fear of surgery

Hi there --

I lived on a similar cycle for many years but after a hysterectomy some time back I knew I could no longer rely on the enema routine.

At that time I discovered Colace (given in the hospital, post-surgery) and that, along with other things, helped a lot. I'm not talking about the one with added laxative, just the stool softener.

As for the right sided pain -- I think those are intestinal spasms as I've had them, too, and what you've got doesn't sound like it's appendix-related.

Here's the anti-constipation regimen I follow and it has worked well for me as well as for some others I know:

Eat very high fiber cereal every single morning - I prefer Fiber One but All Bran is good as is Uncle Sam.

Be sure to drink adequate amounts of liquids throughout the day/evening. Water is always best.

Get enough exercise, i.e., at least walking a bit nearly every day.

In the evening, be sure to eat at least a small salad with or in place of other foods to ensure roughage every day. I put raw carrots, green beans, etc., into my salad and add tuna, salmon or whatever else I like. STAY AWAY FROM ALL HARD CHEESES. Hard cheeses are VERY constipating. Same is true for bananas and even apples, UNLESS you eat the apple skins, which are helpful. Chocolate in quantity can also be constipating.

In the late evening, every night, take two or even three (to get you started) Colace gelcaps, AND a small glass of prune juice. Just a juice sized glass, not a water glass. If it is somewhat chilled, it's really not bad at all. This is your "nitecap." When traveling, you can take along or purchase the little individual cans and that's a big help, too.

It took me just a few days of this to get on the road to regularity but if I stop the routine the regularity stops, too.

You also must allow a specific time of day to relax enough for nature to take its course. Most people prefer the morning, after breakfast, so you might need to wake up a little earlier than those who jump out of bed, get dressed while gulping a cup of coffee, and head for school, work or whatever. A slower place is KEY.

This isn't 100% perfect all the time, and even every other day results are fine for most people. But that horrible discomfort and anxiety and even pain from constantly being backed up is bad and should be reversed. Anxiety and worry about NOT getting relief can back you up even more.

Good news that you are seeing the doctor, but I think you would find the above routine very helpful. Good luck -- this is a HUGE problem for so many in our fast paced populace.