Constipation

hate to be gross but...

i had had surgery last Wednesday and that was also the last time I had a bm...pre op.

i'm afraid I'm not getting enough fluids but I also feel like I am drinking to much. I sip through the day and I'm still trying & learning to take it slow. I keepplain water around and i'm drinking on average 2 to 2 1/2 protein shakes a day.

i'm hoping today is the day but eck!

That happened to me also, I had surgery on May 24th, and could not go. Do you have a one week post op appointment? At my one week post-op appointment with my surgeon, he recommended a natural herb tea called Smooth Move, it can be found in the tea aisle in most supermarkets. It's very mild, and they have 3 flavors, I chose peppermint, and it does help you go. It took about 6 hours to work, and I've been regular ever since. Please clear it with your doctor first to make sure you can drink this tea.

This is definitely normal. You can use stool softeners (try Colace), or many folks use Miralax. You can also take fiber supplement pills like Metamucil. Avoid stimulant laxatives.

I still put a cap of Miralax in my protein shake everyday. I had lots of problems the first couple months. I never want to be in that situation ever again soI buy it at a big box store and get the store brand. I've been regular ever since.

https://www.bariatricadvantage.com/item/probiotic-chewable

I never leave home without them..(sounds like a commercial..lol)

I remember that experience! Stool softeners, laxatives, etc. can help, but a pharmacists once told me they need water, lots of it, in order to work. If it will help you get more water in, you might consider skipping the protein shakes for one day.

I have always had problems with constipation, even pre-surgery, but once I learned the importance of water things got a lot better. Now I find that drinking extra water is usually all I need.

I use a capful if miralax every morning in my hot tea or coffee. I buy the Costco brand. Works like a charm!

There's good advice here, but also talk to your surgeon and heed his advice. You want to make sure you get ahead of this--I ended up with an actual impaction issue that was headed for manual intervention. Thankfully, I ended up not needing to go that far, but it was bad times. Nowadays I take a daily probiotic and I'm reasonably regular, so it's not forever.

Jen

it's a long-term issue for many of us. I also take a capful of Miralax every day, plus magnesium tablets. When it's been a couple of days and I get that bloated, uncomfortable feeling (meaning I'm backed up), I take Milk of Magnesia for a night or two. A couple of times I've had to get a bottle of magnesium citrate because even the MOM didn't do the trick, but that was rare - usually my daily routine plus the occasional shot of MOM when things get backed up will do the trick.

I had some relief this morning! Yay!

will be getting some myralax today!