male only not a popular topic.... but I have to ask (constipation)

[evobuilder 0]

I was banded in Oct 08 and have done very well, berst decision I have ever made in my life. I am at 220 and have kept it off and I am still losing.... slowly but surely and it stays off. Anyway.... I am still having to eat Exlax to get things moving... anyone else have this problem? Maybe I need to change my diet, but short of eating prunes all day long, I am not sure what to do.

Or do I just need to start bulk buying the Exlax?

[btrieger 21]

Do NOT take laxatives more than once a month!! It screws up your body chemistry and you will come to rely on it.

I have always had an issue with not being regular because I loathe most vegetables. I drink metamucil in the morning if I don't have a bran Cereal for Breakfast. That helps.

[AlienBandit 10]

I think at one point or another everyone has this problem.

I use flax seed in my yogurt, bran Cereal or senkot ( last resort) if I have problems.

My doc told me Metamucil is very bad and I shouldnt use it ever!

[Humming Bird 275]

Another bandster here told me about Vitafusion Fiber gummies from Target. They work great! The dose is 2 gummies a day, but I eat one a day and stay regular.

They taste great and are a very soft gummie that are very easy to chew up.

[joecs1 4]

More Water, fruit, and add activia yogurt should help!

[IAmJacksLapBand 5]

I had horrible frequent bowel movements before banding. For the first few weeks things were very slow.

Now that I have adjusted to eating better I never realized just how irregular I was.

I had fast fast fast food for the first time in 4 months this week and it seemed like the BM was never going to stop. Back to the grains and veggies for me.

The flax, metamucil, and fiber gummies all seem like a great way to add a little bit if you don't fit the whole items into your diet regularly.

Congrats on the 220... that is my goal in the next 14 months.

[THOR444 0]

Watch out for this one. I was constipated on the pre-surgery diet of Protein shakes and I pushed a little to hard causing an anal fissure (wikipedia has the info). I am trying to get over it, but it is agony. Wondering if anyone else has had this and what they did to heal it.

On the one hand, I want to not get constipated, but when I go every day, I don't have any tim between BMs to heal. It really sucks.

Good news is that I have lost 32 pounds in 3 months. I am at 272, only 47 pounds from my goal of 235. My Asthma symptoms are 90% gone and I just bought myself a killer mountain bike!

[NoMoBand 278]

I'm not banded yet but I've been taking metamucil for many years. Was told that after banding I cannot use it anymore. I started looking for alternatives, and finally found that Unifiber works. Up to the point that I found Unifiber, I was told by my doctor to use Milk of Magnesia and it worked like a charm. Who would have thought. Anyhow, it wouldn't be a good long term solution but give it try for now

[aprilalison 5]

Glad someone else asked this. I have always been somewhat irregular, but my morning coffee always cleans me out. I didn't drink it much on weekends so no BM then, but Monday morning, bam. Since being banded (6/30/2010) I found that my magic coffee no longer works. I've had to take a laxative twice because it had been more than a week both times and even then it's not "normal". I find my weight stays the same with no poo but once I do, my weight starts dropping. I do NOT want to use laxatives - they give me terrible tummy aches and I cannot stomach the taste of prunes or prune juice. Don't really want to take metamucil and Milk of Magnesia makes me gag (I know, I can be picky.) I'm very thankful for all suggestions.

[Knaroz 31]

I did the flax seed didn't want to work. I found going to the store and getting the individually wrapped pitted prunes and taking one each morning with Breakfast and I am now quite regular.