constipation

Can anybody give me advice my Aunt was dx with breast cancer both breast secondaries in hip spine ribs and stomach has had no other treatment but femara This happened last july Now she is very frail eats very little has 2 fortisips a day The Dr has put her on co codamol and since has been constipated have given her movicol but vol of water seems to be intolerable and she still is constipated hasnt been for 5 days Any advice

I’m sorry to hear about your aunt. Constipation is so distressing. Since you say, it has spread to her stomach, she needs to go back to the doctor really and get some other kind of laxatives. If she is in lots of discomfort now, you should get hold of the out of hours GP service, NHSDirect, or if she is under the hospital/hospice -one of their people.
Nobody here is medically qualified to give this sort of advice as there are too many maybes and to me it sounds as if she needs more s support from the district nurses or hospice/macmillan team as they can give advice and treatment for her poor eating and her constipation and also advice repain control.
Sorry not to be more helpful but if she is that bad then her medical team need to be involved.
Often with constipation, it might appear she has not been for 5 days but it could be stuck higher up which is why she needs medical advice.
Wishing her the best as having been in that position it is very distresing
Kate

Hi,

I have very bad periods of constipation despite having three sachets of Movical sometimes. I recently had not been for 4 days and was so uncomfortable. A locum GP at my medical centre gave me Lactulose which is taken in 15ml quantities so not too much to take in in one go like a diluted dose of Movical. It can be taken twice a day and I believe it softens the stools that are kind of stuck in there (for want of a better phrase).

Of course all the usual advice of drinking loads of fluids, eating fibrous foods is not appropriate when you are eating very little.

As Kate says, we are none of us medically qualified so it would be worth another chat with GP, district or macmillan nurses but I did find lactulose helpful after a particularly difficult spell.

All the best,

Angee