Splinting 101

1. A long time, years.
2. I only have to do it for hard stools.
3. For me it is an excellent long term management tool. I seriously doubt it has made me worse, if anything it has prevented me from straining too much and THAT is what makes it worse.
4. Don't know about the posture but diet definitely eliminates the need for it. If I eat lots of fruit and/or high fiber vegetables so that my stools stay soft, I don't need to do it.

1. I have been doing this for a couple of years.
2. I splint every single time I go. If I don't I am unable to go.
3. My gyn told me I am not causing further damage by doing this. So, I hope I can use it long term. I am only 39.
4. The posture helps everything stay where it should but does not help me with regards to splinting. I also take a daily stool softener and eat 40-50 grams of fiber a day. The fiber/water help more than anything. I also exercise as much as I can each day.

i don't get 40 - 50g a day (I feel like Kai's mom said she eats fibre bars and high fibre cereals, but i'm gluten free and pretty much sugar free so those are out)
but i do manage a good lot through:

breakfast, oatmeal w/ plain or soya yogurt, ground almonds, & berries or pear 10g
morning snack fruit ie apple 4g
another morning snack pack of oat cakes or nuts / seeds 6g
lunch often some sort of bean dish with brown rice / quinoa / millet, or lentil soup, or tofu stir fry with loads of veg and rice 10 - 15g
afternoon snack cut up veg 5gm
another snack (i snack a lot) orange 4gm
dinner varies--sometimes v. little fibre, ie fish and salad, or i'll make a stew with pulses and veg with has about 10g

so actually, as i count, i probably do get about 40g most days
if i eat something i know isn't good for my system like so cheese, or right before my period, i add in flax or stewed prunes

and i try to eat some pulses every day. so like today, i was in meetings all day and ate horribly as i didn't really get a break, so i'm making a big bowl of lentils for dinner.

what i find is that as long as i keep reaching for fruit and veg all day, i get what i need
it's the add ins ie cheese or chocolate that get me...

hope that helps!

Kiki's right. I do eat a fiber bar every day and high fiber cereal. Fruits and veg don't give me enough fiber but I do eat a lot of them. I have suffered from severe constipation all my life and 40-50 grams is the only way I can go without straining. I also take the daily stool softener. I have triple organ prolapse but my rectocele is the worst. If I don't get cleaned out everyday it will fall through my vagina a good inch.

I keep latex gloves and lube on hand for when I have "marbles" that won't come out. I won't tolerate that feeling, and digital evacuation is something nurses do all the time. Also the one time use Fleet enemas help a lot too.

i can't do that at all...so no, i don't

there is a fine balance with fibre--not too much, not too little...you ust have to keep experimenting

but that's where i find pulses are the best.
and, whilst i don't like the feeling when i can't go all the way, i just learn to live with it and if necessary use a tampon to keep all in place. if i just keep eating well all day then it sorts itself out eventually.

oh the joys!

You know what? When I was young I did not entirely understand the "moods" some "mature" women would get into. Now, spending all day in the kitchen cooking Thanksgiving dinner, for example, with this kind of garbage going on between my legs has given me an entirely new perspective on things.

What are pulses?

I am trying to figure out how much fibre I need as well. I don't splint and the times I tried it did nothing. Many days I feel like I can't completely empty. I have to figure out my diet. I tried taking psyllium fibre and it made me feel worse even with the extra water.

Hi,
I put my feet on a stool and that seems to really help. I try not to "push." Over Christmas, I did push ( I was eating really poorly - cookies etc.;) I really regretted it for about 5 days.