what causes the constipation?
i know the protein shakes can cause it..but i am doing pretty good getting my protein in with out drinking them...so is it the vitamins, i am using the building blocks, my surgeons off ice gave me 3 months worth as part of my portion of pay that i had to pay...so yes i already paid for them.so will take them...i got rid of the chewables, thank god!!!
i am taking calcium, a multi vitamin, a anti-oxident one, and iron, i am also taking potassium for the next month...
i am also taking 2 doese of100 mg of colace, 1 in morning, 1 in night..or should i take them together? i am also trying to get in some fiber pills..not always but try to...
is the iron, the protein that i eating, the vitamins? or just ALL of the above? i get a few days of going pretty well...and then bam things get stopped up again, like today...i am not allowed grains or taters or that type of starches, yet until 6 months...even nuts....but i may try some nuts as cachews alway have made me go in the past..i just need to figure this out....
oh yea, i am just 3 weeks post op..
thanks have a gfreat day
debby
i am taking calcium, a multi vitamin, a anti-oxident one, and iron, i am also taking potassium for the next month...
i am also taking 2 doese of100 mg of colace, 1 in morning, 1 in night..or should i take them together? i am also trying to get in some fiber pills..not always but try to...
is the iron, the protein that i eating, the vitamins? or just ALL of the above? i get a few days of going pretty well...and then bam things get stopped up again, like today...i am not allowed grains or taters or that type of starches, yet until 6 months...even nuts....but i may try some nuts as cachews alway have made me go in the past..i just need to figure this out....
oh yea, i am just 3 weeks post op..
thanks have a gfreat day
debby
Protein does not cause constipation; lack of fiber and fat in the diet does. I remember reading about people having trouble because of the type of iron they were taking, but I cannot remember if it was constipation or dairrhea (I don;t have to take iron supplements).
You might try adding a dose or two of Benefiber. It is tasteless and dissolves easily into any beverage.
Lora
You might try adding a dose or two of Benefiber. It is tasteless and dissolves easily into any beverage.
Lora
14 years out; 190 pounds lost, 165 pound loss maintained
You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there.
It's constipation and it's the iron salts like ferrous sulfate that cause it.
Kelly
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.
Could be several things.
What kind of iron do you use? Ferrous sulfate is well known to cause terrible constipation. Carbonyl usually does not.
Are you getting enough liquids? Many people have trouble with that, especially in the beginning.
Fiber is another big factor. In the beginning, we focus on protein and can't eat many fresh fruits, veggies, or whole grains.
Try adding a fiber supplement like benefiber to your protein shake IF you are making sure you get at least 64 ounces of liquid every day. If you take fiber but don't get enough liquid, it has the opposite of the desired effect - stops things up.
What kind of iron do you use? Ferrous sulfate is well known to cause terrible constipation. Carbonyl usually does not.
Are you getting enough liquids? Many people have trouble with that, especially in the beginning.
Fiber is another big factor. In the beginning, we focus on protein and can't eat many fresh fruits, veggies, or whole grains.
Try adding a fiber supplement like benefiber to your protein shake IF you are making sure you get at least 64 ounces of liquid every day. If you take fiber but don't get enough liquid, it has the opposite of the desired effect - stops things up.
Kelly
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.
Fiber about 25-35 grams a day will help or it helped me. I dont have to have the iron so I cant comment on that effecting it but I know that when I took it before it stopped things up badly. Protein doesnt generally cause constipation but becasue of the high intake, likely low fat content and not enough fiber all can contribute. 3 weeks post op? I would rethink the nuts if I were you. I couldnt handle nuts until just yesterday and I am now 7 weeks out. Benefiber is GREAT. Good luck to you.
