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Bowel habits

J

Jean Diehl

Member
I had bypass surgery April 19th 2021. Prior to surgery, I add chronic constipation. I finally found a prescription that works reliably. But bowel movements were always loose and watery. So I really don't know what to expect now that I am post-surgery. I'm not able to judge if I should be taking my medication or not. Is there anyone else out there who had chronic constipation before surgery? What is your experience post-surgery? If your bowel habits were normal and you didn't have any other health issues going on that would affect your bowels, how did surgery affect you?
 
In my younger days I had issues with constipation. The fix was bran cereal and water. For many years that kept me stable. surgery was on February 15 and now I use stool softeners with am and pm meds. I add laxative to protein shake ( I don’t do these every day anymore) and when I eat 1/2 a Granny Smith apple it seems to get things moving. This is not dr recommended. It is what is working for me. Oh yeah I avoid bands they bind me up.
 
Congrats on your surgery! I put Benifiber in my coffee or other drinks, it is tasteless. If I need a little extra I take Colace but constipation hasn't been a real problem for me, in fact after surgery I had a horrible bout of diarrhea that took a while to overcome. But eventually I got a little constipated because of the lack of fiber. The further out you are from surgery you will be able to introduce those kinds of foods back in and that will help but for now do what you need to do so you are not straining.
 
Jean Diehl said:
I had bypass surgery April 19th 2021. Prior to surgery, I add chronic constipation. I finally found a prescription that works reliably. But bowel movements were always loose and watery. So I really don't know what to expect now that I am post-surgery. I'm not able to judge if I should be taking my medication or not. Is there anyone else out there who had chronic constipation before surgery? What is your experience post-surgery? If your bowel habits were normal and you didn't have any other health issues going on that would affect your bowels, how did surgery affect you?
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Pre surgery I lived on 1-2 caps miralax daily. Colace or mag citrate if things were too bad. I had surgery 4/29/21, and I take colace, 8 tsp benefiber, and back to 1/2–1 cap of miralax. I either have multiple loose watery stools or can’t go for 3 days. So basically nothing has changed! I was told I’d have 2 soft stools daily. I do keep a written log of what I take and what comes out. GOOD LUCK!
 
KarenWV said:
Would eating something like activia yogurt help balance your digestive track? Wonder if the probiotics would help? I have my benefiber ready for next month's surgery. Good luck wih everything.
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Normally, I take align (probiotic) but I can't have any supplements yet. I normally require my Linzess script daily but often skip it because I have to be where I can get to a bathroom quick. If I have an appointment, which I have at least 3 per week for PT for my neck, I can't take until later, which I often forget. But wondered if it was necessary. For me before Linzess, I took a handful of senicot and stool softeners and still had difficulty.
 
Liddithepup said:
Pre surgery I lived on 1-2 caps miralax daily. Colace or mag citrate if things were too bad. I had surgery 4/29/21, and I take colace, 8 tsp benefiber, and back to 1/2–1 cap of miralax. I either have multiple loose watery stools or can’t go for 3 days. So basically nothing has changed! I was told I’d have 2 soft stools daily. I do keep a written log of what I take and what comes out. GOOD LUCK!
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Thanks for the suggestion of a log!
 
I had no problems with constipation until after surgery. I used senokot s which included a stool softener, 1 tablet nightly. I did this for about 7 weeks. I’m ok now without the senokot now that I’m eating more regular foods.
 
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