those who've had surgery a long time ago... please tell me if "it" lasts?

I'm only two months out and lately I've had the worst constipation I've ever had in my life!!! I've tried citrucel and it didn't work.I've been using the store brand of benefiber for the past few days and its helping but its not great. Someone mentioned "Smooth Move" hot tea and I tried it only once and am nervous to use it again because its a laxative.

Please tell me this is short lived for most of us and will go back to normal. PLEASE!!!!

Hi, I'm almost three months out with same problem......And my doctor told me to use glycerin suppositories,and they work......I also eat baby prunes.....

I am 5 years out and only rarely have trouble with constipation (and do not take anything daily).  If you focus on getting more fiber in your diet, it will help.   Many people who suffer from constipation do so because, in their attempts to severely restrict carbs, they are also severely restricting fiber.  Also, being too restrictive  with fat content contributes to constipation.  As soon as I was far enough out to have room for some veggies and whole grains, I added more fiber.  I also increased my fat consumption a bit because of very dry skin.  No trouble with constipation since then.  On the fairly rare occasions that I do have some, I take Benefiber once or twice a day until it clears.  Probably only 4 or 5 times in 5 years have I needed to resort to any kind of laxative.

Lora

Thank you or your reply. What good fats do you eat? I try to eat veggies with dinner each night and have had black beans with lunch every day this week

Some may disagree with me on fat, but real butter is my choice just add some to your dishes.  I also use Olive Oil (which is healthy) and avocado freely.

I have almonds or cashews daily as part of one of my "protein snacks" (I eat something 6 or 7 times per day).   I eat a fair amount of tuna and regular cheese.  I also occasionally have regular peanut butter (reduced fat peanut butter had less fat but more sugar) and when I eat something that calls for it, I use butter instead of margarine and have a small amount of guacamole (high fiber and healthy fat).  Yes, some of these things include some saturated fats, but when the rest of your diet is very low fat, it isn't as much of a concern.

The black beans are very high in fiber, so that's definitely good (hopefully it will help).  Some fruits are higher in fiber than most vegetables, so some of those might also help (Bananas, apples (skins intact), and berries especially).

Lora

Like Lora, I rarely have problems now unless I cut back significantly to only protein.  Early out it was horrible, I was allowed Milk of Magnesia and took that sometimes twice a week.

 

Smooth Move tea did zero for me but I've heard others have success.

I am 2.5 years out and have never had problems with constipation.  I will echo others though and say that you need to add some fruits/veggies into your diet when your program allows.  It will help up your fiber intake and get things moving again.  I will also add that adding fats will help with your overall health too (I use olive oil in a lot of my dishes).  I avoid processed foods and eat a varied diet now that includes everything (I am a home chef and make almost everything we eat from scratch).

 

Mallisa

You poor thing! Yes, it passes. 

Just remember a lot of things have to be in working order to poo. One of those things is a good amount of food in the digestive tract (food pushes food out of the system). Also fat ingestion can help (think greasing the pipes). So if you're allowed some healthy fats (nuts, nut butter, avocado) try getting some in along with some fiber, lots of water. And as your food volume increases you should go more as well.

I used a daily dose of miralax early out and milk of magnesia if "it" got too bad.  Miralax wasn't bad and you can buy the generic store brand.  I put the crystals in my morning cup of coffee or hot tea.  It got me back on the regular until I was able to add more fruit/veg to my diet.  Now I only use it occasionally.