What can a gal with gastroparesis do to ease constipation from lack of fiber?

I have recently been diagnosed with postviral gastroparesis. Although I am tolerating the low fat low diet fairly well (oh how I miss fresh veggies and loathe baby food!), I have developed a strong tendency towards constipation. I believe this is due to the "low fiber" part of my diet. I am a little concerned about this because of a strong family history of colon cancer, and fiber is said to help prevent it… What can I eat or take to relieve the constipation?
Hey, I’m very sorry about your recent diagnosis. I also have gastroparesis. My gastroenterologist recommended Miralax to me. I haven’t tried it yet because I haven’t had problems with constipation, but it’s supposed to be a mild, but effective laxative. I know what you mean about baby food… ugh! I prefer blended up soups now to baby food, except the fruit ones are ok. You should check out the yahoo group for gastroparesis. They offer a lot of support and advice for fellow patients. The link is http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/gastroparesis/. They are a wonderful group and it’s a great place to vent when you’re having a rough day. Good luck to you.

Your Dog Can Suffer From Constipation Too

It is not only humans that suffer from constipation, but our pets can too! Dog constipation is normally caused due to a lack of exercise and an incorrect diet. In this article we will look at ways that dog constipation can be treated using some home remedies.

As previously mentioned ensuring that your dog’s diet is good and that they are getting sufficient exercise are the most important components for ensuring that your dog’s bowels work correctly. Any dog that is kept in the home should be walked 2 times a day whilst their diet should be correctly maintained.

However if your dog does become constipated a good way of alleviating the problem is to add 1 or 2 teaspoons of bran to it meal. This allows extra moisture to appear in its stools.

Another way that you can treat your dog should it become constipated is by adding Psyllium (Metamucil) to their diet. Just giving them ½ teaspoon each day plus providing them with lots of drinking water will help to alleviate the constipation that they have.

The next option you could try is to add 2 teaspoons of mineral oil to their meals twice a day for a week and this is especially good where there is a large build up of hard stools in your dog.

As you can see there are a number of steps you can take in order to help your dog if they should suffer from constipation but by keeping his food moist (add a little water) will help? Or if your dog is a little more mature then include some raw meat and vegetables into their diet.

Often there are certain signs which will alert you to any potential problems your dog may have and for which you can act on immediately. If your dog has a long coat then sometimes the stools can become entangled in the coat and it is vital you keep your dog properly groomed.

Also dogs have a tendency to eat everything in sight so make sure there are no bones or other materials that they may ingest. Dogs may also suffer from constipation because of a medication that they are on. But there may even be a psychological reason as to why your dog has become constipated (they could be stressed even dogs get stressed to).

Although it has been suggested that dogs of all breeds and no matter what age can be prone to constipation and so there may be some other factors that need to be taken into consideration which may be caused by you as an owner. Do not ever feed your dog from the dinner table as you are contributing to his constipation.

It is important that you do not feed your dog food which contains flour, sugar, rice, dairy or are high in protein as they will on excacerbate the situation. Also included in this would be ice cream, cooks, bread, chocolate or any other foods that we consider to be unhealthy.

Not only can constipation in dogs be caused by lack of fiber or fluids but also by a mega colon (an inflamed colon which prevents your dog from discharging their stools).

The time you should decide to visit your vet if your dog is suffering from constipation is when they have a loss of appetite; begin to pass small amounts of blood and general they look and act very lethargic.

It is important that you are very vigilant to any signs of stress and make your that your dog’s diet and exercise regime is appropriate for them and hopefully this will alleviate or prevent dog constipation in your pet.