lot and not walking slows the gut too. People that used to have a bm each and every day can start focusing in on it not being a daily thing anymore. Moving the legs and walking helps with gut movement...if he is still mobile.
I’m not a doctor and this is not medically proven and if you have a sugar issues you need to check the sugar content, before consuming. But it works well for my dear mom.
In addition to getting up and walking, I found that hot liquids, e.g. coffee, tea and hot water, help my insides relax so they move through the system a little better.
Personally, I would stay away from laxatives.
...and I don't know if this applies to your situation, however, my brother started noticing he had constipation a lot. At first, vegetable soup helped, then he started using Benefiber in addition to the vegetable soup. When Benefiber, no longer worked, he went to the doctor and they found out that he had stage 4 pancreatic cancer. It didn't show up in his bloodwork and no other signs other than he was constipated and it was getting worse. They found the cancer with xrays.
So if your Dad hasn't changed his eating or his "exercise" and the constipation seems to be getting worse, please see a physician to see if there is a reason for his constipation.
Now if that does not work, then wait 48 hours and next time increase all portions by an ounce..3oz MoM, 3oz prune juice and 5 oz warm water. Again same caveat he may get the urge rapidly more than once until he is cleaned out.
You can add about a teaspoon of apple sauce to it if he cannot tolerate just the two.
Going every other day is quite normal in the elderly.
Try Swiss Kriss. It is really gentle, and works very well.
Swiss Kriss Herbal Laxative Tablets: https://a.co/d/jaQKewH
If it is severe use magnesium citrate
If he gets loose stools use magnesium glycinate
Give this daily.