Referral date: December 9, 2010 First appointment: January 17, 2011
Approved for surgery: February 23, 2011 Surgery date: March 14, 2011
Onederland: May 9, 2011 Diabetes-GONE, HBP-GONE (no meds since 3/13)
thanks for the quick replies, i have been getting in 65 to 80 oz of water every day, that is what i drank pre op....i only drink water, no coffee, no tea, no crystal light, just plain ol ice cold water....my surgeons suggets 100 oz of liquids with at least half of it from water...so no i have not gotten to the 100...but at least on average 70 to 80 every day..on a low day it is like 65 oz....my surgeon suggests 65 tp 85 oz of protein daily for my height.... does anyone else drink 100 oz of water a day? that just seems like alot, i was told pre op that i drank too much water...which was like what i am doing now..i have a jug and i would get 1 to 3 of them everyday..that is what i am doing now...its just not the 100 oz. i have been averaging between 50 to 80 oz of protein with out a protein shake so dont think i am doing too bad, being just 3 weeks post op...on my iron bottle it says...iron (as iron chelate) 30 mg...i pill daily...
i think its the fiber for me...since i am not allowed nuts and grains yet...i am craving my cachews and almonds....
i have been trying to add the benefiber, i will again...
again thanks for the help...on days like this i just want to only put in my mouth that is going to make me go...and nothing NASTY tasting is going in my mouth since surgery.. ha ha...pain medicine by mouth, barrium swallow, bowel prep...chewable vitamins YUCK!!
again thanks for the help
debby
i think its the fiber for me...since i am not allowed nuts and grains yet...i am craving my cachews and almonds....
i have been trying to add the benefiber, i will again...
again thanks for the help...on days like this i just want to only put in my mouth that is going to make me go...and nothing NASTY tasting is going in my mouth since surgery.. ha ha...pain medicine by mouth, barrium swallow, bowel prep...chewable vitamins YUCK!!
again thanks for the help
debby
I have had to start using half a dose of miralax every day in one of my protein drinks. I was in such a "bind" a couple days ago I had to come home sick from work and administer an enema. (TMI) The miralax seems to be doing the trick for me. It seems before surgery I would only have to go after eating... Now I am hardly eating anything and so I think my body just forgets I need to go...
~ THE BEST IS YET TO BE ~
sometimes it is "an electrical problem", bowel misfires every which way. The flow has to go all one way, from the in door toward the out door. That's what magnesium does, organizes the flow.
****
I had chronic constipation for 11 years. I tried: more fiber, less fiber, soluble fiber, insoluble fiber, no fiber, both fibers, stool softeners, Smooth Moves & Correctol teas and Metamucil wafers, together, apart, more water, less water, cut out anything bu****er (and protein), senna, cascara sagrada, everything one could possibly try until I was basically dependent on enemas for 3 yrs.
Miralax helped the stool be passable. It was rx and finally became generic, so went from $80 for 3 months to $20 for 3 months. Now it is OTC, but is about $8 for 5-6 servings. If you can get the rx, it is much cheaper, safe, daily, for life, according to my GI doc.
The stool softeners are store brand equal to Colace, not PERI-colace.
Word was that magnesium citrate was such a great thing. This is pills, not the green bottle, so I tried it and nothing happened, and so I kept increasing it. What DID happen is that my foot and leg cramps ceased. So, I kept doing that and tried magnesium oxide. This is small, cheap, found anywhere, like drug stores. And finally, it worked. Mine are 500 mg and I take 2.
My final formula:
1 serving MiraLax (rx) *
4 stool softeners at night
1 mag ox with lunch, 1 with dinner
In the morning, hot beverage first thing on empty gut
This has worked for several years yrs now.
* MiraLax was rx only until the end of 2007, and is now generic by rx. The original name brand is available at drug stores at about $20 for a large bottle. You might want to try one first, taken daily, at about the same time. If it solves the problem, then ask your doc for rx. It is NOT a laxative. It is safe, daily, taken for life, per 4 doctors I've asked. It was a pediatrician who introduced me to it. My rx plan allows me to have 6 of those big bottles every 3 months for $20. Check with your doc and your insurance to see if it's beneficial to buy it by rx. BTW, my doc writes for 2 servings per day, because they might SAY there are 30 servings per bottle, but somebody can't count. Me or them? I use only one, but if I spill or get too much, I still have enough to last til next refill.
