Okay.. I can't take it anymore.. Not something I expected to talk about on a forum but... During the 800 calorie a day two week pre-opp diet, I first started noticing changing bowel habits.. my stools were loose and watery, but I didn't worry about it much.. My doctor and program never talked once at any point about constipation or changed bowel habits post-surgery and how to deal with that - never even mentioned it could happen.

So what's going on now?

Basically I've gone from never having problems with constipation to infrequent watery stools with lumps that come only every few days or less and when they do happen it rarely feels like I got "cleaned out" I spend a lot of time feeling bound up over a several hour period and then feel okay again.. for a while.. but it always comes back.

I'm -terrified- of the idea of taking a laxitive.. I've never had one.. I don't really understand how they work or if they're safe. I'm scared I'll take one and just wind up with bigger issues.. My mom suggested taking Herb Lax from Shaklee since it's more natural than OTC laxitives but I'm still scared..

I'd love some suggestions for what to take.. if you have experience with herb-lax or a similar medicine I'd love to know about that.. or other medicines...

Two things though - it can't be liquid.. it needs to be in pill form and it can't have any artificial cherry flavoring (the latter I'm very allergic to). I would prefer a pill over a powder like metamucil because I just find it hard to believe it's as tasteless as the advertisements insist.

Help... encouragement, information, medicines I could take that won't do something bad to me?

Please .. don't ask me to talk to my doc lol. I'm not all that comfortable with him / his staff anyway (as many of you know from previous posts) and certainly not about this.. so I'd like to hear from you guys and -your- opinions and experiences that might help me.

My Dr. swears by Senna-S tablets. Works like a charm.

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So the herb lax I took helped significantly (if it's not TMI I had about 4-5 stools since taking it) It was gentle on my body which was what I was hoping for since it's a combo of all natural herbs.

BUT

My stomach is still super sore and queasy.. like it's hard to eat or drink because it makes me sickish and sore and I still dont' feel completely emptied :\ is this normal? I expected to feel back to normal after taking it but I've been feeling pretty yucky all day.

Why no liquid? Milk of magnesium is a god-send. Two tablespoons and it will clear you out. There is a mint flavor.

If no MoM, then try warm prune juice with a bit of miralax.

Mostly because I'm ultra sensitive to the flavors in liquid medicine and often throw up after taking any kind of liquid meds.. especially cherry but it happens with other flavors too. So it's usually better for me if I can take a flavor-less pill. Like when they did my gastrographen x-ray after surgery to make sure I didn't have a leak I wound up dry heaving for over an hour just because my body didn't agree with it. So to avoid losing Fluid.. it's better not to take the chance.

Okay.. I can't take it anymore.. Not something I expected to talk about on a forum but... During the 800 calorie a day two week pre-opp diet, I first started noticing changing bowel habits.. my stools were loose and watery, but I didn't worry about it much.. My doctor and program never talked once at any point about constipation or changed bowel habits post-surgery and how to deal with that - never even mentioned it could happen.

So what's going on now?

Basically I've gone from never having problems with constipation to infrequent watery stools with lumps that come only every few days or less and when they do happen it rarely feels like I got "cleaned out" I spend a lot of time feeling bound up over a several hour period and then feel okay again.. for a while.. but it always comes back.

I'm -terrified- of the idea of taking a laxitive.. I've never had one.. I don't really understand how they work or if they're safe. I'm scared I'll take one and just wind up with bigger issues.. My mom suggested taking Herb Lax from Shaklee since it's more natural than OTC laxitives but I'm still scared..

I'd love some suggestions for what to take.. if you have experience with herb-lax or a similar medicine I'd love to know about that.. or other medicines...

Two things though - it can't be liquid.. it needs to be in pill form and it can't have any artificial cherry flavoring (the latter I'm very allergic to). I would prefer a pill over a powder like metamucil because I just find it hard to believe it's as tasteless as the advertisements insist.

Help... encouragement, information, medicines I could take that won't do something bad to me?

Please .. don't ask me to talk to my doc lol. I'm not all that comfortable with him / his staff anyway (as many of you know from previous posts) and certainly not about this.. so I'd like to hear from you guys and -your- opinions and experiences that might help me.

