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What Causes Severe Abdominal Pain While Having A Bowel Movement In A Liver Cirrhosis Patient?
Question: I have liver cirrhosis. I am accumulating fluids in my abdomen. I am weighing myself daily to determine when I will need a paracentesis procedure. I become constipated as the fluids build up. I decided to take fiber to make bowel movements easier and to make sure I am only measuring fluids in my abdomen rather than feces in my bowels. When I am about to have a bowel movement I get severe abdominal pain. Should I stop taking fiber?
Brief Answer:
I'd recommend the following.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Yes, fiber to some extent can help, but if the body remains dehydrated (in cirrhosis, due to pulling of water content from inside the vascular component towards the outer component there's a certain amount of fluid deficit always present in the body), fiber alone, mostly won't be helpful.
The abdominal pain during passing motion can be due to hard fecal matters.
You can try taking Syrup. Lactulose at bedtime daily (diluted in half a glass of water) for a few days and observe how you stay (dosage can be further escalated to three times to even four times daily based on the bowel movement).You should observe the benefit from this.
Additionally, please indulge in a plant-based and Mediterranean diet plan with a lot of fresh green veggies and salads every day. It'll be beneficial.
Unfortunately, this crude weighing measure isn't very helpful, as it won't be able to differentiate between fecal matter as well as other body fluids (urine, sweat, plasma etc.).The best way for quantification is by getting Ultrasound scans routinely from time to time.
Apart from that, if you feel too heavy or any other symptoms like breathing difficulty, continuous abdominal pain, any excessive reddish discoloration/bleeding spots anywhere in the body, please don't delay any longer and immediately go to your nearby healthcare facility for prompt management.
Hope I have answered your query.
Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Arnab Banerjee,
Critical Care Specialist
I'd recommend the following.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Yes, fiber to some extent can help, but if the body remains dehydrated (in cirrhosis, due to pulling of water content from inside the vascular component towards the outer component there's a certain amount of fluid deficit always present in the body), fiber alone, mostly won't be helpful.
The abdominal pain during passing motion can be due to hard fecal matters.
You can try taking Syrup. Lactulose at bedtime daily (diluted in half a glass of water) for a few days and observe how you stay (dosage can be further escalated to three times to even four times daily based on the bowel movement).You should observe the benefit from this.
Additionally, please indulge in a plant-based and Mediterranean diet plan with a lot of fresh green veggies and salads every day. It'll be beneficial.
Unfortunately, this crude weighing measure isn't very helpful, as it won't be able to differentiate between fecal matter as well as other body fluids (urine, sweat, plasma etc.).The best way for quantification is by getting Ultrasound scans routinely from time to time.
Apart from that, if you feel too heavy or any other symptoms like breathing difficulty, continuous abdominal pain, any excessive reddish discoloration/bleeding spots anywhere in the body, please don't delay any longer and immediately go to your nearby healthcare facility for prompt management.
Hope I have answered your query.
Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Arnab Banerjee,
Critical Care Specialist
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Arnab Banerjee
Answered by
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