constapation is terrible help me please!!!
How much water are you drinking? Getting a sufficient amount of fluids is important and will help with the constipation.
At day 6, I'd be surprised if you even had much in you to poop yet! What was your preop diet like, and what's it's been since surgery?
Surgery: RNY on 12/18/2013 with Jay M. Snow, MD "Don't mistake my kindness for weakness." - Robert Herjavec, quoting Al Capone
on 4/8/14 8:11 am - Canada
on 4/8/14 8:13 am
First off, relax because this is completely normal. I freaked out after surgery because I was used to having loose stools several times a day before WLS. However, it is pretty normal to be constipated after any surgery -- and even more so after having your guts re-routed. Additionally, if you are taking any pain medications, they are infamous for constipation, too.
What has worked for me is a stool softener (colace), drinking LOTS of water, and Milk of Mag if I go more than 3 days. The first week after surgery, I had diarrhea for a few days and then pretty bad constipation. I still struggle with constipation (something I never had experienced) if I don't keep my fluids up --
If you still don't have a movement and are suffering or very concerned, be sure to call your surgeon's office.
"What you eat in private, you wear in public." --- Kat
MOM doesn't work for me. You can take 1 - 3 Senekot tablets at night. Since you're 6 days out it wont hurt to take 3. Senekot is pretty natural and works quite well. My doctor told me if I'd not gone within 4 to 5 days to take a laxative (not a stool softener).
I've tried Colace a softener but am going back to Senekot which isn't a gut wrenching med.
I too have had this problem, and as other posters have noted, it's completely normal. The first thing to do is make sure you drink as much water as possible. After that, it's a matter of finding what works for you. Of course only being 6 days out, that does limit your options somewhat. I had tried EVERYTHING (MoM, Myrolax, Sencal, Teas, supositories) and nothing was working for me. I started to get really worried when a friend recommended wheat grass juice (which I'm not sure you can have this early out so make sure to check with your Dr.). I take a 1 oz shot of wheat grass 4x's a week and added a probiotic and things have been normal for about a month now (I'm 2.5 mo's post op). The point is, you'll need to try out different methods until you find the magic for you (of course follow your Dr's guidelines first and foremost). I was in a ton of pain before I found what worked for me, but now things seem to be moving pretty smoothly and I have no complaints. Good luck!
I had this problem about a week postop and I was miserable. It went on a week before I decided to go to the ER (2 weeks with no BM). I tried a lot of things on my own but turned out I had impacted stool. It was pretty awful but they gave me an enema and that did the trick - thankfully!
I am 5 weeks postop now and still have issues with constipation. It's really frustrating and I hope I can find the right combination of remedies to help.
Good luck to you. Don't panic and if it does get bad - try a saline enema. That's what they gave me at the ER and it's safe to use at home. They had me lay on my left side for 5-8 minutes, then back for 5-8 minutes, then right side as long as I could which was only a few minutes.