I recommend this to every person I come into contact with who says they have constipation issues. Linzess! I cannot praise it enough. It is prescription and I swear it is a miracle drug. I would advertise it for free for that company it's so great. I have been in the hospital so many times with diverticulitis, but since taking this stuff and keeping my bowels flowing on schedule, I haven't had a single flare up or been in the hospital once. That's 2 years 6 months, and counting. Truly, it is that great.

I suffered from constipation for 10 months post op. It was brutal. I took stool softeners 2x a day, drank tons of water, and still had to use suppositories or 1/3 of an enema every other day or so to help me go. It was awful but eventually it passes.

Smooth Move works for lots of our patients. Water, keep hydrated, stool softners and Miralax or Milk of Magnesia will help also. You're body is changing and moving from one stage to another has a tendency to do this. Also, lots of protein also constipates so try adding in a little variety to your diet. Continued success and "happy pooping"

I also discovered an herbal tea called "Smooth Move." I drink it every morning and yep, it lives up to it's name.

I often have problems with constipation. Whenever we go to Colorado I drink the whole drive, probably 8 water bottles, because the altitude has made me really sick in the past. Not only don't I get sick, the constipation problems go away almost immediately. Power of water!

My doctor recommended Mirolax, but it never did much for me.

Yes. More, more water and stool softener.

Are you drinking all of your water and using a stool softener? It may be wise to go and see your family doctor to get a plan in place for that (they can also give you something that will work for now ) You don't want it to get any worse. I feel for you, constipation is the pits. Ive been lucky so far :-s

most of us have been there done that and or looking forward to doing it. Congrats on your surgery! Wishing you a super speedy recovery. hoping that you will take advantage of us older surgery people and help others as they come up.

Hey Marty! It will get better. That first week is rough. Congrats on your surgery! Wishing you a super speedy recovery!! Can't wait to see you hitting your goals!

Hi Martini, it sounds like you are doing great after the initial rough trot. Best wishes for your journey :-)

Hi Martini, so glad overall you did well with surgery. It continues to get better with every day and week. First week or two the hardest. Couldn’t imagine my life without my Sleeve. Life is amazing now and it’s been 9mos. I’m down 132lbs and feel amazing. Pray you continue to improve and have amazing results. Just remember everyone looses at different rates. As long has your loosing with occasional stalls your doing well. I found my stalls were from not eating enough protein. If Added a premier protein drink to my diet it would jump start my weightloss. If that happens look at your diet and exercise and make adjustments. Good luck and Thank you for checking in and letting us know how it went and how your doing.

Good luck! You can totally do this. Eating was a huge (HUGE) part of my old life. It isn't anymore. Priorities change, I don't miss the old me one bit!

The mental game is definitely tougher than the physical one. You seem like you motivation is in the right place. Just wait till the pounds start coming off, then you'll really be motivated!

Congrats on the BEST part of your life!! Remember that you have total control over this. Yay!!!

I was so eager and ready to be on the other side of my surgery. I wanted my sleeve sooner rather than later. I wanted to start my journey to a healthier life. It is also normal to be scared.

You got this! Time to take back your life and health.

Greetings & Salutations,

Good luck suga foot! You are definitely heading in the right direction and a NEW health journey will begin. Please keep us updated.

Good Luck! But it takes more than luck. It takes dedication to making a complete lifestyle change. Do your research. Follow all of your doctor's and nutritionist's instructions to the letter. Ask questions and be sure that you understand the answers. Make your own luck.

thank you so much .

Hi Martini, I think what your feeling is totally normal. Sounds like your prepared and ready. Hang in there and maybe start a hobby or start an exercise routine if your not already. Try to distract yourself to help the time go. Luckily for me was I made the decision to have the surgery I only had to wait 3 weeks But I did spend 1.5 mos researching the surgery and different doctors and hospitals available to me. I was a cash patient. Good luck with your journey

Originally Posted by sraebaer

I had a five day liquid diet before surgery too. That was it. I basically lived on protein shakes, and was told there was no limit if I was hungry. I even froze the chocolate ones to pretend they were a Wendy's frosty.

I am blessed my hubby is the most supportive person on the planet, and it has helped so much. He cooks a protein and veggie most every night. He is not into junk food, so we have no crap in the house. (Kids are grown and gone!)

But if your family is not supportive, you're going to have to get tough and think about yourself. Cook what you want, and hopefully they will come around. I still eat beef and pork, but not as much as I eat fish and chicken. My nutritionist said the less legs the better! Just got back from a Wisconsin fishing trip, so we will be eating no legs for a while. YUM.

Great advice. Never thought to freeze a chocolate protein shake.

Originally Posted by sraebaer

I still eat beef and pork, but not as much as I eat fish and chicken. My nutritionist said the less legs the better!

I love that!

I had a five day liquid diet before surgery too. That was it. I basically lived on protein shakes, and was told there was no limit if I was hungry. I even froze the chocolate ones to pretend they were a Wendy's frosty.

I am blessed my hubby is the most supportive person on the planet, and it has helped so much. He cooks a protein and veggie most every night. He is not into junk food, so we have no crap in the house. (Kids are grown and gone!)

But if your family is not supportive, you're going to have to get tough and think about yourself. Cook what you want, and hopefully they will come around. I still eat beef and pork, but not as much as I eat fish and chicken. My nutritionist said the less legs the better! Just got back from a Wisconsin fishing trip, so we will be eating no legs for a while. YUM.

