Your pharmacist should be able to give you suggestions. There are suppositories that work rather quickly. And an enema would help. Not what any of us prefer, I'm sure, but relief is relief anyway you can find it!

Thanks Jayokie. As far as the enema, he's having one anyway at the end of the month when he's having a biopsy on his prostate.

I'm hoping that some regular food will ease his discomfort now.

Oatmeal porridge (or Red River Cereal or other fibre-heavy cereal) to start the day?

I agree that, to help alleviate the possible constipation, a shot or two of prunes per day could well be helpful.

Other than that ... I fear that I have little to offer that may be useful.

ole joyful

Prune juice works better for me than dried or stewed prunes.

Have him take 3 Fiber Con tablets (from any pharmacy) a day until he has a good elimination, then 1 per day for maintenance. My doctor recommended this for me, saying as one gets older, the muscles that push the food through the intestine lose sensitivity and it becomes necessary to 'help' them do their job. This routine has worked well for me - I'm as regular as I should be - every day.

When I was a child, the remedies of choice were castor oil ... or Epsom salts ... but if one were to use the latter, one had better stay home for a while (when a toilet is required within about a half dozen steps).

Being rather drastic remedies, I think that I'd rather not use them where current pain is involved, lacking a doctor's advice, as they might exacerbate the situation

ole joyful

Docusate sodium is a stool softener that goes by lots of brand names. Use that to relieve the immediate problem. For long-term relief of constipation, increase the ingestion of fiber. I've linked an article that you might find helpful or if you don't like live links, here's the URL.
http://www.wikihow.com/Relieve-Constipation-Quickly-and-Naturally

Here is a link that might be useful: Relief

Woohooo, we bought some prune juice and he's a happy camper. Said it's the first time in days that he hasn't felt bloated and in pain.

He's going to keep drinking it daily, as long as he's on the medications that he's on. Thanks!

Amazing what a little prune juice will do. I was going to suggest oat bran muffins. Glad everything came out alright!

Smooth Move Natural organic tea. I don't like tea but this stuff isn't bad. Drink a glass before bedtime and it will help move things along in the morning. Really, you could take it anytime during the day if you'll be home and not away from an accessible bathroom.

Also, if he needs more fiber in his diet, get some Benefiber or the like and mix it in his beverages or even when you cook.

Here is a link that might be useful: Smooth Move

In my humble opinion if his abdomen hurts enough to use a warm towel he should see a doctor before you give him anything!! Could he be retaining urine? That can cause swelling and pain in the abdomen too. This could be constipation or it could be any number of things...almost all our organs are in the abdomen and lots of things could be wrong. Not wanting to scare you but you can't be too careful.
Joann

He should also try taking fish oil gels daily. It's good for many things and that's one of them.

Joann he's on a type of Flow-max already. He's had a ct done, aurinary tract scope, and is going in on Friday for a bladder scan. At the end of the month he'll have a colonoscopy type thing to take a biopsy of his prostate. He did tell the urlogist's nurse about his abdominal pain last wee and they requested a urine sample which he did. No word on the results, so he'll probably find out more on Friday.

Today he's feeling his normal self, and just finished mowing the lawn.

Be careful with the prune juice. If you drink too much you have gas.

8 oz or less. Less for me works and I do not drink it daily.

Just keep a bottle of in in the refrigerator and drink when I feel the need.

Thanks Glenda, I'll make sure he knows.