About Constipation And Bowel Movements With the Sleeve

First topic message reminder :

I know this is kind of a weird question :cyclops: but how do our bowel movements (BM) change with the sleeve?
I think i might be constipated or maybe this is normal for being on fluids but I haven't had a BM since surgery 4 days ago and I am starting to get concerned.
I am adding benefibre and prune juice to everything i take in (and yes its gross) and I am still having no action :oops:
The dietician told me that the BM's will be less and happen less often - but what is less often? A week or more? And do things change later on when you move to mushies and then solids?
How long should i wait before panicking about not having one? :pale:

Oh, gee, maybe you'd better go to the hospital if it's that bad - it can be really painful if you don't do something soon enough. Good luck!
Chris

I have irirtable bowel syndrome...................ive been so constipated ive considered going to the hospital.

Sure will, Hannikans - I'd not be very impressed if I had this problem forever! LOL No, it's just the change in diet, I think, and once I'm eating normal food again things should sort themselves out - or maybe sooner, if I'm lucky!
Chris

Hi Hannykins,

I only had troubles for about 5 days then I have been normal ever since.

I can appreciate there would be an adjustment time for your bowel to work properly...but, do you go back to a stage where your bowel is kinda normal???

Hi Guys & Gals

I can relate greatly to everyones plumbing problems on the no go for at least 5 to 6 days after an op( c-section & Band in & out). I think it must be the morphine that does it because all times were exactly the same although I was drinking / eating less with the band.

:lol!: I am sorry to laugh at our illustrious misfortunes but man oh man I really needed a good giggle at our 'no holds bar policy here' congrads everyone if I had known some or all of what you have said on this thread at my previous ops then I wouldnt have been so distressed or highly embarassed at the time.

:cheers: Jo

yep fowl stuff that crap fot the xray
Fadding Away

Oh, Jezzybel - oh my god, what an ordeal! I'm so sorry you had to go through it - but I'm really glad I didn't! LOL
Thanks for making my problems seem much smaller!
Chris

oh my gawd that blue posion they make you drink gawd gawd gawd save me it just about killed me I swear the most vile thing I had to do. I swear I would have rather they put a hose down my throat and poured it down than make me drink methal blue ever again.

applesauce

*WARNING: Contains too much information* :lol:

Well, if it makes anyone feel better, on my 4th day in hospital I had to drink contrast fluid for a scan (shuddering just thinking about it) which came out every bit as liquid as it went in, and not through my bladder

That was the day they detected my pneumonia, so I then had 7 days of IV followed by oral antibiotics - Augmenten Forte. Now, I realised a little belatedly that the last time I took these antibiotics, they had disastrous (bowel movement) consequences. And this time was no different. So I had two days of sh!tting water in hospital, which often came on suddenly, and entailed me unplugging and then dragging my IV trolley-thing with me to the toilet (which used up valuable seconds!), at least 10 times a day. And gotta love that combined with no privacy.
Followed by 5 days of the same at home. I did warn my mum before I got there, but she was still shocked and horrified at the noises coming from the bathroom (and she was 2 rooms away). And no amount of Immodium or Benefibre had an effect.

So, after that ordeal, I've been constipated for 3 days, and I'm delighted :D
Damned if you do, damned if you don't, huh?

I know chris,

I cant quite belive i told that....i just read it again.. :lol!:

I hope you feeling a bit better tomorrow with some changes to your diet.

Nicole

Hi Nicole
I know, it's gross, isn't it? LOL
But it's great that we can talk about it with others who understand and can help.
God, what I wouldn't give for a little constipation right now! :lol!:
Chris

Hi guys,

I cant quite believe we discuss this subject :oops: but it is great info for those of us who have just been sleeved, so i thank you all :D

As i said yesterday i started off very loose thought i was gonna cack my dacks a few occasions :lol!: while in hospital i wondered if it had anything to do with the suppositries ( panadol) i was having. Any way yesterday i went and everything seemed not to bad................but today its a no go........just written the shopping list for my hubby for tomorrow and added benefibre...i do have some prune juice here so i will give that a go later.

About that lactulose......my god :affraid: i had an op last year and left the hospital after a week with only having done a small BM. I left on the thursday ( iwas in perth) and came home to bunbury by Sunday i was at the emergency department with severe pain from constipation.....the dr prescribed some suppostries glcyerine (SP?) i think and then the chemist gave my hubby lactulose also. well i was so constipated that i had both :lol!: and............ oh god i dont think i want to tell you anymore...........anyway the term explosive is not good enough for me. Anyway it cleared me out and did the job...not sure which one did it.........but hey i wasnt worried.
I just warn anyone who tries it................be close to the toilet.....

yuk what a horrible story.....im embarassed now :oops:

Nicole

OMG - I had to come here and share. I am so grateful for this thread!
For the last few days I've had loose bowel movements. I figured it was the dairy, and cut right back but was worried about not getting any protein. Some improvement, but then it got worse again. And this morning I exploded - sorry, but it was very bad. You know how sometimes you have to change all the babies' clothes? Well...
So I took some immodium (great stuff), called the dietitian and asked for some help. She told me that 1) it could be a bug 2) it could be the dairy or 3) it could be from so much liquids. Okay, so I've cut the dairy back, I've taken the drugs and will see the doc on Monday anyway, so if it's still a problem I can talk to her then.
The liquid part is more tricky, since I'm only on purees. Oh, and I asked her about protein powders, too, to find out how much I had to have, and what kind she recommends. (Proforma, if I can get it, or something from the health food store that is just protein - not Sustagen as it has other stuff in it as well). So after some discussion about me not getting enough dairy, not having meat yet and still only on baby foods and soups, she asked if I minded just going back on the Optifast for a while. I already had it yesterday and today, but now I'm back to 3 meals a day on O. That's okay, because if it fixes up the other problem I'll be very, very grateful! LOL
Oh, and the other thing she said was to try Metamucil (I know, apple, but that's what she said) or Benefibre - for the opposite problem than constipation - because it will bulk out the stools, which is what you need if you're having a diahorrea problem because of the liquids.
So now that I've asked the question and got those answers, I thought it might benefit some of you who are having similar problems.
Thanks for being here!
Chris

