u/CrybabyDumpsterRat

Hello again unfortunately 🥲

Currently 22 weeks pregnant & had the anatomy scan last Monday. They had to do a transvaginal ultrasound at one point, so I explained to her what all had been happening (see previous post) and asked if she could see anything at all. She immediately showed me the impacted stool and how on the other side, there were ‘waves’, which was good and meant there was movement and how there was no waves or movement of any kind where the impacted stool is (left side lower abdomen).

I’m a pretty emotional person but I managed not to cry during the actual ultrasound of our baby, but when I saw that poop, I burst into tears because now I knew for SURE it was real and not all in my head. I don’t know what this says about the mom I’m gonna be 😂 but I was pretty taken back when the nurse started sobbing as well and told me she understand 100% what I’m going through, and that she was hospitalized with sepsis when she was pregnant with her second child because of the same exact thing. Every time she told her doctors about it, they didn’t take her seriously and just told her to take MiraLAX or eat more fiber, etc. She said that when the majority of doctors/nurses hear “I can’t poop”, they brush it off because they hear it so much, constipation can be uncomfortable in general, and it’s usually something that you can handle/passes on its own. The reason the doctors finally listened to her? Her husband screamed “MY WIFE HASN’T SHIT IN 10 DAYS AND WE ARE NOT LEAVING UNTIL SHE DOES!” She told me I needed to advocate and make them listen because it will only get worse.

I had an appointment with my OB the next day and I called ahead to let them know what was going on, and when I got there, I went over everything again. I want to mention that these digestive/constipation issues run in my family and actively contributed to my father’s death. So imagine the absolute wave of defeat and disappointment when she said “just keep doing what you’re doing and if you don’t go at all in a week, give us a call.”

That was on Wednesday. At this point I am so uncomfortable I can barely sleep. I don’t feel the urge/need to pass gas, but if I move/adjust quickly on the couch, I pass gas without realizing I had to. I have used glycerin suppositories and enemas, and I drank a bottle of magnesium citrate, but am only able to pass stool if I brace myself up an inch off the toilet, taking all pressure off my left side and leaning to the left, but that is pretty difficult holding that position long enough to try to pass the stool being 22 weeks pregnant. I have a squatty potty, a raised toilet seat. It feels like I can’t get the right position to relieve it. My lower left back hurts so badly and I feel bloated/full. I cannot get comfortable because whenever I move/twist or anything, I feel it. When I try to push while on the toilet, I feel it but it doesn’t move. I’m at a loss.

I think it’s very important to mention that I want to mention that these digestive/constipation issues run in my family and actively contributed to my father’s death. He was in the hospital for 5 days before checking himself out. They scheduled an endoscopy for the next day that I was going to take him to, but when I brought him dinner the night prior, he was dead. I feel like I’m watching this happen to me and no one will listen or help. He died on October 22nd, 2023.

Please tell me how to get this out of me.

For context, I’ve had digestion/constipation issues since birth, been in and out of the hospital through, have drank Mirilax like water, used enemas, and all of the things since childhood.

I hit 21 weeks pregnant on Sunday, and even though I’ve always had issues with constipation, it’s gotten significantly worse since pregnancy. I usually am able to go a little bit for a day or two before I can’t, do an enema, go a bit, but always get to a point where I FEEL that there is more, but when I push, it literally doesn’t budge. It literally feels as if it’s like, stuck on my tailbone or something, it’s weird. I get so sick and nauseas when I can’t go that I can’t keep food down, and I spoke with my OB about it, but I don’t think she understood how serious of a problem it is for me because she just sent me the generic list of OTC laxatives, which have become virtually ineffective and the only thing that provides some relief are enemas. I took a stimulant laxative for the first time a few weeks ago and woke up with the absolute worst stomach pain of my life, sweaty, light headed, but the poop still felt stuck. In a panic, i just reached my finger up there and immediately felt a giant, hard stool. I was still panicking but tried breaking it the best I could and it was like trying to break up almost dry cement. I couldn’t get it and went to lay on the couch to see if that would help. That was the first time I felt a hard ball on the lower left side of my abdomen. I ended up falling asleep and when I woke up, the lump/ball was gone. I will still get the lump, sometimes more prominent than other times, however I have not been able to get the poop low enough to where I can feel it with my fingers again, and I really don’t want to take a stimulant laxative again.

I went to the ER a day or so later, and was given 2 enemas that didn’t work before being sent home because they said they could give me an X-ray but it could harm the baby. I had a trans vaginal ultrasound yesterday and told the tech what had been going on and she literally showed me the stuck stool and how there was absolutely no movement around it.

Is there anything I can do or try at home to get it out myself before I see my OB again tomorrow?