The other side of bathroom "issues"

People love to propagate the myth that us DSers are plagued by all kinds of bathroom issues...non-stop diarrhea, crapping ourselves silly, spending our days cloistered away in our bathrooms.  I never bought into that when I was making my decision what type of surgery to have.  I believed the people here who said that a lot of it was entirely dependent upon what kind of diet we consumed.

I've never had "bathroom issues."  Prior to surgery, I went several times a day. I was like that my entire life.   After surgery, I usually went twice a day, maybe sometimes three times.  This was actually "better" and more regular and predictable than pre-op.  This tickled me secretly because all I could think was all those nay-sayers were full of **** (forgive the pun).  Soooo...imagine my surprise when about two weeks ago, I suddenly started having "issues."  Nope, not uncontrollable diarrhea, but rather constipation.  WTF??  I've never dealt with constipation in my life.  My mom and my son both have problems with it and always have, but never me.  If anything, I've always been "uber" regular. 

I started taking mag oxide to help move things along.  I'm up to taking six of those suckers  a day just to maintain a bit of normalcy and comfort.  Grrrr...this is super irritating.  I'm thinking I might need to start adding a laxative or something, so I'm looking for a little bit of advice from any of you who also deal with the same thing.  My problems aren't to the extent of Melody's or Kayla's (thank goodness...I don't know how you ladies deal with it!).  But, if I forget to take the mag ox, I don't go, I get all bloated, and I'm in pain.  Any advice on regimens that work for you is greatly appreciated!

I take mag oxide with every calcium dose.  I also add fat to my diet.  I also eat popcorn (with tons of butter on it) about 4 days a week which I think really helps me.

Here's VitaLady's plan:

www.obesityhelp.com/forums/DS/4276854/Vita-Ladys-constipatio n-program/

Have you changed brand of any of your vites or supplements?  Sometimes the filler is the problem

This is a form of calcium that is supposed to be non-constipating.  I heard about this from Jade:

www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/browse/sku_detail.jsp

~Becky

No, I haven't changed any of that stuff - it's all either Vitalady's stuff or Sam's Club, as it has always been.  My diet hasn't changed, either - still eating the same amount of fat that I always have.  Wondering if maybe I need to start eating more veggies to add some more fiber to my system?

 The easiest is to take Miralax or generic equiv. once a day, in something you drink every day.

Some put it in coffee, shake or I just use clear water. It has no taste or texture or color. It can be taken over a long period of time without causing any dependence.

So, do it the easy way, give it a try. Even Walmart carries it.

Good luck, I know "plugged pipes" are no fun.

Thanks, Inge.  Yeah, it is definitely not fun.  I was worried about the taste/texture thing, as well as it giving me the opposite problem.  But I am going to give it a try.

I do think adding more fat to your diet helps too.

 I also trend toward constipation.  I take stool softeners and Miralax daily!  Really helps, along with plenty of water.  The extra fat does not seem to help me anymore like it did in the beginning.  

 Go buy yourself a big ol' bag of Jelly Bellys.  Works for me every time.  

Seriously though - a couple of random things I've noticed, or that help or don't help:

1)  Some types or brands of calcium citrate cause more problems than others.   Liquid cal citrate REALLY binds me up.    I take mag ox with every dose of calcium too.  
2)  Miralax can be taken for the long-term.   
3)  A good ol' K of C or VFW or Eagles Club fish fry will get things going for me in a big way.
4)  I'm not a coffee drinker, so if I'm constipated, I'll drink an espresso.   That works pretty darn well.
5)  Switching up my diet seems to do the trick too.....and dark leafy greans like spinach, kale or chard seem to be helpful.
6)   If I eat black beans, I crap like a race horse for two solid days
7)   I am more constipated at certain times of the month than others.   During my luteal phase (from ovulation until just before my period, I am quite constipated.   Then, all of a sudden, my progesterone levels must rise, because I start pooping like crazy.     I never noticed this much pre-op, but it is much more pronounced post-op.   It could be a perimenopausal thing, because I'm older than dirt dontcha know, but it happens month after month for me....you might see that it falls in a cycle for you.

Well, I'm not sure that I helped much.   I know that Sheanie kind of struggles with the same issue, so you might want to get in touch with her!

Hahaha!!!  LOVE it!

I've always taken Sam's Club cal citrate and never noticed any problems before.  I've started taking the mag oxide at the same time I take my calcium and mag citrate doses.  It certainly does help.  I'm thinking that I really need to up my fiber intake - thinking about it, I haven't been eating that many veggies lately.  Luckily, fresh veggies are going to be showing up at the farmer's market soon (yummy!).  I'm a total coffee fanatic, so that's not going to help me, unfortunately. 

And P.S. - you are NOT older than dirt!! 

 Yeah - I eat a LOT of veggies, because I have the stomach space for it.   That might help you.