He had bleeding ulcer 3 years ago, lost a lot of blood, then had bladder cancer which was treated & he's fine now. Was on meds for the cancer but just recently was taken off of them. He was taking lisinopril & Toprol plus Coumadin but now only takes Coumadin & Toprol. He doesn't eat a lot of food but I try to feed him healthy foods. He doesn't eat many vegetables or salads. He'll eat plain cake donut for breakfast, sometimes no lunch & just meat or rice for dinner. He drinks maybe 4 16 oz bottles of water a day but has 3 or so sodas too. He takes an inhaler due to Atrial Fib but still smokes. He gets winded walking to the bathroom or from the car to the groc store. He usually rides the elderly carts at the store. Ten minutes of exercise or walking 50 feet & he's winded. He has to hold on to things when he gets winded & kinda looks pale. I just don't know how else to get him moving to help with the constipation & breathing. He also has macular degeneration in his left eye so he can't see well and is afraid of falling in shower as he has no depth perception. He sleeps only 2-3 hours at a time & sits most of the day watching tv.
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!
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.
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.