Getting bowel movements again 3 mths after

Hi Ladies,
First of all let me say..yes I have been going to the bathroom. But things are different and I need some help. I was never an 'every dayer' before my surgery. Then about one month after, called the dr for pains I was feeling and dr told me to take stool softner and I had been taking fiber con and walking and water and etc.

Here is my question/dilema. I went everyday (sometimes 2x or 3 x)while taking stool softner. I took it for one month. I don't want to become dependent on a ss for me to go to the bathroom. But my intestines/colon just doesn't have the 'feeling' of bowel moving down and the need to go to the bathroom.

When I do have a bm, it is not rock hard or anything. It is just the 'feeling' of going isn't really there. Or I can sit on the toilet for 20 minutes and not get anything out.

So today I bought a box of exlax and took 2 to 'clean things out' and start fresh.

How do I stay regular? Please help me. Can I make myself go everyday with diet? I eat cereal, drink water (maybe not enough) eat veggies and fruits (not 3 lbs a day but I do eat it). Helpful tip...i don't like yogurt or prunes or prune juice.

I am still swollen from surgery and wonder if the swelling is keeping my 'feeling' in intestines/colon from feeling and some of the constipation. My swelly belly has gone down but now that I am back to work and on my feet all day, it is like a spare tire around me, from my boobs down.

I know some say...one day it will all be normal again. And yes, I am a worrier but just wondering........

I love you all and any help is greatly appreciated. As I have said in the past...this website is wonderful and such a blessing!

You might want to try Miralax - it's supposed to be non-habit forming, so your body doesn't depend on it. Of course that's not solving the problem, but it might help until you can get things figured out. I have the same problem, btw. It's very frustrating.

Hi Focus!

I have some suggestions for you. Try upping your fiber intake over the next week to bring you up to a minimum of 25 grams per day and do this every day making it a habit.

Here is a quick game plan for a days worth of fiber. One serving Kashi Go Lean cereal for breakfast (10 grams fiber), an apple for a snack (5 grams fiber), a sandwich made with 2 slices of Nature's Own Double Fiber Wheat bread (10-12 grams fiber). All the additional veggies and fruit you eat are a bonus! Drink at least 64 ozs of water a day, that makes a big difference too.

If you begin to check the fiber content of all the foods you eat and supplement higher fiber versions you can get 25 grams daily without breaking a sweat. And you may notice a weight loss because all this fiber fills you up faster than low fiber foods.

Good luck. Hope things start moving soon!

Thanks for the tips. I bought a box of Bran Buds yesterday. My friend says she uses them. I had about 1/2 cup dry with a banana dipped in it, ate an apple with caramel sauce and had the 2 exlax. By 12:30 I went to the bathroom and was feeling some movement through my system. I do not have diarrehia from the exlax just went alot. I have a coupon for the miralax. I might try a box of that. I guess I am just confused as to why and for how long i need "help". They don't tell you these things prior to surgery!

Thanks for the tip on the fiber content. I will start cking and see how much I do intake per day. The weight loss comment made me laugh...i started walking 2 to 3 miles per day at the end of july. After 43 miles I wanted to see how much I had lost. The scale said I weighed the same as when I was in the hospital! After another 12 miles I had lost 1/2 pound! I laugh about it now...that night i cried and ate chips and dip! Because I still look like I have a spare tire around me by 11 am, you can't tell the weight loss. But it will all happen some day!