metemusil is usally far to filling for those with tiny tummies hence benfibre as it takes up no room. and you put it in anything you eat and it disolved to nothing, no taste no grit nothing at all. Plus I use 6 spoons a day not the 2 they say to use. I agree 100% about getting those liquids in, most important. I also agree keeping ontop of it and not letting it go 6 days incase it takes another couple of days to get things moving. All this was just mentioned on the bandits board and vikki reminded me of the one that moves anything and does it within a couple of hours that is lactulose, you can get that from your chemist but plan to be home for the following few hours after it starts working and put a reserved sticker on the loo door. Tho it is not a painful solution as it absobs moisture from you intestine so it might be rather explosive action it is not rough. hope that makes sense.

oh and it was end of week 2 most of week 3 I had my major problems.

applesauce

Hi all,

I have found this page the best as I had my Sleeve done about June last year and have so far lost 47kgs, :cheers: the only negative I had was lack of BM. I went 9 days without BM, I had been taking my Metamusal as directed but still no joy and by the 9th day lots of pain! I sent my husband to the Chemist to get the strongest over the counter laxatives which worked a treat, I damn near shat a cow :affraid: within 20mins of taking them. I have never been more releaved in my life!!! I called the surgens office only to be told I should not have gone that long. How should I have known this? I just thought it was because I hadn't eaten much solids it was supposed to be that way. I have since asked them to add this VITAL peace of information to their Surgery Kit handout. After chatting with the very nice Receptionest (and believe me she says she has heard it all I can imagine). My problem was I did not drink enough water so the fibre had the complete oposite effect!!! I know this now and want to make sure anyone else reading this does too!!! Day 9 on I have not taken any fibre rather rely on Prune Juice and now I never go without eating any less than two prunes a day found this worked a treat. I found it very hard to actually drink the whole glass of water with a tsp of fibre anyway. So I get a half a packet of Prunes and poor water over the lot, then bring it to the boil, let it cool then put into fridge. When I don't feel like eating (most mornings) I drink the juice. At night I have a couple of prunes just before dinner. I love prunes so this was a great alternative. I am now a happy size 12 instead of the size 26 I was last year.

Oh, thanks guys - thought I was a bit weird, so it's good to hear others are/have experienced the same thing.
So, it's the third week for constipation is it? LOL Actually, it was six days after the op until I went to the loo, but when I did, it was all good. It's only the last couple of days I've had this problem.
Oh, apple, we've been saying ours are jet propulsion for years! :affraid:
Chris

I have to say I had no problems at all the first week, and agree the oposite infact hence I did nothing and it hit me so bad late the second week begining of the third week. benifibre is now my best friend but it does make me windy. I tell my daughter who groans when it escapes it is just jet assited take off hehehehe

applesauce

Hi chris,

I have also been the opposite, i wondered if i had picked up a bug or something, The nurse said to me that it was probably normal cause i was having so much fluid and the drugs they gave me dont cause consitpation.
This morning a went and it was a little better.
God the wind has also been quite bad :lol!:

Nicole

I must say that I haven't had this problem at all - in fact, just the opposite. Over the last few days, anyway. I think it's all the dairy I was having, but I haven't had any for over 24 hours now and I'm still not back to normal, so if it's still a problem when I see the GP on Monday, I'll talk to her about it.
Chris

Well I went and bought myself something to help me along for afters ..... just in case :!:

As I said set yourself a limit when things like benfibre have not got a result then move onto something that will give you a result. Your chemist will help you with that. My limist is 4 days as it can still take another 2 days for the strong stuff to work and I find 7 days is bad bad news for me. I start to fee vile.
As for normal it is common for people not to go for the first week after surgery, I went then stopped going and hence needed stuff to help me.

applesauce

I have to insert a funny story here re: discussing BM in person.

Was sitting down to have dinner with best mate, her family, and her boyfriend. Her little brother (not that little though, 16 at the time) comes to the table with a grin on his face, and proudly declares,
"I just did the most WICKED dump."

Silence.

Followed by hysterical laughter from everyone.

arghhhhh hayley.....yuk

I wonder if we met face to face if we would talk about our BMs...shape size consistency.... :lol!:

Nicole

I love your work Oldfart!!
keep your postin', you make my day!
Smoochy cuddles all! (maybe it'll squeeze it out of ya!)

Hayley

Hi you silly sausages :P ........... just wanted to share some insight into the "my bum's stopped wrorking" thing.
I take morphine and so end up constipated sometimes so I use a liquid de blocker called Parachoc which can be got from the local plumbers or chemist ........... it works by going around the blockage and lubricating the instestinal wall so it doesn't back up behind the blockage that is already in place! ............ sorta like internal vaseline :face: ......it's very mild ........ oh but dont be fooled by the "chocolate vanilla flavoured" spiel on the label cause it's hard to swallow and tastes like sh**
:lol: :lol!: :lol: :lol!: