Constipation

[marlenin 9]

Is it normal to have Constipation? I use to use the bathroom everyday but now I go once a wk. I'm scared that this is not normal and I could be in trouble?

[AliveAgain 283]

Yes, it's normal after surgery. But no, it's not normal. Our new diets lack the Fiber we need to keep things moving. Add things like dairy products and pain meds, you get Constipation. If it goes on too long you can get other problems like hemorrhoids (believe me). Not sure what stage you are in, but my doctor had me add the dissolvable Benefiber powder to my Protein shakes. Make sure you get the unflavored stuff. By four weeks, he had me munching on Metamucil wafers for added punch. I eat one a day when I feel like I need it. They come in Cinnamon or Apple flavors like Cookies. By six weeks I was adding small amounts of avocado, flax or chia seed, and edamame for their Fiber content.

Make sure to drink plenty of fluids, exercise helps a lot, and my gastro doc said that taking an occasional stool softener like Colace or Phillips is not harmful -- just don't use it every day.

[Ms skinniness 3,003]

I was totally constipated. My stools were really hard so I started using fiber supplements. They helped somewhat so I switched to Colace at night. That really helped. I even started eating some foods with fibers and that was beneficial. Its getting a lot better now.

[Lauranbob Mc 94]

colace one pill a day keeps me going. I have needed it even before my surgery. You can take it up to twice a day for the rest of your life without any side effects. It is a stool softener not a laxitive.

[Rootman 1,101]

As indicated above, yes it CAN be normal, others get diarrhea, it is the fortunate few that come through unscathed by one extreme or the other.

I am not a good example as I have had const. issues all my adult life. What finally worked for me is 4 prunes every morning and 1/2 cap of Miralax daily. I also eat an Activia yogurt a day too.

Any way it's not fun but like others said; increase the fiber and you should push through (nyuk, nyuk!).

[Musharooni 62]

I, too, suffered from severe Constipation in the beginning after a lifetime of being "regular". I tried one colace at bedtime initially & got some relief, bumped it up to two at bedtime for a few days and have had no more issues. I've been doing this for about 4 days now. Tonight I am going to go back to one at bedtime and see if that will do the trick or if I need to keep on taking 2.

[Iliana82 84]

I suffer from the same thing. I usually do miralax and colace anf if that doesnt work i do a senna tea. but since I have been on vacation this week i didn't go for 4 days :-( then I started drinking

Plain regular iced tea and that did the trick!!!

[M_Johnson 43]

I have this problem to. I am currently doing miralax at night. Ugh. I have never had this problem and I don't like it. My belly was starting to hurt and cramp and I didn't know what was happening until he asked..... How are you moving your bowels?! Duh, it was like a light bulb! Hang in there!

[mzd05 0]

It's pretty normal. I just tried to increase Water intake and eat foods that are less likely to cause Constipation. Colace and Phillips occasionally can be helpful.

[Vsglass 17]

As indicated above, yes it CAN be normal, others get diarrhea, it is the fortunate few that come through unscathed by one extreme or the other.

I am not a good example as I have had const. issues all my adult life. What finally worked for me is 4 prunes every morning and 1/2 cap of Miralax daily. I also eat an Activia yogurt a day too.

Any way it's not fun but like others said; increase the fiber and you should push through (nyuk, nyuk!).

Groan!

[Wheetsin 714]

It's very normal. I'm over 6 weeks out and have pooped 4 times.

The last time, I hadn't gone in over 2 weeks (I didn't mean to wait that long, I just wasn't paying attention) so I got in a Miralax + Benefiber regimine until I could go. That was umm... 5 days ago, so looks like I need to bring back the Benefiber for good.

Per my plan, I should be pooping every 3 days at least. Well hell, I didn't poop every 3 days before surgery, so I'm probably not going to get more frequent when I'm eating 400 cals a day. But 2.5 weeks... that's just not right.

[tristywobie728 0]

I go like once a week. It's crazy bc before surgery I pretty much had loose stools every day. Now it's once a week. I take Miralax in Water or juice twice a week. I'm a year out and if I forget about it, it gets really bad. I tried all the benefiber stuff but didn't like it. Like others said exercise and liquids help a lot. Good luck!

[Randi 21]

Oh boy can I relate. I am just over 3 weeks out and this was a very painful weekend for me. It had been over 5 days and I was in a lot of pain. Took 3 ducolax and that only helped a bit, but finally last night I got relief. I will pick up some miralax and see if that will work going forward. Before surgery I had no issues and this scared me a bit.

Thanks for the good advice here on a bit of a sensitive subject!!!

[MyGastricSleeveLife 180]

My surgery is today, so I don't know firsthand yet, but many people in my surgeon's support group use benefiber or miralax. Some say the fiber actually builds up in their system & makes things worse. Many use miralax and/or colace.