Hi

I am a little over two months out of surgery and am having trouble with constipation. I never had any problems before surgery. Can anyone share what they do for these symptoms. I do not think we can take fiber because it expands in the pouch right? Any help would be appreciated.

April:mellow::confused2::biggrin:

You can eat fiber as long as the fibrous foods are compliant with your post-op diet.

There are natural remedies too - some fruit juices, etc. And chewable fiber supplements as well as stool softeners, gentle laxatives (Miralax comes in a tasteless, dissolving powder), etc.

Hi April, are you getting in enough water? I would start with that. My surgeon does not want me to use psyllium (like Metamucil) because it can expand in the upper pouch and I was told to call the office if I am constipated. But he also states that it is normal to only have a BM every 4-6 days when you are eating less (less in, less out, right?). Maybe call your surgeon and ask. :biggrin: You could also try prune or apricot juice.

I've had the same problem. Exactly. Once I started eating a little fresh fruit three times a day, it has improved. I peel 3 grapefruit sections, eat maybe 3 strawberries or a slice of ripe melon. 2 ounces of prune juice at bedtime helped sometimes. Increase your water intake.

Same here. Because I can eat anything that I want, I'm back to taking Matamucil capsules (still not loose my any means). I've only had one fill and so far no restriction at all. I've lost some weight because my head is in to it right now. I go back next week for another fill so I'm hoping for some restriction. I'm eating a very healthy diet with plenty of fiber and fluids but was so constipated, I developed a hemmroid problem although thank goodness that has cleared up now. I was miserable for a while. I may have to get off the capsules eventually and figure something else out. I tried the FiberCoice chewables but that didn't seem to be helping me.

I'm having this issue as well. I'm eating Activia yogurt and taking a supplement of acidophilous (sp?). These are both forms of healthy active bacteria that keep things moving in your digestive system.

But the thing that works best for me is chugging a really warm or hot cup of coffee (doing half caf to make nutritionist happy) first thing in the morning.

I add benefiber to my flavored Water. It helps a little but not as much as my previous higher fiber eating before being banded. Now I avoid the whole wheat bread I used to eat, because of the carbs. I do try to eat an apple every day and occasionally add a Protein bar with fiber. Still not as good as previous. Nuts are used to help me and I avoid those becasue they are high in calories.

I know less in, less out, but it's unheathy for our colons to have whatever amount is in there to sit there that long.

Seems very hard to get in everything our bodies require through food. Protein, Veggies, fruit, fiber, Calcium and stay within the recommended calories.

Once I reach goal and can add a few daily calories, it will definitely be more fiber and dairy.

My doctor says milk of magnesia is ok if no "movement" after 5 days. It works, trust me - and like others who posted on this site, a nice side effect is you WILL lose a couple of pounds....

I swear by Activia. I was REALLY struggling with this...then I tried the "2 week Activia challenge" and it worked! Actually there was consistent movement by day three! I am feeling so much better....it was truly making me feel miserable...and it helped to see the scale drop some too!

I eat one activia yogurt or one activia cottage cheese everyday.

Milk of Magnesia is my friend.

My surgeon recommends something called Liquafiber. It is flavorless and I add it to my protein drinks. It seems to help a lot so far.

Miralax worked for me along with a daily Activa yogurt. The benefiber chewable and powder did nothing.

For those of you all excited about Activia yogurt. Any brand of yogurt eaten every day will do the same exact thing. Yogurt is yogurt. The only difference is the sugar content and flavorings. And the other brands are less expensive. Dannon is making a fortune off of this and it's a rip-off. Just thought I'd let you know.

As for the constipation problem, I don't get enough Fiber in my diet so I take a couple of Fiber Choice chewables with Calcium and it works great.

I've been doing better since I started having Kashi GoLean and/or Fiber One Cereal pretty much every day. I could handle 1/3-1/2 cup mixed with Fage or Oikos Greek yogurt (which also has fiber) until a couple days ago - I think my fill has kicked in and I could only handle 1/4 cup today. My liquid Vitamin has some fiber in it. For the last 6 weeks or so I've been averaging about 12g fiber, which isn't the 25 you're "supposed" to get, but I figured it was pretty good for my intake.

The days I do best are the days when I have my vitamin, high fiber cereal, two veg servings, and a fruit serving. I really prioritize getting veg/fruit after I fit in my protein!

I think most of us bandsters have this same problem. It's hard to get fiber in when you can only eat a tiny portion. Sometimes I will drink a protein shake to get my protein in and then have a healthy portion of veggies. The protein shake goes right through the band so it's not like it really fills me up. It's a dilemma.

my dr didnt like me taking the chewable benefiber post surgery (too bad they were yummy). Ive taken stool softner in pill form for years but when I was a bit too tight I tried Miralax. that worked okay but I recently started with the suppliment of acidophilous and let me tell you THAT works oh so well!