Pregnancy and consitpation

[bioclock1]

I've always heard women say they were constipated during early pregnancy and throughout. When does this start? I ask b/c I"m not constipated in the least and actually I feel like my bm's are actually better!! (sorry if this is tmi) but I've always had IBS symptoms and now I feel like i go when i should!!
Is this a good sign, even though I'm not constipated?

[JessicaEsqueda]

Im 19 weeks and definately dealing with constipation. I think every pregnancy is just different. This is my first (im 18, newly married), but things have been AWFUL. Ive been eating tons of fiber, tried fiber supplements, 4-5 stool softeners a day, and the BMs are still bad enough to cause internal tearing and bleeding...

Anyone who hasnt had to deal with that is LUCKY. I envy you. Anyone know what prenatals are good for that? I didnt know they came with stool softeners...

[ita17]

DId any of you get constipated just before you got a BFP?  I'm 11DPO & I am NEVER EVER EVER constipated, I eat really healthy etc...... & I have been totally having "issues" for the past few days! & I didn't go at all today which is SUPER weird!  Normally if I don't go it's cuz of surgery drugs or I just had a baby!
So I'm thinking MAYBE I am pregnant?  (I hope!)  But my test today was a BFN....

[JoyRenee]

tiredbuthappy- those ones are NICE! I got a ton of those samples but once I ran out and went back to my regular prenatal things got tricky in the BM department. LOL!

[tiredbuthappy]

never had a day of constipation with either of my pregnancies. I credit my prenatal vitamin, which has stool softeners in it.

[JoyRenee]

Never had it with my first two. Definitely have had it this time around.

If you do get constipated, it's not as though you're constantly in that state. It can just come out of nowhere!

[bioclock1]

sweetangel7----interesting! thanks for pasting that b/c I never would have thought to look into IBS and pregnancy. I forget that I"m pregnant and things will change! i mean...i KNOW i'm pregnant but I keep forgetting that my hormones are going to go up and down and that so many lil things are affected....like sleeping to not sleeping!!

Ladies...thanks for the reassurance. I feel better knowing that all pregnancies are diff. :)

[sweetangel7]

Thought this might be of interest to you:

What's known about pregnancy & IBS? ~ While research has acknowledged that pregnancy can have a significant impact on IBS, there is no consensus as to what that impact will be. The extreme hormonal fluctuations of pregnancy often trigger GI distress in women who do not even IBS; for those who have a dysfunctional gut to begin with, predicting whether IBS will worsen or improve during pregnancy is a bit of a crapshoot. It's not uncommon for pregnant women to feel that their IBS has completely gone into remission, but the flip side of the coin is that other women may feel that pregnancy makes their IBS worse than it has ever been before. Or, the severity of IBS symptoms may stay the same while the symptoms themselves change - someone who is normally diarrhea-predominant will suddenly find themselves dealing with constipation, or vice versa. Gas and bloating may worsen one month while abdominal cramps disappear, but the next month will see just the opposite happen.

[just2009]

I'm 21 weeks today and I had terrible constipation in about my 10th week of pregnancy.  Rather than looking pregnant, I just looked really bloated!!  I mentioned it to my doctor at my next appt and she told me that I needed to eat more fibre.  So I went ahead and followed her directions and before I knew it my problem was gone.  I had no idea that it had anything to do with me eating more fibre and thought that my system was never going to get back to normal.
Well the past couple of days I am worried that I am starting the have the same symptoms again..........you're lucky though if you haven't had it yet....you must be eating a lot of fibre ;-)

[chantal21]

Yup, every woman and every pregnancy is different. I had constipation with both of my pregnancies and this one, halfway through I felt like I had IBS every single morning for 3 weeks straight. Now it's back to good ol' constipation at 31 weeks. If you don't get it, feel blessed!!! =)

[martinsbride]

RDH is right - every woman and every pregnancy is different.  

I can say I envy you - I'm taking about four stool softeners a day and having no relief.  Lol, how's that for TMI?  :)

Good luck with the rest of the pregnancy - maybe it will be comfortable for you.

[rdh1981]

Just like anything else that is pregnancy related every women is different. Feel blessed that you are not cursed with constipation.

With my first I had it pretty much my whole entire pregnancy and the same is happening with this one.  

So relax......as of right now you are one of the lucky ones!!!!