My dad's always constipated. He's 84, takes Coumadin, Toprol. He isn't active at all & doesn't eat big amounts of food. What's wrong?

We use colasce too, it works great. Generics don't seem to work as well

Prunes really help - go to nutritionfacts.org and search on constipation and prunes and you'll see a video that compares prunes to Metamucil - prunes beat the Metamucil (psyllium). My mom eats prunes and half an orange every day and does fine. We've used Miralax in the past for my dad and it works also.

my father's been with me for nearly a year and during the entire time he had severe constipation due to pain medications and lack of activity. We started a daily regiment of Metamucil 1 teaspoon in V8 Splash tropical drink its diet so it's sugar free and it works great.We also added two Colace tablets gel caplets. life is much better now, he used to get so stressed out every 3 or 4 days because he knew he was going to have to go to the bathroom and it was extremely painful due to severe constipation, now he's stress free - well at least about constipation.

Ask your Dr, there is an over the counter laxative you can put in his morning coffee. It's tasteless, miralax, something like that. I give Dad suppositories. They work very quickly.

Activia yogurt works for my 98 year old mom.

If your dad is winded and pale, I would talk to his doctor about the exercise..he might need oxygen while he's doing it now..

Activia. Works like a charm... I swear by that stuff for constipation after seeing how it worked on my mom. And it tastes really good, too.. Maybe you could try it and see if your dad takes to it.

Hi Captain, yup rice is binding. In fact , in th old days, they would use rice water to help the runs. It does have fiber but , like bananas, there is just something in it that causes constipation. My daughter eats a lot of rice-brown rice but we usually add beans and that helps and she almost always has a salad with her dinner and lunch. You could add flax seed to the rice for extra fiber but read about it and check how to use it. Go with the ground flax seed and not the oil as it can spoil quickly.

Applesauce is another binder believe it or not. Though apple juice helps constipation. Go figure. It is the sugar in the juice, I think.

Cheese, bad binder.

I like red beets, btw, but , boy I got scared when I ate them and I thought I peed blood! just the beet juice. So heads up.

mishka,
rice, binding? i just read that rice is practically predigested . highest energy return of nearly any food for the amount of energy required to digest it, topped only by red beets.

Hi Dad'sHelper, have you asked the doctor about Miralax? It dissolves in water or juice or even coffee and you cannot taste it. It is not your typical laxative -it is gentler and should not make the body start to depend on it like the typical laxatives.

Also there are some gentle massages you could do that help aide digestion. If you Google it I bet you could find them. I had to do these for my daughter who has a syndrome -constipation is common with her syndrome. A simple on is called the paddle wheel and you just gently but with some pressure move your hands , one over the other, over the stomach region, doing down. I also used to bicycle her legs as she lie down. I don't know if that is feasable for your Dad though.

You can try and sneak in fiber as well. Instead of rice -which is binding -maybe make mash potatoes with cauliflower. You can substitute one half of the potatoes for soft cooked cauliflower and mash together. You would probably not need milk to add as the cauliflower makes it a little runnier. But season like you would normally for mashed potatoes.

Try and get him to drink apple juice if his diet allows it. And stay away from cheese. Prunes do work. He really needs fiber in his diet or he will probably stay constipated. And more liquids. I know it is hard but it reallly is necessary. Constipation can be so uncomfortable and you do not want him to become obstipated. Then a doctor would have to operate to unblock him.

Good luck with this!