Question:
can constipation slow weightloss

i am having a heck of a time having bowel movements..i am 9 months post...i have tried upping water, bran whole wheat toast....milk of magnisia, salad...but nothing is working...are we allowed enmas post...let me know hugs to all.    — sweetdarling_ab (posted on July 17, 2004)

July 17, 2004
I am 11 months post-op now, but for the first 3 months I had a very hard time having good BM. Then I found sunflower seeds, I eat aleast 1 oz of shelled sunflower seeds daily or sunflower seed kernels and drink atleast 64 oz's of water daily and have not had any problems having a Bm. You are now 9 months post-op, so you might want to try sunflower seeds, also they have a good amount of protein and fat, that helps move things smoothly. I have heard that others use flax seed, I think it works the same. I would try to use either flax seed or sunflower seeds before going the enmia route.
   — cindy

July 17, 2004
Yes! It does slow your weightloss. I ended up in the ER with abdominal pain- Diagnosis severe constipation. It was strange because I was having a daily BM. I was given liquid citrate magnesium and I lost 8 lbs overnight! and 2 lbs the next day. I now take metamucil 2x's daily. If it gets real bad I take a bottle of citrate magnesium. It only gets bad when I forget the metamucil. I am over two years post op and I have had these problems since about three months post op. My doctor said that I am fine as long as the Metamucil works. I have not tried an enema, but the milk of magnesium and stool softners weren't working for me. The citrate magnesium definitely did the trick :) I get it at the drug store.
   — Allison M.

July 17, 2004
I try to keep some fat in my diet. This seems to keep things moving. Steer clear of stuff like Citricel. Even with drinking tons of water, it made matters worse. Another helpful thing is to eat a couple of pieces of sugar free candy that containd manitol.
   — Fixnmyself

July 17, 2004
Hi Dawn, I don't know if it can slow down your weight loss but, when I had problems with constipation it made me sluggish and I did not want to do my walking. I'm two years out and it no longer is a problem. My friend who had to go to the hospital twice because of constipation was told to take enamas. I would make that my last resort. Hope this helps.
   — Geralyn

July 17, 2004
I went to a specialist for this and they put me on Senecot, every night before bedtime. You really ought to see a doctor about this because it does slow weight loss and there are so many things out there that are safe to use daily. I fought it for years before I gave in and saw a doctor, now I have no problems at all.......Best of luck to you....
   — Sharon1964

July 18, 2004
I am also having this problem, but be VERY careful about citrate magnesium. I have never dumpted until I took this. Man I thought I was going to die. I was laying on the floor with my heart pounding and sweated so bad my clothes were soaking wet. Called my DR and they said that is way to harsh for us, but I see some others are using it. Worse yet, it didn't even work, but then I only drank 1/3 of the bottle.
   — Gail O.

July 19, 2004
Keep drinking that water...for me, coffee in the am and any corn product (popcorn, corn on the cob) keeps the bowels very regular. Mom swore by prune juice, but corn is my trick. I'd try varying the diet first before trying enemas or laxatives.
   — Cindy R.