Hello,

10 days post revision to gastric bypass.

Long time constipation sufferer, tried many products.

Miralax not working, neither is milk of magnesia, which almost always helps. Did a Fleet early this morning. Severe pain, feels like I'm sitting on a rock....it is right there....waiting to come out, just too hard and big. Sorry everyone.

Refuse to do mag citrate, too harsh for tummy this early out.

Considering trying Dulcolax, anyone know the size of the suckers? (Gel tabs to swallow). Can't take big pills, need to be hole-punch size or smaller.

Thank you.

@mylighthouse how's the water intake? Water intake is critical to preventing constipation. I was prescribed Colace (generic Dulcolax) post revision to bypass, it's a small pill, smaller than an M&M. I'd work on LOTS of water uptake at this point, just to be safe! And clearly communicate with your surgical team.

Sorry to be gross, but . . .

If you're sitting on a rock, the bm has already made it to your rectum and it's just too hard/large to pass. Dulcolax isn't going to change that. It may just make you even more uncomfortable by building up pressure behind the blockage. You have 2 options as were explained to me:

A Fleet glycerine (not water) enema. Apparently you will need someone to help you with this. And it can be extremely messy.

Pretty much the only other thing you can do is put on a glove, lubricate well, and try to reach in and break up the stool. All the stool softeners/laxatives in the world aren't going to shrink the size of the bm now.

Apologies if this was TMI but reality bites sometimes.

Thank you, Matt. Yeah, water intake and other fluids are super, 88 oz a day. Checking out Colace OTC as well as Dulcolax geltabs. Too hard to tell how large the tabs are, but my guess is that your Colace prescription pills are smaller than the ones you find OTC at Walgreen's and the like.

Wish my surgeon's office was open.

Thank you for your help!

Edited June 8, 20188 yr by mylighthouse

@Orchids&Dragonsthank you. Hey, yes, it is reality.....no probs hearing what you had to say.

Did try the Fleet. A flake fell off.....now who's being gross?

Your answer actually confirmed my suspicions. Wondered about the good 'ol glove trick. Ha.

Much appreciated.

1 minute ago, mylighthouse said:

@Orchids&Dragonsthank you. Hey, yes, it is reality.....no probs hearing what you had to say.

Did try the Fleet. A flake fell off.....now who's being gross?

Your answer actually confirmed my suspicions. Wondered about the good 'ol glove trick. Ha.

Much appreciated.

I'm still trying to find out my proper balance of stool softeners/fiber. Some of the experiments have been disastrous!

@Orchids&Dragons I feel ya. Been plagued with constipation issues for what seems like a lifetime! Best wishes to finding serenity.

1 minute ago, mylighthouse said:

@Orchids&Dragons I feel ya. Been plagued with constipation issues for what seems like a lifetime! Best wishes to finding serenity.

Once you get cleaned out. I highly highly recommend a daily regimen of soluble fiber. The fiber gummies or supplements don't work. They have it that is tasteless and can be mixed with any drink, or soft food like apple sauce. Also, my GI doctor once told me that Miralax is the ONLY over the counter medication that your body doesn't build a tolerance against.

I use the chewables every morning personally.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Equate-Sugar-Free-Fiber-Supplement-Chewable-Assorted-Fruit-Tablets-90-Ct/16940562

1 minute ago, Matt Z said:

I use the chewables every morning personally.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Equate-Sugar-Free-Fiber-Supplement-Chewable-Assorted-Fruit-Tablets-90-Ct/16940562

Do you pick out the red ones first? lol jk jk

Just now, AshAsh1 said:

Do you pick out the red ones first? lol jk jk

LOL no, but I do try to eat them in pairs... which isn't always an option for some reason!

1 minute ago, Matt Z said:

LOL no, but I do try to eat them in pairs... which isn't always an option for some reason!

I'm like that. I have to eat matching colors of my Flintstones!

Too funny you guys.

Well.... I have some thoughts on a couple of things....

First, @AshAsh1appreciate your suggestions. Totally agree with you on the fiber. My best poopin' days were when I was drinking Whole Psyllium Husk mixed in water on a daily basis. Packing a very high fiber content, it helped me immensely. Unfortunately, I can't hack the psyllium at the moment. You know how sensitive our taste buds can be after WLS surgery.... for many people, anyway. And, prior to that, I couldn't get my liquids in very easily at all from February of this year, right up until my revision to bypass, hence ONE of the factors that propelled me towards getting the bypass. So yeah, will be very glad when I can throw back a glass a day of my psyllium husk again. As per your comment about the fiber gummies and supplements.... well, everybody is different. I see that they've helped Matt, and I know others that they've helped as well.

..... thank you @Matt Zfor the link to the fiber chewables that you're taking. It's very helpful, and probably a good route for me to go currently, since I can't knock back the psyllium for fiber at the moment.

