Question:
What do you do if you don't do #2 several times daily or even every day?

I am 10 yrs. post-op, rny open. I had my surgery in Texas and moved to Seattle. Most of the time I go #2 every 2-3 days and when a doc asked me how many times I go, he said I probably eat too much and stretched my stomach out and should be going several times a day. I see where lots of people are constipated and I had to get off iron because it makes cysts on my liver. Water? Veggies? What do y'all do?    — Betty Todd (posted on February 28, 2011)

February 28, 2011
I am 8 months post op. At first I was so worried that I had to poop everyday etc. to the point I was out of my mind worrying about it. I have learned not to worry about it. Your body will tell you when you need to poop, if you only poop once a day well then thats all you need to do. Stop worrying about it. Its part of nature it will all happen when it needs too. Until you start feeling uncomfortable thats when you should start to worry. GL
   — slvbullet

February 28, 2011
I take "Fiber Choice" fiber pills... two in the morning and two at night. I'm regular like clockwork.
   — Greg K.

February 28, 2011
I have big time problems with constipation, I take fiber and senna.If I don't go every day, I get really bloated, I also take a laxative once a week or so. I may add, prior to surgery I had difficutly as well, but not at bad as now.
   — FSUMom

March 1, 2011
Hi i had my surgery, nov 19, 2009, and i am going through the same thing as you are. and it has me worried too. can i talk to you about this?
   — Jassen H.

March 1, 2011
Every body is different. Even before my surgery, my body was slower at eleminating waste (poop). Since my surgery, I go more often but not always daily. I don't think your stomach gets stretched out with pooh, the pooh gathers lower down, in the intestines. Personally, I eat either WheatThins or Triscuit crackers everyday and drink lots of fluid. I don't get constipated anymore. If you are feeling good and keeping the weight off, I don't think you have a problem. ;)
   — MoabMama

March 1, 2011
I had the sleeve 2 years ago and my Dr. said to use Miralax. He said it is not habit forming and it will work. I don't like to take it, but it does work. He said you can take it several times a day if you need to and it will not hurt you. My colon Dr. said to take Milk of Mag, but my weight Dr. said no because it could be habit forming and that Miralax was not habit forming and it would not hurt your stomach. Good Luck to you
   — joejoe2

March 1, 2011
OK, so I'm only 8 months post-op, but I gotta figure that all my digestive adjustments have taken place. So, 8 months or 8 years, it's all the same. I only poop, at most, once a day. Actually, the frequency is closer to five times per week. And I rarely give it a second thought. My diet may have something to do with the frequency. I still have a protein shake every morning: powder mixed with soy milk and usually a half or whole banana in the blender. In the past couple of months, I've started to eat 6 or 7 prunes during the mid-morning. Not so much to increase the frequency of bowel movements, but more to alter the consistency of the stools. (Many years ago, in a surgery unrelated to my RNY, I had a hemorrhoidectomy that left my rectum smaller than it had been. So I don't particularly enjoy really hard stools.) My typical lunch is a protein bar. Sometimes in mid-afternoon, I'll have a grapefruit. My dinner is a small version of what I used to eat, centered around some sort of dense protein (fish, beef, chicken), but always with some veggies and usually with a green salad. I might skip the salad if I'm having soup (which I love). An evening snack I enjoy most nights is a 1/2 cup of greek yogurt mixed with a little fruit and flavorings. It seems unlikely to me that a post-RNY person (if that's what you are) should find it normal to have to poop several times each day, unless there's a lot of indigestible fiber or too much fat in your diet. I wonder to what degree your current physician is familiar with bariatric and post-operative patients' needs. I think you're doing the right thing by posting this kind of query here on the OH board. It is my belief that some (most) general practitioner physicians don't know much about our physiology. If I were you, I'd try to find a way to adjust what I'm eating to REDUCE the number of times I had to use the toilet every day.
   — MastoDon

March 8, 2011
Your body is in good condition when it poops 3 times a day. That will only happen when you significantly increase the amount of vegetables and fruit you eat. The only way you can significantly increase the amount of vegetables and fruits you eat is to purchase the very, very expensive Vita Mix so you can pulverize the hard textures of vegetables, blending them with fruits, making smoothies, which you CAN DRINK and which count towards the 64 to 96 oz. of liquids daily you must consume for proper hydration. Your skin will benefit. Your eyes will benefit. Your health will benefit. I know. I've been using my Vita Mix for 5 years now. Go look at my picture! It was taken in 2009 and I'm going on 74! You won't need any laxatives to do what you can do naturally. Folks don't want to buy the terribly expensive Vita Mix and think they can make do with other blenders. They can't. But, just as I heard from a lady in England, who spent her 1000 pounds she is thrilled she did. Now she harvests her fruit and vegetable garden right into her Vita Mix and has great health. No, I do not sell those things. I learned about them years ago when I read my first Victoria Boutenko's Green For Life book. Buy the book at Amazon.com and purchase the Vita Mix directly from Vitamix.com. Here's to incredible health! Blessings, Christine
   — Christine Gibson