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 have started eating prunes. I am supposed to eat fruit and I never remember to even buy it. I am drinking protein drinks to try to break through my plateau. So I will be on protein drinks and prunes and prune juice.

i only know what my doctor said about the Fiber supplements. that is his opinion. my doc also doesn't think we should eat popcorn..so there you go.

i have endometriosis, too, but i have not been "checked" for it in several years. my last period only lasted 4 hours, so it may be that the endometriosis has attached to the colon.

i may need to get that checked.

this is a particularly horrible situation for me because i had missed so much work from migraines and then my surgery, that my work is threatening to lay me off at the beginning of the year (despite the fact that i filed fmla), so to be stuck at home on the pot really sucks. my boss said that "shit happens"..haha.. and she understands, but who knows.... they have a business to run, and my colon needs to stop running so i can help.

my family doctor said that this blockage, as far as the pain, resembles a ruptured appendix. it is nasty. hurts to walk, etc. but i have to say i have lost about 14 inches in my abdomen over the last 24 hours.

FMLA IS ONLY GOOD FOR 60 WORKING DAYS IN 12 MONTHS TIME. If you have any exteded illness your employer can replace you without a problem. If they lay you off instead of terminating you you may be able to get unemployment but have to be able to look for work (on paper). Managing FMLA is part of my job. Good luck to you.

Hi All! I am SO new here....so bear with me. My best friend is having LB surgery soon. I am interested in this "fiber" talk as someone who has ulcerative proctitis. I haven't heard "Metamucil" mentioned once... I take it every night (and have for 18 years), with an extra glass of water just before I go to bed. I can't imagine (and I know so little, and am blonde!!!) that from what I have read here, it could be harmful. Metamucil works "lower" (I think) than where the band and stomach are...

Please let me know what you think....

I am wondering about Citrcel. I have used it and didnt think about it even maybe being a problem. I love this thread. I have only felt "stopped up" in my life since surgery. I'm not likeing this part at all!! glad it's being talked about.

FMLA IS ONLY GOOD FOR 60 WORKING DAYS IN 12 MONTHS TIME. If you have any exteded illness your employer can replace you without a problem. If they lay you off instead of terminating you you may be able to get unemployment but have to be able to look for work (on paper). Managing FMLA is part of my job. Good luck to you.

yeah, i have come NO WHERE NEAR 60 days, i'm not even at 20. ...i think i have actually taken 10. they would have laid me off, not terminated me, but they are keeping me around..soo..

now i have pneumonia again :faint:, but i will only be out today. i have made a significant improvement in the last couple of months.

Hi All! I am SO new here....so bear with me. My best friend is having LB surgery soon. I am interested in this "fiber" talk as someone who has ulcerative proctitis. I haven't heard "Metamucil" mentioned once... I take it every night (and have for 18 years), with an extra glass of Water just before I go to bed. I can't imagine (and I know so little, and am blonde!!!) that from what I have read here, it could be harmful. Metamucil works "lower" (I think) than where the band and stomach are...

Please let me know what you think....

my doc specifically said no metamucil. people on this thread have mentioned benefiber because it is clear and tasteless. i have asked doc yet. but they told me no metamucil and no fiber one, because it bulks up.

I mix benefiber into foods I make, but I also take the Benefiber tablets (mixed fruit ones are YUMMY). I still have no BM's for 7-10 days. I've gotten use to it, which is different. Pre-band I went 1-2x's a day hah hah. I started making sure to get the benefiber in because a few weeks ago (well, always but this one was the worst) a BM felt like I was having a baby. So painful and hard, I was turning red and panting. It was miserable. So I was hoping to stop all that. Haven't had an episode like that since..

My mom says I don't poo anymore because I throw everything up hah

Another thing that's worked for me is JuicePlus. I don't sell it, but have bought it and am taking it now, it seems to help with those icky hard poohs.

Here is the link, if anyone is interested. As I said, I don't sell it (bought it from a friend who does sell it).

Good luck!!

-Becky :ranger:

Ooops, my bad. Here's the link:

juice Plus+, Juice Plus Official Homepage

-Becky

Thanks Bandster1007 for answering my question! Glad to know that and won't recommend to my friend!!

Happy New Year!!

No Fiber 1? Isn't that just a high fiber Cereal? I have taken Metimucil. My doctor even recommended it. Isn't it crazy how

all doctors are different.

I eat prunes. They are tasty. I worry a lot because not enough fiber in the diet causes colon cancer. That's the last thing in the world I want later in life.

I've never heard of a lack of fiber causing cancer....????

yep, Andrew Weil ( I think I have spelled that right) and Dr. Oz,

several doctors have said that not enough fiber in the diet is very dangerous for the colon. sorry.

I think Dr. Oz is great. listening to him partly motivated me to get the band. hes not an advacate of wls, but he makes it clear we are all capable of trying to live longer and how to do it. I've bought some of his books and now do clumzy chi-gung, It is relaxing. I can't handle some of the gross food items but he makes sure makes us more aware of how the body works. He has spent alot of time talking about poo and the importance of doing it, even what is should look like. He has a web site and books If you want some interesting entertainment, check him out.

I love Dr. Oz too. He is so informative.