i guess you could call it a "complication". i read about constipation before i had the band. well, i have been going what i would consider pretty regularly---daily. i have had a couple of moments where i thought that going to the bathroom resembled labor to the extent of making it productive, but it was productive.

ok, i woke up this saturday with a sharp pain on my left side. i almost went to er, but i have had something like this happen before and after all the poking and prodding, i had a bowel impaction. so..i didn't go to er. instead, i stayed home, drank lots of Water, and took a lot of ex lax. then on Monday morning- i looked 8 months pregnant.

i am not exaggerating, when i went out someone actually asked me when i was due. yes, i am heavy, and my abdomen has been somewhat distended since surgery, BUT, i did not look pregnant like i did monday. and i didn't look pregnant at all prior to surgery.

so i go to my doctor, and i have a freakin' bowel blockage. one that is so bad the gas in my belly cannot get through and was building up in my belly. my doc wanted to do x-rays, etc., but i talked her out of it and came home and drank magnesium citrate and did an enema.

i'm 25 years old, i don't think this is normal. i thought last night that i was finished "cleaning out", but my belly was still sticking out. so, i planned to go to work this morning. i could still feel the pain in my left side, so i just thought that i would work on that the next week or two with miralax.

well, over night i HURT SO BAD. i felt like i did post op. rolling around in the bed and moaning. then, when i get up this morning, the "cleaning out" just began. i'm stuck at home sitting on the porcelain god every 5 minutes.

at least my belly is going down and my pain is going away.

has anyone else had this problem? if they venture to share. if you haven't watch out. it hurts like hell when it gets blocked.

i know this is gross and costipation is an issue with banders, but what should i do to prevent this from happening again? my doc suggests that i go sit and "try" for 15 minutes after i eat every meal. what? who does that 3 times a day!! besides that, she is not my band doctor and she doesn't understand that my food intake is less.

any thoughts would be appreciated.

I had to take magnesium citrate (I chose Cherry.. tasted like a tart grenadine!) pre-op for the surgery.. wasn't too keen on how it worked for me.. took a long time (3hours or so) and I'll spare the details but it was not a fun time for me and my DH in that hotel room.

Since I went about 3 weeks post-op with no BM's, I was frustrated.. and I had DH pick me up prune juice. I drank way more than I guess I should have.. I've never had prune juice before, so didn't know how much to drink.. I had about 1/2 quart. But it flushed me out, and it didn't make me run back and forth to the toilet.. it just cleaned it out.

Ouch! sounds rather painful. No, I never had that problem after my surgery in fact I am rather regular, I get undressed to take a shower and I have to go (it does not matter what time of the day or night if I am getting ready to step in the shower I have to go first) One thing I notice though is after my fills I get diarrhoea for 1-2 days and then back to normal.

inthecitygirl----yes, laura is right. the magnesium citrate does it's job, but once it kicks in, it is not pretty. i would not recommend doing it to late in the evening. and do not drink it if you have plans to go anywhere for the rest of the day. i was able to control it, but you still have to go very frequently.

The (very experienced) band doctors and nutritionists I know have all said Benefiber is fine to take, and recommend doing so. There are indeed fiber supplements that bulk up and can be uncomfortable or even dangerous in the pouch (like Metamucil regular, for example) but the colorless, tasteless ones that dissolve completely will not do that and are just fine to take.

Thanks Alex. I am on the way to get some Benifiber now on the way to work as this has been a problem for me too. Donna

Does anyone else get bad gas from Benefiber? It's embarrassing at work!

OK...here's what I have to say abuout this...first off I'm so glad to hear that I'm not the only one with a problem not being able to pooh. I recently went to the doctor for severe back pains and I go back this Friday for a follow-up. Well...after thinking about it, I'm probably in pain because I don't go to the bathroom very often. Prior to surgery, I was completely opposite. I could not go anywhere after eating because it came right back out. Now...I am LUCKY if I go once a week and when that time comes, it's not very comfortable. I use Benefiber but it hasn't been very successful for me. The Benefiber doesn't make me gassy, but I have to say that since surgery I have been gassy anyway. I'm very lucky to have a private office at work because let me just tell you...it's not very nice at work sometimes (I know...TMI). So everyone...good luck with this blockage problem...I'm fighting the same fight at you guys!!!

I think I am going to start taking Miralax more regularly. My dr. said it was safe to take, and so did the pharmacist. I just can't let this continue. It's not good for the body! Miralax is supposed to be the safest one to use on a regular basis. I am going to try prune juice first and see if a little bit of that helps. I did prunes for awhile, and that did not help.

I make fruit shakes everyday. Papaya helps too. I became regular after having those shakes.

What do you put in this shake?

i do not exercise either. i should have added that, and i take pain medication regularly. both are horrible on my "system".

i haven't thought of prunes...and i will definately look into the benefiber.

I think the constipation issue is common. I can go a week to ten days without a movement. I get a little pain in my left side, and then I know it is time to go. I take milk of magnesia, and the system gets cleaned out. It is not a perfect system. I talked to my surgeon and he told me that in time it will get better. I have to eat my greens and fruit, exercise, and benefiber is great. I am doing what is prescribed, but for now I still have ten days off and one day on.

I put some prunes in some water and warmed them in the microwave. I remember that when I was pregnant my doc

recommended this. It makes them juicy and it definitely helped

with my problem today.

I also bought some prune juice but haven't had any of that yet.

I am completely tired of this problem and I know it's not good

for the intestines.

I've also not been able to pooh like I did 'pre-Band'. I found if I drink a hot cup of green tea (or maybe even the green tea cold drinks would work), it works for me. I don't really care for the taste, but I make myself drink it for the antioxidants and for the freedom.

Good Luck to everyone!

-Becky :ranger:

mmmmm..that is a good idea. i absolutely love the taste of plain, hot green tea, with no sweetener (the bottled lipton ones make me gag).