Interesting, my dietician told me Metamucil was better than benefiber.
I have been taking Metamucil capsules and Benefibre
Still trying to sort it all out!!!!!!!!

Hi Jonathan & Issi,

I was specifically told not to use Metamucil (or any other supplement that forms a gel in your gut) post op. Benefibre is good though.

Cheers - Carrie

Issi, just try the parrafin oil and metamucil, the parrafin isnt a medication, agarol actively makes your digestive tract push through the waste to get things moving, parrafin is just an oil that soaks into the waste to make it softer and slippery. its easy on the stomach and tasteless, try that with some metamucil or benefibre and lots of water, hydration is the key

Jonathan thank you so much for your post it us incredibly informative and helpful. I just wanted to comment also about agarol post sleeve it induced severe vomiting in me that the surgeons were not attributing to prescribing this until I stopped taking it and within about 8hrs the vomiting ceased. So if your going to choose one I'd go a different one to agarol to stay on the safe side.

I def need simething right now but am afraid to try anything after my agarol experience. It's been a week and I
so bloated it's just painful.

Hi Jonathan and welcome,

What a fantastic post, thank you so much. So many of us here have problems with constipation to a greater or lesser degree. Your post contains so much useful information and advice, I hope there is some way that the moderators can make it a "sticky".

Thanks again Jonathan

- Carrie :-)


*** Mods: Please, can we make Jonathans post a "sticky", pleeeezzze - Carrie xx ***

Jonathan,

Thank you so much for the time and energy that you invested in responsing to me. I appreciate your advice and implement your suggestions.

Greetings all, First time posting here, been lurking around for a couple months now.
Id like to offer some advice about peoples bowels post op.
My apologies if any of my descriptions gross anyone out, but if your willing to go through this kind of surgery to improve your quality of life, its worth putting up with a little crap (bad pun).
I was sleeved a couple weeks ago but have had bowel issues my whole life. I had megacolon as a child which is a section of large intestine (bowels) that is over sized, floppy and pretty useless. Chronic constipation was something i just grew up with, and was lucky to have a pretty staunch emergency nurse for a mother who was always administering various treatments (felt like torture as a child) to help me stay healthy and regular.
my ever increasing weight through my 20s had lead to a resurgence in health issues and eventually lead me to getting this op. I am on the road to recovery and regular bowel motions is extremely important to aiding this recovery. So Im going to pass on some info and experience.

Diet and fluids
This is the most important part of maintaining inner health. Because your eating a lot less than your body is used to eating, it suddenly finds it difficult to push through a lot of matter, also because you may be having a high protein diet, combined with pain medications like codeine, it can lead to having very hard stools. I was taught from a very young age to always have a very high fibre intake to help keep regular bowels, high fibre diets can also aid in lowering cholesterol and blood pressure, so there's lots of good reasons to have a high fibre diet, the fibre helps grind down the heavier food molecules in your digestive tract which makes it easier to pass this content through your bowels. Foods like wholewheat grains, oats, baked beans, corn (whole or creamed) and greens are all good sources of fibre. I can certainly recommend metamucil as a fibre supplement, there are a few sorts, i prefer the smooth texture, as its not so gritty when mixed with water, you can add fibre supplements to soups, cereals, porridge to help you get extra when your in the puree stage of post op.
Fluids- you know what happens to a half eaten bowl of porridge or weetbix if you dont wash up and leave it on the counter, it dries like concrete, the same can be said about your digestive tract, a problem some people face post op is a reduced fluid intake because of various reasons. after having a meal such as porridge its very important to have lots of water, otherwise this fibre rich food can attribute to constipation rather than relieve it. I believe most post op plans say not to drink during or immediately after eating, so stick to that, but half an hour after porridge or Weetbix, have 2 big glasses of water (3 if you can) but don't rush it and give your poor stomach cramps, Lots of regular sips, or better yet, invest in a good non reactive water bottle (stainless steel, or Tupperware) and carry it with you all the time, keep plenty of ice in your freezer, buy extra ice trays if you have to, and always keep a bottle of ice water with you, get used to drinking all the time, before you know it, it will be second nature. Having plenty of fluid intake is important so that fecal matter in your bowels doesn't become dehydrated and very firm. Soft licorice is a fantastic fibre source, but don't forget its high in sugar so go easy on it. Try and avoid having too much cheese as it can really block you up and isnt easily broken down by the body. If you are feeling dehydrated or having bowel issues, might be a good idea to avoid caffeine and alcohol, as these can dehydrate you even further as they hinder your kidneys from reabsorbing water into your bloodstream.

Curatives and Laxatives
If it gets to the point where you havent opened your bowels for some time, and you find that diet and fluids isnt enough to get things moving it might be time to up the ante a little.

Go easy first - your inners are pretty delicate so start with mild treatments first. I would suggest trying stool softeners first, before moving onto proper laxatives. I would recommend avoiding some of the harsher treatments such as coloxl senna, or sennacott as these can be quite harsh on your stomach, and can cause cramping and discomfort.
Paraffin oil
This is great in combination with Metamucil, it makes your stools a little softer, slipperier and easier to pass, its available at the supermarket and chemist and is pretty cheap. Have 1-2 tablespoons, 2-3 times a day, when i was younger i was having Metamucil morning and night and Metamucil at the same times, this wont give you any cramping or gas like prune juice can. You could substitute paraffin for olive oil or something similar, but i preferred paraffin because it has almost no taste so is easy to take.