Ask your doctor.. But Miralax worked instantly for me..no taste, I put it into my shake and had success within a few hours.. That was about 5 days post op,I'm 5 weeks post-op and have had no further complications ..

Your nut should have discussed. I had same but subsided. You should ask about milk of magnesium

Edited June 20, 201610 yr by chycky

Dried prunes was the answer of this issue for me.

I hate taking laxatives so my mother told me to take few dried prunes everyday and voila, i have no constipation anymore and it taste yummy too

Good snack for a very good reason

Good luck

So what is this colace? Is it a pill or something you mix with food? Or is it tasteless?

It is a stool softener, in pill form.

I took lactulose to help with my bowels when constipated And when too watery you can get great fibre supplements from the chemist to help thicken your stool. I use Benefibre and it is definitely tasteless. I'm very fussy about flavours and textures and I find this very easy to take. It can be added to foods and drinks too so you can take it anyway that's easiest for you. fruits and prune juice are also very good if you don't wish to use medications.

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Edited June 20, 201610 yr by GemJar

I didn't poop for 9 days post op. When I finally did, the sky shined a little brighter, the birds sung a little louder, the wind blew a little sweeter...

Colace was my friend.

Now, Probiotics are my friend. They help with the I.MUST.POOP.RIGHT.NOW.OR.I'M.GOING.TO.POOP.RIGHT.NOW.

Once again - made me LMAO. We refer to that as a Poopy 911! I had no idea probiotics could help - I'll be buying some today!

<snip>

I'm -terrified- of the idea of taking a laxitive.. I've never had one.. I don't really understand how they work or if they're safe.

<snip>

<snip>

Two things though - it can't be liquid.. it needs to be in pill form and it can't have any artificial cherry flavoring (the latter I'm very allergic to). I would prefer a pill over a powder like metamucil because I just find it hard to believe it's as tasteless as the advertisements insist.

<snip>

<snip>

Please .. don't ask me to talk to my doc lol. I'm not all that comfortable with him / his staff anyway (as many of you know from previous posts) and certainly not about this.. so I'd like to hear from you guys and -your- opinions and experiences that might help me.

On your first point, you never had gastric surgery before either and that is a heck of a lot more serious than taking a laxative! A laxative basically pulls Water into the large intestine to help soften the stool. That is the most basic explanation.The only issue with those is if you are not getting enough fluids in. So you are right to be reticent about them given our situations. They are safe, provided you are getting enough water throughout the day.

The second point, whether you believe it or not, the powder benefiber truly is tasteless as they insist. There is a reason that powder is the most popular method of Fiber supplement. Also, most pills cannot delivery as much fiber as a powder, it's a matter of volume. If they were to make a pill with the same volume of fiber as the powder, it would be so dense that we would not be able to break it down to get the benefit of the fiber.

And the third point, I hate to say it but you need to talk to your surgeon for a couple reasons. First and foremost you paid for it. Make them do their job. Second of all, you need to have any and all complications and issues logged in your file. If something were to come up and your surgeon says that you never told him about it, insurance could legally deny coverage of the treatment for you not holding up to your end of the bargain so to speak. Follow up appointments are closely monitored by my insurance, I cannot say if that is true of all. If you feel you may need skin removal in the future, you could be denied because of lack of perceived effort on your part at least on paper.

As much as you may not like hearing the above, it is unfortunately necessary for some people to hear it.

Dont be shy around your surgeon. He will see you butt naked on the operating table with lights so intense he will see every hair follicle. Pooping and problems pooping is not a sacred topic. He knows all the ins and outs and constipation is a common thing. Dont hesitate talking to him.

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Dont be shy around your surgeon. He will see you butt naked on the operating table with lights so intense he will see every hair follicle. Pooping and problems pooping is not a sacred topic. He knows all the ins and outs and constipation is a common thing. Dont hesitate talking to him.

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After 2 band replacements and port replacements and the sleeve surgery.... i had said to my surgeon that he has seen me naked MORE than he has seen me dressed lol

Lol!

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I am 15 days post op and I was having same problem! I made some decaf. coffee and it took three sips!

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