ladyT33

Ask the dr for Miralax. I'm a nurse so the infrequent bowel movements stuck out for me first. Haha! Seriously though, you've got to poop more often.
I use 4 ounce glass jars (from Walmart, Ball brand) to store the food I eat -- chili almost every day with Greek yogurt (instead of sour cream) and reduced fat cheese melted in it. I only get about 800 calories a day and I'm told that's not enough too, but I'm not working out very much so I'm not burning so much. Even tho it is hard I make myself eat *something* or drink part of a Protein Shake every 2.5 hours. And I'm told that upping Fluid intake can help get you off a weight loss plateau.
I'm sorry you're feeling so overwhelmed. I also had my surgery in December.
Believe me if you follow the nutritionist recommendations and get more frequent pewps you should be feeling much better and see the right weight loss rate for your body. The weight loss isn't as fast or when you're under 200 ... I'm *almost* under 200 and things have significantly slowed. You've got this.

Just a helpful tip for those of you that suffer from Constipation. I was constipated for 3 weeks straight. I had taken 4 gallons of Go Lyte Le, 6 bottles of magnesium citrate, gastrograph, 4 Water enemas and several suppositories. NOTHING WORKED!! Finally I was reading a blog and a women who was in the same place as me and also had surgery swore if you drank 1 Mountain Dew it would work. Well I know I'm not supposed to have soda or sugar but was desperate. I did it and oh my goodness IT WORKED!!!

What is your Protein goal? Have you increased your exercise lately? If so, you may want to up your protein to compensate.
I use Colace and Smooth Move tea for general Constipation issues. My PCP does not recommend laxatives - he prefers to treat the problem from below - i.e. using suppositories or enemas. I've only had to do that once.

I tried all sorts and the only thing that really works with me is dulcolax. I still use it now on and off. Hope you get 'relief' soon !
Kate

I take Probiotics, and they really help. If it helps, the Constipation will get better when you can eat more Fiber. The first four month's were the worst.

I have noticed that I lose faster when I'm pooping regularly. I wonder if my body has less time to absorb food then.

I found that drinking some Milk of Magnesia when it's been too many days helps. Also, I added an 8 oz. cup of regular coffee to my morning routine and that seems to have worked wonders. My NUT said not to expect a lot of BMs if you're on Protein Shakes because they're fluids. I don't know if that helps. Good luck!

It is common to experience Constipation after surgery. Sometimes it is a sign that you are not meeting your daily Fluid requirements. Generally if you are constipated for more than 3 days, it means that you are really bound up and normal stool softness will not work. That happened to me and the only relief was to use a glycerin suppository. You have to insert this into your rear end, but it does unbound you.
But you do not want to use this approach forever. You need to find a long term solution. I found that if I eat an apple just before bedtime, this normally meant that I had a good bowel movement when I got up in the morning. But the important thing is you not only need to eat the flesh of the apple but you also must eat the skin. [For those in the pureed stage, an apple can be blended into an apple sauce, but you may have to add a little Water to make the blender work properly].
When you get to the stage where you can substitute Protein Bars for Protein Shakes, it is important to look for a Protein Bar with a lot of fiber. Quest Protein bars work good.
Here is a list of things people use to combat constipation derived from former threads on this site:
Smooth Move Herbal Tea
Prune juice (warmed)
Prunes (4 in the morning and 4 at night)
Magnesium citrate
Insoluble fibers (Garden of Life Raw Fiber or Renew Life Triple Fiber).
Haribo sugar free Gummy Bears
Aerobic Magnesium 07
Ground Flax Seeds (but don’t try to grind it yourself). Use 2 tablespoons per glass of water every night before going to bed.
Bowel Clear (herbal blend)
Low Fat Bran Muffin (recipe). 80 calories each
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups bran cereal
1 ¼ cups milk
1 egg
½ tablespoon applesauce
optional: banana, berries, mini chocolate chips
Bake 400° F for 22 minute

I have horrible Constipation when I don't drink at least 64 ounces of water! I wanted to try Water before resorting to pills or any other stuff and Water worked wonderfully! Also, and I know this may sound weird or be a TMI thing, but putting a foot up on the toilet seat and hugging my knee to my chest helped immensely! Something to do with our bodies are not built to fully relieve the contents of our bowels in a sitting position, but rather in a squatting position. It really helps so it's not so painful and straining.
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Thanks, Kate I've been super nervous about not being able to go (thinking something's wrong) I will try ducolax I pray that it works.