Medicines
Lactulose and Agarol are available from most supermarkets and the chemist and are good meds to start with if you haven't had luck otherwise, Agarol is a white milky liquid and lactulose is a clear greenish liquid, personally i didn't like either, due to taste and thickness of the liquids, others find them fine tho, follow the dosages on the labels or whats recommended by your doctor or pharmacist. You can continue to take the Metamucil and paraffin while you take either of these.
There are stronger laxatives available from the chemist, such as Movicol and Picolax, both are a powder dissolved in water, tho i would use Picolax as a last resort as its very hardcore, also i would reccomend getting advice from your pharmacist or doctor if deciding to use these. Movicol is a good place to start, with a single sachet a couple times a day can be all thats needed. In nursing homes, for patients with severe chronic constipation usually attributed to long term painkillers, especially in cancer and chronic pain patients, its quite common to make up a jug with 700-900mls of cold water mixed with 8 sachets of Movicol, this generally gets the most stubborn blockages going. My experience with Movicol is, its easier to drink with really cold water as opposed to room temp, and keep stirring it, so its properly dissolved, it makes it easier to drink, especially if having the jug and 8 sachets over the course of an hour.

Enemas
If you are getting large discomfort in your stomach, or are getting to the point of impaction, chances are its time to bring in the big guns, as a child i hated nothing more, but now i see how important these things are when you need them. If you are severely impacted in the lower section of your colon, no amount of oral medication is going to help if it cant get down to that area to help. Microlax is a very small enema, they are only 5ml, dont require any assembly and usually simple enough to self administer, people of much higher BMI's might find it easier if they get help from a partner. I find that within 60 seconds i have the urge to use the toilet, but the longer you can hold it in the better, up to about 30 mins. Walking around is much better than sitting as it helps the body move it further up your rectum and have a better effect. Usually one is enough to get things started, but you might find a second later in the day might help too.
Fleet enemas are also available from the chemist and are a larger volume of liquid and are a bit stronger than the Microlax. If you aren't getting relief from microlax or picolax, its probably time to go to hospital or gp for some further intervention.

Exercise
Probably the most important part along with plenty of fluids is exercise, getting your body moving really helps your bowels move things along, the combination of plenty of fibre, hydration and good exercise really helps your body break down all that protein your eating now. Seeing as your post op, it may be difficult for you to push things along if your still a bit tender, but walking lots, bikeriding (don't push too hard that you cause danger to your surgical recovery), walking uphill or up stairs is particularly good. You will also need to further increase your fluid intake if you are exercising as it further dehydrates you.

In summary, its best to keep a healthy high fibre diet with exercise, if you have to use laxatives or enemas do so, but try to sort the issue quickly and get back to healthy living, as using laxatives too often or for too long can lead to a dependance on them and making your bowels quite inactive without them.

Hope this can help people along the road to recovery.

Jonathan

Applesauce you are such a wealth of information thank you :-)

Oh dear - 2 weeks is far too long! Whatever you do, get something and get it working again! It's not uncommon to be constipated, but you shouldn't leave it for more than a few days.
Don't worry too much, though - once you've gone, just keep an eye on it and take something after a few days if you need to again.
Often when you start to eat 'real' food again, this will sort itself out.

I had constipation following surgery and called the surgeon. He prescribed Laculose. I would suggest talking to your surgeon at 14 days for sure. At 8 days I was rather uncomfortable.

I still get it a little nearly a year out and have recently had the surgeons office suggest Phloe which I found works well. I am not sure if you can get it in Aussie.

Hi Bibliophile

If I hadn't used my bowels for an entire two weeks, I'd be ringing my local emergency department and asking them. By about the 4th day you could be impacted, so I'd be a tad worried by the 14th day.
All the best.

Go to the chemist and get a bottle of lactalose. It is a clear liquid that will shift anything. Take the maximum dose and do NOT go any where for a few hours. It basicly turns everything to liquid and out it comes. No straining no nothing. Do tho keep the fluids up between now and then to make it easier. A lot of people do not even get a real urge with this stuff so if you dont feel the urge just give a little try after 2 or 3 hours. If nothing happens personally I would take the dose again. But you must remember when you go you really really go liquid so do not do this on your way to work. It doesnt leave you with the runs or anything tho. You are fine once you have gone to the loo.

Benifibre is your friend but it will NOT help when you have not been for 2 weeks, take it from now on at the max dose and drink more fluids. If you have not gone again within 3 days then start taking the daily dose of lactalose for a few days. But serously dont leave your body like this for 2 weeks again.

applesauce

In three days, I will be one month post-op. I've only pooped once. I decided with my liquids and mushy foods, I wasn't getting enough fiber. So I started putting Benefiber in my smoothies. Nothing happened. Today I purchased some prune juice. I remembered that my mother would give it to us kids when we were constipated. As soon as the juice hit my stomach, I experienced excuriating gas pains. I burped and hiccuped for about 20 minutes. I am inclined to pour the rest of the prune juice down the drain. Has anyone else had negative effects from prune juice? I am not uncomfortably constipated, but two weeks is a long time to go without going. Any suggestions? Is this just part of the adjustment?