Greetings Ellie!

I think many of us can relate to the dilemma you are currently facing. I do believe at one moment or another most of us found ourselves questioning whether or not we made the right decision to have weight loss surgery. But if you will allow me to place a bug in your ear...

The next time you find yourself questioning the decision to have had weight loss surgery, ask yourself how you feel (bowel issues aside.) Do you feel like you have more energy? Do you feel like you have a new found zest for life? Do you find yourself wanting to go out into public and to do more things without the unwanted feelings of embarrassment? Do you feel as though your body is finally on the mend and healing from years of being obese? If you can answer "yes" to these questions (and more), then you know you have done the right thing. After all, you are on the fast track to becoming a healthier, happier, and revitalized you. How can you possibly go wrong if that is the direction you are heading in?

Hang in there. It WILL get better.

Hi Elllie
I fairly certain that we all have differing emotions after surgery. I have never regretted my decision for a minute as it has changed my life for the better so much. Make sure you tell your surgeon all of your concerns when you visit next week. They are there to help.

I'm 9 months on from surgery and I still have a protein shake every morning for breakfast. It's easy (I have breakfast at work) and it gives me a good blat of protein to start the day.
I still have constipation issues and my GP has prescribed a stool softener that I can (and do) take every day which has sorted the problem out. I am hopeful that one day when I am getting enough veg/fibre into me that I will be able to do with out it but in the meantime it is an small price to pay for comfort :-)
Drinking the water becomes a habit if you stick with it. I always have a bottle with me and if by chance I go out without one I soon miss it and have to buy one!
Things will only get better from here and I bet in time you will never regret your decision.

Hi Ellie! I struggled for 10 months post op with severe constipation. I still have to make sure I am going so when I do get backed up I take action before it gets out of hand. Besides stool softeners, I also had to take suppositories if I had not gone after a few days. Luckily now it is not a problem often. I do still occasionally take something, though. The key is being vigilant about tracking when you go until your bowels have stabilized.

You are doing good Elllie and I'm sure things will just get better and better. Excellent weight loss too :-)

Ellie, it's hard to believe you have already been that far out! What a great loss you've had, and it sounds like you are quite intuitive about what you need to do. I have not had an constipation, but I only have 4" of large intestine post-colectomy for cancer, so I expect that's one of the reasons.

One of my daughters has that issue -- she found a tea called "Smooth Move" which has fennel in it, and it seems to right things in about 10 hours after a cup. Not bad tasting.

Congratulations on your current weight loss Ellie! Things will certainly get better over time. I have suffered from constipation and no BM for days, even with a stool softener. A friend of mine (1 yr. post op) suggested that I drink China Dieter Green Tea w/o caffeine to help move the bowels. One thing I can say, is that it truly works! I either drink a protein shake or the oikos triple zero yogurt for breakfast!

Keep up the great work!

Elllie, I'm glad you are doing well. What a weight loss for you in that short period of time! I am off of the protein shakes but do add a protein powder to Fairlife skim milk and that boosts my protein levels like crazy. I still do have constipation and for the past week have eaten 2 prunes as an after dinner snack and that is doing the trick for the morning