I am trying with all my heart to keep my dh home to the very end of this. I used to care for 14 patients every day for 8 to 12 hours...being on call 24/7 is different, but he is just ONE person...so it is easier. I also have my son in the home too...that is a life saver..my elderly parents live here too, and believe it or not, THEY are helping ME. 83 and 80 yrs old with their own health problems. We all rely on each other and it works. Tomorrow or next week, this may very well all change..but it works today and today is all I am going to worry about right now. As the Word says, "the evil of today is sufficient thereof."

Amen to that, Debra!

Leone, I'm sure that being in good shape physically must have an effect on the process. How ironic for it to prolong things. I am concerned about the same thing for my mother. Though she's almost 87, she is in very good condition physically, and I am afraid that she will linger long after the master computer has gone out. You're right, what a terrible disease.

Julianne

Wayne will take a couple swollows of water with his meds but that is almost all the water I can get him to drink. He is having a lot of trouble with constipation. Sometimes going as long as a week without a BM. Does anyone have any suggestions? I have used Mirolex, sena tab, stewed prunes, and several other products. He takes a sena tab everyday and I push fruit and give him bran in his oatmeal. He had colon cancer 6 years ago and since then he has had this problem. I have a feeling if he would just take more water it would help.

Today he fell into his wheelchair and caught my hand on the back where the chrome goes up...my right hand is swollen up and it is hard to type this even.....I need this hand! Occupational hazards. Jeanie

Jeanie, I would use milk of magnesia if those other things don't get results. It's pretty reliable.

I don't know if this would work or not, but it might be worth a try - Activia or some other yogurt with active cultures. Sometimes I think the good bacteria in our GI tracts get killed off from meds and possibly diet. Restoring the good bacteria might help??? Let us know if it works. Seems to work for one of my family members. Also, what about flax seed? Lots of people I know add that to their cereal. I can't tolerate it myself, let's just say "it works too well!"

Surely the colon can't work without hydration. I wouldn't think all the laxative type things would work if the body is dehydrated. Any chance of a fluid drip?

Lynn:

Did you grind the flax seeds? My understanding is that the seeds don't digest, and that the oil extracted is unstable and goes rancid pretty quickly. I grind the flax seed in a little coffee grinder and add it to granola--has a nutty taste kind of like wheat germ.

My mother (in a SNF) was having severe constipation issues and her doctor ordered milk of magnesia PRN and stool softeners daily but she continued to have trouble until the doctor added Activia yogurt with each meal. That has been several weeks ago and I haven't heard any complaints of constipation since about a week after she started the yogurt. Lynn, I think you are onto something with the live yogurt cultures.

Julianne

Nobody in my house eats flax seeds - let's just say, we don't need the "big guns" in the fiber department. I have seen it in cereals, like I think some Kashi cereals have it and others who add it I think just sprinkle it on as is, and keep it in the freezer. Lynn

Jeanie,
Try offering small amounts of water more often, it really is the key with major constipation! Sorry about the hand and yes you do need it, ice it and I am hoping it feels better !

Thank you for all the suggestions. Now to find time to go grocery shopping. I will keep you posted on the results.

I saw one reference to Popsicles. I'm a sugar-free Popsicle pusher. My husband will only drink 7-Up, and then only a half glass at a time (unless there's a bowl of potato chips to go along). He'll eat as many Popsicles as he can get, though.

Great idea! I make my own sometimes too, and they are very healthy and delicious - sometimes I add yogurt to fresh fruit, grind it all up in the Cuisinart, then put in popsicle molds. Lynn