Constipation 6 weeks after giving birth

[cassadilla]

Hello. I just gave birth almost 6 weeks ago and i have been suffering hard and painful bowel movements since. The hospital gave me Colace to help with bowel movements but it didnt help much. I was going every 3 days or so. So on my 2 week check-up with my midwife, I told her what was happening and she suggested that i start taking Fiber-Con. I took Fiber-Con for about a week with not much improvement. I tried using suppositories to soften the stool that was already in there but it did not help. I evetually had to go into Urgent Care for an enema. The doctor at Urgent Care suggested I stop taking the percusset the hospital had prescribed to me for the stitches I had and to drink more water, continue taking my colace and fiber pill, and to eat more foods such as fruits, veggies, and fiber products. The next week or so after that i was having BMs everyday but they were still painful (had to push hard) and sometimes had blood in the stool. After that week, i was backed up again. I took mineral oil to soften the stools, which emptied me good but was still painful and had blood. Its been a little over 2 weeks since then and i'm still having pain and having to push a lot to the point of crying and quietly screaming when i have a bowel movement. The past couple days I've had BMs almost everyday but I can never seem to empty it all out because the stool will become too hard and painful to push out. I am almost now too scared to have one. I tried mineral oil again last night but i got stuck again and couldnt push the rest out. I thought maybe the pain and blood was from a hemmroid or an Anal Fissure so i started taking Preperation H. It has brought the pain down only a little bit. I have never had a constipation/hemmroid problem prior to giving birth to my son and i just want to be regular again and not fear having a bowel movement. If anyone has any idea as to what's wrong with me, please help. Sorry this is so long.

[mammo]

Often we get our first hemorrhoid during childbirth, due to the straining to push the little bugger out.  I would cut back on the fiber, too much of this will harden stool also and constipate you.  A hemorrhoid would explain the pain and bleeding, but this needs to be addressed.  I'm sure you're still sore from the birth of your baby on top of this too! After my daughter had her son, she had severe pain with what she thought was a hemorrhoid, and went to her GI doctor to have it removed.  Turned out to be an infected stitch!  Have you tried prune juice?  Colace has never helped me or my daughter.  Miralax is good for hard stools, it is over-the counter and not habit forming, and will definitely loosen the stool.  This is what I would use, and if this problem continues, I would see a GI doctor.
Congratualtions on the birth of your baby!