****
I had chronic constipation for 11 years. I tried: more fiber, less fiber, soluble fiber, insoluble fiber, no fiber, both fibers, stool softeners, Smooth Moves & Correctol teas and Metamucil wafers, together, apart, more water, less water, cut out anything bu****er (and protein), senna, cascara sagrada, everything one could possibly try until I was basically dependent on enemas for 3 yrs.
Miralax helped the stool be passable. It was rx and finally became generic, so went from $80 for 3 months to $20 for 3 months. Now it is OTC, but is about $8 for 5-6 servings. If you can get the rx, it is much cheaper, safe, daily, for life, according to my GI doc.
The stool softeners are store brand equal to Colace, not PERI-colace.
Word was that magnesium citrate was such a great thing. This is pills, not the green bottle, so I tried it and nothing happened, and so I kept increasing it. What DID happen is that my foot and leg cramps ceased. So, I kept doing that and tried magnesium oxide. This is small, cheap, found anywhere, like drug stores. And finally, it worked. Mine are 500 mg and I take 2.
My final formula:
1 serving MiraLax (rx) *
4 stool softeners at night
1 mag ox with lunch, 1 with dinner
In the morning, hot beverage first thing on empty gut
This has worked for several years yrs now.
* MiraLax was rx only until the end of 2007, and is now generic by rx. The original name brand is available at drug stores at about $20 for a large bottle. You might want to try one first, taken daily, at about the same time. If it solves the problem, then ask your doc for rx. It is NOT a laxative. It is safe, daily, taken for life, per 4 doctors I've asked. It was a pediatrician who introduced me to it. My rx plan allows me to have 6 of those big bottles every 3 months for $20. Check with your doc and your insurance to see if it's beneficial to buy it by rx. BTW, my doc writes for 2 servings per day, because they might SAY there are 30 servings per bottle, but somebody can't count. Me or them? I use only one, but if I spill or get too much, I still have enough to last til next refill.
Michelle
RNY, distal, 10/5/94
P.S. My year + long absence has NOTHING to do with my WLS, or my type of WLS. See my profile.
I've over a year out and have fought the constipation battle from the beginning, mainly because I think my intake of fluids is low (and was low prior to surgery). I've tried all the things mentioned here and they didn't help me much... for me, the only thing that has helped is getting in the max amount of fluids in a day that I can (which is no more than 80 oz. on a good day!) and taking Colace (or generic Colace). Colace is Docusate Sodium (100mg)... my doctor put everyone on it right after surgery for a period of time. It's a stool softener... and while it's not a laxative, it can make things move along a little easier.
I take 3 pills in the morning and 3 at night... but if things got blocked up, I've taken as many as 6 at a time at night or morning. I talked to my doctor about it and he's comfortable with me using them, in addition to a probiotic... and the good news is that you don't have to buy the name brand 'Colace' which costs a fortune. Previously I've been using the Equate brand from Walmart (one bottle of 140 capsules was like $4 or less), and just today got my GIANT bottle of 400 capsules from Amazon (Member's Mark brand) for $10.24! So, it's a cheap alternative...
You'll have to experiment to find what works for you... my only caution is to not let it go on too long before forcing some sort of resolution. If you page back through posts, there's many about folks who had to go to the ER because things got so bad. It's NOT fun (or so I've read) and if you can avoid it at all costs, definitely DO!
Good luck and hope everything.... um... comes out... fine!
tori
I take 3 pills in the morning and 3 at night... but if things got blocked up, I've taken as many as 6 at a time at night or morning. I talked to my doctor about it and he's comfortable with me using them, in addition to a probiotic... and the good news is that you don't have to buy the name brand 'Colace' which costs a fortune. Previously I've been using the Equate brand from Walmart (one bottle of 140 capsules was like $4 or less), and just today got my GIANT bottle of 400 capsules from Amazon (Member's Mark brand) for $10.24! So, it's a cheap alternative...
You'll have to experiment to find what works for you... my only caution is to not let it go on too long before forcing some sort of resolution. If you page back through posts, there's many about folks who had to go to the ER because things got so bad. It's NOT fun (or so I've read) and if you can avoid it at all costs, definitely DO!
Good luck and hope everything.... um... comes out... fine!
tori
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