Hi People,
I had a gastric sleeve done exactly a week ago and I still haven’t pooped! ? I’m not sure there is anything to poop as I spent the first 5 days vomiting a lot.
I was in hospital till yesterday and they tried a Microlax on me but we only got bubbles. ?
How long did it take you to get your bowel moving again?
Any suggestions that won’t make me feel nauseous again?

it can take a week to have the first BM. And it's often a doozy! A lot of us take stool softeners to ease the "passage"...

just so you know, chronic constipation is a common issue after weight loss surgery (but usually not as bad as that first post-surgery one). Many of us take a capful of Miralax or stool softeners to stay on top of it.

I hadn't pooped for five days after surgery so they told me to use a suppository laxative. I had tried all the prescription stool softeners and Miralax, nothing. The suppository worked in 15 minutes. I do use this still RARELY when I haven't gone in four days or so. You don't want to do a laxative every day, but Miralax is usually fine

Like catwoman said, once you do finally go many people choose to be proactive and take something everyday to keep them moving. I took benefiber (the generic powder at Walmart is much cheeper) daily until I got closer to a normal portion size and then I weaned off of it. I never had any issues after I started the fiber. Some of us have to stay on something preventative for life.

I had Bypass.... but....

For probably 7-8 years I have suffered from IBS with constipation. I was on a prescription to have BM's. Nothing over the counter worked. It was horrible. Before surgery I was so worried about it getting worse since constipation is such a common problem after WLS. Honestly, it was my biggest concern over everything else!

So, POST OP: The first 2 days I had bad diarrhea. Not in large amounts because I wasn't eating, but it was all day long. Then I went from one extreme to the other complete constipation! UHG.. 6 days to be exact... my surgeon told me not to take my prescription without talking to him first so I finally called. He was on vacation so the office was waiting to get a response from him. In the meantime.. it came... SOOO hard.. SOOO painful. Took almost 2 hours on the toilet!! it hurt to sit down afterwards. Was ridiculous frankly! Then is was about another 3-4 days, a couple times of this less hard and painful each time. Then all a sudden I AM CURED! I am 3 months post op now and more regular than I have been my entire adult life!!! I have no problems going, almost every day sometimes every other. It is normal and easy and I take NO laxatives, supplements (for BM's) or prescriptions! Naturally regular and I must say it is wonderful. I never thought I would be so happy to poop!

I know a lot of people drink miralax every single day to keep them regular.

I really hope it works out for you and you find relief because I truly understand you suffering!

I have never read, written or talked about my bowel movements as much as I have since my surgery ??. Don’t know what is worse the constipation post surgery or the hideous, absolutely no warning diarrhoea, which I had. Took a couple of steps & … well you get the picture.

I added a soluble non swelling fibre to my diet. If I hadn’t gone for three days, I’d take a stool softener so there would be action the next day & so I’d keep on top of it.

But certainly, you’re not consuming much & your body will be absorbing every bit of nutrition from it it can at the moment. Don’t be surprised that when you do start to go more regularly that it’s small & regular might be every two days.

It does get better as you are able to eat more & are eating a wider variety of foods & food types.

It was day 5 post op before I went, and honestly, it was very little. I tried Miralax, didn't help at all. Took Colace, it took a day to work, but OH MAN, when it kicked in, I was worshipping the porcelain gods all day LOL Now I seem to go every other day on my own, but if I go more than 2 days, then on day 3 I either take Colace (if I don't have to be anywhere that day lol ) or I take Milk of Magnesia (works within an hour, tastes NASTY nasty nasty, but I go a respectable amount and not like I'm trying to set a world record like with the Colace). I will say, when on the liquid diet, I really didn't go a lot. There just isn't much to poop out. Once I hit soft foods, it got a bit better. Now at 2 months out, it all depends on what I eat as to how often I need to use something to help it along.

On 6/30/2022 at 6:39 AM, RedSuse said:

How long did it take you to get your bowel moving again?

After wls, it took 10 days till i pooped. After plastics is took 13 (a record which in recently tied during and just a little after going on vacay)

Pooping regularly is a lot different for me post wls. Before i used to go 2-3 A DAY, post its more like once EVERY 2-3 days.

During weight loss phase, i took Benifibre every day with my morning protein shake nowadays (3.5+ years post), i just go with it sans the fibre.

But generally if i haven’t gone after 4 days (unless im on vacay), then i’ll take a dose or Miralax; and if that doesn’t work in a day or two, its time for a glycerine suppository. I almost always go after the first suppository. Twice, though it took 2 days of suppositories before i got to see any poop.

In any case, from what ive read constipation is just an reality after wls we need to learn how to deal with in our own ways.

Good Luck! ❤️

As an addendum to my above post. Went to dinner with a friend & fellow sleever that night & guess what our bathroom conversation was about?? Yep, pooping!

We were laughing about her constipation solution: she gets dressed in all her cycling gear & a couple of minutes later she has to peel all her Lycra off to poop. We also were joking about how you can weigh more after breaking a constipation streak. The loss doesn’t show until the next day. Neither of us could understand why that happens.

Edited July 3, 20224 yr by Arabesque