Ok, so I think I might be a little constipated but I’m not sure how to handle this. I know the standard advice is to go to the hospital, but please keep in mind I don’t have insurance, so I don’t want to rack up any huge unneccessary bills.
So, on thursday, I got really sick. I was exhausted and stressed from school. I took Advil PM the night before to help me sleep, and then Rx Ritalin in the day to wake me up. Suddenly, at around 4 p.m., I vomited my lunch. Then for about the next 6 hours I continued to vomit, probably over 10 times. I couldn’t even hold down water. It finally stopped around 11 after I drank some carbonated water. I fell asleep and felt better the next day.
The next day I ate a protein shake in the morning, and half of a burrito in the afternoon. No bowel movement.
Saturday. Cereal for breakfast. Burrito in the afternoon (these are pretty big). Coffee. Plenty of water. Unbelievably, loud and frequent bowel sounds like I had never heard before. Still, no bowel movement.
Today. Cereal in the morning. Burrito in the afternoon. Coffee and plenty of fluids. Small bowel movement.
This is totally out of whack for me. I feel full and bloated, but other than that I’m fine. I’m urinating frequently. I’m still taking the Ritalin and advil PM. I feel like I’m about due for a Bowel movement but it’s not coming so I’m getting a little worried. I fear that I may have damaged something from the severe vomiting on thursday night.
Not a doctor or anything close… but I would get some yogurt or pro-biotics to help get gut flora back in a good state and drink a lot of water to counter dehydration
Mint can help decrease gas
Chamomile can help gut motility (but it doesn’t sound like you have that problem).
You don’t sound constipated, but if you really think you are, I’ve found that a VERY SMALL amount of Epsom salt (really small, like a teaspoon to start) will cause your body to try to power wash your intestines from the inside out.
Certainly not a doctor, but Polyethelyne Glycol (MiraLAX) and a stool softner (docusate sodium) Are FDA approved and OTC for what you are looking for. Unfortunately they take a couple of days to work. An enema may provide more immediate relief. Can get any of these at Walmart, CVS, etc…
It is? Who goes to the hospital from being “a little constipated”?
I don’t know what’s in the burritos you’re eating, but it looks like you’re not eating any fruits or veggies. That’s a prescription for constipation, among other problems.
And why are you taking Ritalin? I assume you know that among its side effects are nausea and vomiting.
I am not an attorney but my advice would be to either eat a diet that includes some fruits and vegetables OR don’t share any information about your bowel movements. You could have at least made more of an effort to simply eat a better diet. What’s with these huge-ass burritos and afternoon coffees?
I also ANAD, blah blah, but if you crapped today how do you think you’re constipated? Tiny little pebbles, like seriously dry and hard nuggets can be a sign of a problem, but just less stool than normal after you vomited for a day and then ate very little the next simply means you didn’t have much to get rid of.
And, really, burritos three days in a row? Dude, that’s nasty.
Give your gut some time to catch up, no movement for three days is a rule of thumb before thinking there’s a problem. Give it another day or two before getting worried. You needed to re-fill, for one, to get your gut moving again, and now you need to give your gut some time to get back to “normal” motility and figure out what to do with all the burrito gunk you stuffed into it. If you’re that worried and want to try something fairly gentle but the next step up from coffee or tea - magnesium you can get in tablet form (or buy Milk of Magnesia), or about a gram of vitamin C.
Things can be really whacked out after any kind of stomach upset or trauma. As another poster said, what’s in those burritos. If they have a lot of black beans or something that’s good, but still not the best thing in the world. What kinda cereal? I mean, Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs are “cereal” but essentially fiber free.
I’d suggest getting some dried fruit and chowing down on that. Prunes (the orange / lemon essence ones are actually pretty tasty). Maybe some Fibercon tablets or the like with PLENTY of water). Colace (stool softener) or Miralax may help as well (I’ve taken to using that for the day or so of low-fiber eating before I have a colonoscopy).
I wouldn’t go with any kind of stimulant laxative (the coffee should do all of that that you might need). You just want to bulk things up so your body can get things moving as easily and painlessly as possible.
Was the “small bowel movement” today runny or ribbony? If so, go the ER. Do you hurt a lot? Go to the ER. Any fever? Go to the ER.
I know, bills and all. And you’re right. I don’t recommend it lightly; I know how devastating medical bills can be. But we went through this “a little constipated” thing with my husband four years ago, and it wasn’t pretty. Sounds just about exactly like your description, including the small bowel movement which made him think everything was going to be okay. He was a couple of hours from peritonitis and death; he’d already had a very small bowel perforation by the time we got there and needed emergency surgery and a colostomy. Don’t let it go that long.
It sounds like there’s plenty of bowel activity (sounds, gas) so the big question is…why isn’t it moving anything? There’s plenty going in, so something’s preventing it from coming out…
If you don’t make much money, the hospital has forms you can fill out to get them to lower or eliminate the fees.
And yeah, dude…for future reference…fiber is your friend.
Adding to my previous post, a fun little anecdote: About 20 years ago, I ate a bad meatball pizza and wound up with some kind of food poisoning that had me running to the bathroom, doubled over with cramps, several times an hour. “Ribbony” indeed as WhyNot mentioned. Immodium didn’t help, it just slowed things down enough for me to take my flight home for the weekend. I finally went to the doctor a couple days later; tests were inconclusive for the nature of the beast, but suggested there was something bacterial at play.
So I was started on Cipro - and within 24 hours things came to a screeching halt.
After 48 hours of that, it was time for the Fibercon.
“Ribbony” can mean the bowel is spasming unproductively, in which case it’s uncomfortable and annoying, but not something to freak out over. Like you say, bacterial, maybe. It’s also fairly common with IBS, and if the IBS is fixed with diet or meds, the colon calms down and the ribbony stools disappear.
Or it can be hemmorhoids or benign polyps narrowing the bowel. Annoying, and something to keep an eye on, but generally not emergent.
Or it can mean cancer or a boulder of hard poop blocking the chute, but a small amount of softer stool can squeeze around it and make it out. That’s when we get worried, because a partial blockage can turn into a complete blockage can turn into swelling, infection and things going klabooey (rupture).
Ribbony stool, or consistent stools thinner than a pencil, should always be checked out. Most of the time, we breathe a sigh of relief and chuckle about the nature of poop. Some times, we have to call and get you an operating room.
Yes, full disclosure, I tend to freak out a little more than most people about constipation in otherwise healthy people. I’m probably overreacting based on my personal experiences with a dude who was “just constipated” until I was holding his hand in the ICU for a week 'cause they couldn’t get him off the ventilator after his surgery. And then we got to learn all about colostomy care and figure out how to restructure our lives around a bag of poop on the belly. And two weeks ago we were back in another ER, this time with a partial obstruction that luckily cleared itself with some time on anti-throwing-up drugs and painkillers with a tube into the stomach to drain this horrifying black liquid out. So, yeah, obstructions are pretty “up” in my consciousness. I’m sorry.
(But still go get it checked out if it’s not better very soon.)