In all fairness, our families are going through huge changes too. And they did not choose the change. And they may not be as ready as we are for the change. I sat my family down (a few times) and had conversations about my health and why I am doing this and that we all need to make changes in order to be healthy and happy. I apologized for teaching them bad habits and reminded them I am not punishing them by changing our foods. In fact, I was punishing them letting them eat crap. I do all of the cooking and shopping too and I realized I need to be in charge again. Because I do all of the cooking and shopping I had to own that I DID THIS TO ALL OF US!!! I started asking "what do our/their bodies need" instead of "what do their mouths/taste buds want for a meal". I said it is no longer about what we think we want to eat. We need nutrition to stay alive. If we all ate what we wanted all the time we would all have health issues and that is not fair- especially my young kids who can't cook for themselves. I had to reclaim my title as the one in charge... our taste buds are not in charge anymore! It is hard to give up the foods that are fast or easy and full of sugar and salt, etc. It is a survival instinct to want sugar and salt. The preservatives and chemicals in prepared and packaged "foods" are neurotoxins that hijack our brains and make us crave more crap. But we are not in a famine. We have to break habits. But I also realized I had to allow them to complain and argue a little without taking it personally since they are being forced to change along with me. No one likes to be forced. And the brain hates the changes. Our bodies crave the crap if we have had it in our system. ALL humans all go through withdrawals when the sugar and salt and chemicals are removed. It's just physiological. And withdrawals make us crabby and whiney and headachey and complainy. They have to withdrawal because I allowed them to have foods I shouldn't have. I DID THAT! They are paying for me taking the easy way out when I was tired or shutting them up or avoiding arguments by giving them what their taste buds and cravings or habits or friends wanted. So my new rule is whoever complains about dinner doesn't have to eat it, but they don't get a different choice and no snacks after dinner. No one ever died from missing 1 meal. (And so far no one has skipped an entire meal.. they pick a little at least.) I have to stay firm for them out of love so they can get through withdrawals and crave good healthy food again. And my husband is the worst! But he is an adult and has an ATM card and if he doesn't like dinner he can make something else himself or go buy something OUTSIDE of the house. I won't have it in my house anymore. I cleaned out the pantry and fridge and won't buy poison foods. My husband is an adult and has the right to ruin his own body however he sees fit. But the kids... they are my responsibility and I have not been consistent on having them eat healthy foods and part of the price I am paying for that is that they hem and haw when they don't get what they want. I did that to them. So I suck it up and know that once we have all been back on track for a while we will all crave healthier foods once again and it will get easier. And I know it will be worth it. Having surgery on a major organ is no joke. We have to make lifestyle changes or it won't work. We all see the sites about regain. But maybe we can do it with love and patience. Making changes is not easy. They won't have the "gift" of a smaller appetite or reduced grehlin or even the urge to vomit if we eat too much. My family and I have been having conversations about being a team and that in order for me to "win" that they need to be on my team and we all need to win if we are going to be happy and healthy. We started talking about the things we can do together if we eat healthier and stopped making food and treats the only thing to bond over. We have watched a lot of documentaries on food and what the government allows to be added to our foods that cause disease and weight gain to make a profit. We quote the phrase "sugar makes you sick" and "chemicals make you sick". I am not sure if any of this helps you and I am not sure how your family responds to force.... but if this even helps you one minute it was worth sharing. I have been waiting 9 months for this surgery since my first appointment so I have had lots of time trying to tough love them to change with me and it didn't work. I don't usually write much on any type of posts but this is one area I know I was struggling with and it was HORRIBLE. I felt so alone. Recruit your team. Ask for their help. My kids are now combing through healthy recipes with me and sometimes keeping me be honest and stay on track! Good luck!

Originally Posted by Martini

thank yall so much for the encouragement. is there a site or something that i can look up to see different recipes to get started on and to keep me going once i have my surgery?

I found SO MANY great recipes on pinterest. I typed in gastric sleeve recipes, and Ba-Boom... tons of things.

Martini everyone is right, you are doing this for you. You can't be afraid and you can't let others dictate your life. I had a struggle on my hands before I got started too. Mine was a litte different but you know what.... I did what I had to do and when it was all said and done, they took care of themselves just like I knew they could. Let your family get take out, cook simple meals or whatever they need to do. Unless they are little babies that can't help themselves... believe me.... they figure it out. Stay strong xoxoxoxo

Originally Posted by Martini

thank yall so much for the encouragement. is there a site or something that i can look up to see different recipes to get started on and to keep me going once i have my surgery?

I went to www.bariatriccookery.com and pinterest for recipes. Just search for 'pureed bariatric recipes' online for that phase, or even in pinterest if you have that. Pureed chicken with a little bit of ricotta was my go-to for that phase.

If you were only told to do a 5 day liquid diet before surgery then that is all you need to do. Every surgeon prescribes whatever pre op diet they want and that is what yours wants so do not stress about that. Some people have absolutely no pre op diet.
As for the unsupportive people....you may have to go it alone and find support elsewhere. It is time to put YOU first. You can do this and you will not fail. I was afraid of failing too. I just had a feeling that I would be one of the people that this would not work for. I also felt like I was losing weight slower than others. So I worried. A lot. But I began to relax and just trust the sleeve and follow my program. And I saw that I was successful. Here I am under goal and loving life. You will not fail because you have all of us to help you on your journey. YOU GOT THIS!!!!!

Martini, welcome to the phase where you tell THEM what YOU are going to do. You are not their servant or their employee or their waitress or their short-order cook. You are someone who is doing something pretty effing significant to get healthy so you do not die prematurely. And if they can't handle that and support your efforts to regain your health, then you've got some new information to process and some additional decisions to make.

thank yall so much for the encouragement. is there a site or something that i can look up to see different recipes to get started on and to keep me going once i have my surgery?

Do you have to cook for them? Are they small children or invalids? If not, I say let them grow up and take care of themselves while you concentrate on getting yourself healthy. I guess I'm just really lucky to have a husband who can take care of himself.