Constipation question

Hi everyone, I know a lot of us WLSer's go through constipation so I'm hoping some people have experienced my issues. I will wake up feeling very constipated and really struggle with being able to go then within 3 or 4 hours I can have a bout of diarrhea. What gives??? I don't know if I should take a stool softener or some other type of product like Senakot or Miralax o take nothing!

it sounds like you might have impacted stool and liquid stool is seeping out around the solid stool mass. 

I personally would take a bottle of magnesium citrate and get completely cleaned out then stay regular with Miralax every day. 

You should also check with your surgeon.

Thank you holly. That sounds like something I need to take the day off work for LOL! Thanks again...I will check with my surgeon as you suggested. If that would take care of the issue that would be wonderful!

I had to take a bottle of magnesium citrate last week for gall bladder surgery.  After drinking it I dumped terribly.  I was sweating, dizzy, and heart was pounding. I had to lie down for about 30 minutes.

All I could think was it had real sugar instead of the sweetener listed on the label.  It was a generic bottle with the Great Value label.  I would not buy generic again.

Oh boy! Thanks for the heads up on the sugar possibilities. I had the VSG so I wouldn't get the dumping but I am a diabetic (well I was until 2 weeks ago when I took my final dose of insulin. Yaay!) I still watch my sugar and carb intake very carefully though.

If it is liquid and it has a lot of sugar - even VSG can dump... Don't count on the sleeve to hold liquids in. 

Well I don't want to find out so still no sugar for me!

You could try half a bottle of Mag Citrate and then Senakot once or twice a day to keep things moving. If stool gets too soft, skip a day of Senakot but as soon as it firms up, resume it. Make sure you are getting your liquids in and keep moving around (sitting makes it worse). Lots of people swear by Miralax but that didn't do much for me. Good luck, constipation is a pain!

Yeah I took senakot for a while in the beginning... some days 2 or 3 doses.  My doctor said to keep taking it until Iwas regular.  When I started getting enough water every day the constipation went away.  And congratulations on being done with insulin!  I took my last dose in the hospital.  It is worth the surgery just for that!

I have taken Senakot before after surgery as well and it did work well. Because I get the constipation and diarrhea in the same day I'm just afraid to take it on a work day as I do a lot of traveling in a day.