Also, gotta say something about the Miralax. Yes, I know that doctors say that you can take 3 or 4 doses a day, that's it's the safest thing in the world, that it works, etc, etc. Well, that might be true. I know they are doctors. However, does it work for EVERYBODY? No! I faithfully took the stuff like my gastro doctor directed me to.... 3 doses a day for about three months straight. Prior to that, I was taking 2 doses a day for a couple of years. No one quite seems to believe me when I tell them, it simply doesn't work for me.

I am a difficult case though. Resectioned colon back in 2014. More abdominal surgeries followed. That is when my constipation woes really kicked in. My gastric sleeve in Nov 2016 just made the constipation probs worse for me. My surgeon says I just have a "lazy" colon. lol

Guess I am throwing all of this out there because I want to say..... what may work for one person, may not work for someone else. What might not work for another.... may work for someone else.

That said, I am ALWAYS open to help and suggestions, experiences, etc, from others. We can all use a little help along the way. We can try different things and see what might work for us individually. It's all good.

Totally appreciative of all the help you guys.

Also, when I try the chewable fiber, I will probably choose a certain color first and eat all of them first, before I go on to a different color. We'll see.

4 minutes ago, mylighthouse said:

Too funny you guys.

Well.... I have some thoughts on a couple of things....

First, @AshAsh1appreciate your suggestions. Totally agree with you on the Fiber. My best poopin' days were when I was drinking Whole Psyllium Husk mixed in Water on a daily basis. Packing a very high fiber content, it helped me immensely. Unfortunately, I can't hack the psyllium at the moment. You know how sensitive our taste buds can be after WLS surgery.... for many people, anyway. And, prior to that, I couldn't get my liquids in very easily at all from February of this year, right up until my revision to bypass, hence ONE of the factors that propelled me towards getting the bypass. So yeah, will be very glad when I can throw back a glass a day of my psyllium husk again. As per your comment about the fiber gummies and supplements.... well, everybody is different. I see that they've helped Matt, and I know others that they've helped as well.

..... thank you @Matt Zfor the link to the fiber chewables that you're taking. It's very helpful, and probably a good route for me to go currently, since I can't knock back the psyllium for fiber at the moment.

Also, gotta say something about the Miralax. Yes, I know that doctors say that you can take 3 or 4 doses a day, that's it's the safest thing in the world, that it works, etc, etc. Well, that might be true. I know they are doctors. However, does it work for EVERYBODY? No! I faithfully took the stuff like my gastro doctor directed me to.... 3 doses a day for about three months straight. Prior to that, I was taking 2 doses a day for a couple of years. No one quite seems to believe me when I tell them, it simply doesn't work for me.

I am a difficult case though. Resectioned colon back in 2014. More abdominal surgeries followed. That is when my constipation woes really kicked in. My gastric sleeve in Nov 2016 just made the constipation probs worse for me. My surgeon says I just have a "lazy" colon. lol

Guess I am throwing all of this out there because I want to say..... what may work for one person, may not work for someone else. What might not work for another.... may work for someone else.

That said, I am ALWAYS open to help and suggestions, experiences, etc, from others. We can all use a little help along the way. We can try different things and see what might work for us individually. It's all good.

Totally appreciative of all the help you guys.

Also, when I try the chewable fiber, I will probably choose a certain color first and eat all of them first, before I go on to a different color. We'll see.

It sounds like you do better with soluble fiber, vs. insoluble fiber. Psyllium is a soluble and it's worked in the past, you may want to just get a different version. To each their own, as far as the supplements vs. the powder. The important part of taking fiber is making sure you UP your fluid intake. So by putting the powder in your drink, you accomplish just that. I do know that Miralax only works when taken consistently, and you've done just that. It's not a miracle drug, and I've heard it doesn't work for everyone.

https://www.healthline.com/health/digestive-health/whats-the-best-fiber-supplement

@AshAsh1yep, which is exactly why I haven't been able to do the psyllium the last several months.... had to up the fluid intake along with it and was unable to do so. Will be glad to be able and get back to it when I can hack the taste of it without gagging. My fluids are great at 10 days post bypass revision. Just waitin' for the taste buds to cooperate.

3 minutes ago, mylighthouse said:

@AshAsh1yep, which is exactly why I haven't been able to do the psyllium the last several months.... had to up the Fluid intake along with it and was unable to do so. Will be glad to be able and get back to it when I can hack the taste of it without gagging. My fluids are great at 10 days post bypass revision. Just waitin' for the taste buds to cooperate.

I gotcha! I never have tried the psyllium. The stuff I take is completely tasteless and texture-less. You wouldn't know it was there unless you mixed it in. I mix it with my smoothie every morning, and water at night. I hope you find something that works.