Major regret after bariatric surgery

The final result feels different

I have to say I am all over very happy with the result of my surgery. I can hardly find any major regret. I had the sleeve 2,5 years ago and I will never stop being endlessly grateful for the second opportunity I was given in life. It was a complete game changer and it saved my life. I lost all the excess weight and the last medical check showed I am completely healthy. It was worth the bumpy ride!

I have to admit that my recovery was not the easiest one. I did not tolerate food in the beginning very well, I had food intolerances, I was anemic, and I was exhausted for months. The first six months could be easily called torture. I would lie if I said that I didn’t have second thoughts sometimes. Obviously, I see it all very differently now when I see the final result.

This is the regret I have

If there is something I am really regretting, it is this. I wish I knew that nothing in the whole world can impede me from taking stool softeners. Ok, let me explain.

A bariatric patient lives in two extremes. Or you live in the bathroom because it is not worth it to leave, that nasty things can get, and they often do. Or, and this is maybe even worse, you almost forget how to get to your bathroom because you didn’t go for days. Maybe you kinda feel like it, but despite all the hard labor there… nothing. This is mean.

You are constipated as if somebody built a thick brick wall and there is no way of getting things out. You are bloated, farting like an old man, you have cramps, your belly hurts, you name it. And no matter how much you try, nothing works. You have tried it all. And when it finally decides to go out, you feel as if you were passing hedgehogs with spines first. Absolutely horrendous experience. What is more, this repeats itself for months.

It will get better

Well, things get better later, but you have to survive this phase. Yes, this too shall pass. But there is absolutely no need to suffer like an animal every time you have to go. I asked my nutritionist, and she told me the normal stuff. Buy Micralax and if you can’t go for three days, you must push it out. It will work. Well, it didn’t. And trust me, I tried.

You are desperate. You have no idea what to do. Your tummy is killing you, you are anxious, you are at your wit’s end. To tell the truth, I am quite angry. I wish I knew. Well, how could have I when nobody told me and I have never been in this situation before, right?

My pharmacist saved me

I am endlessly grateful to my pharmacist who suggested trying stool softeners. I never used them before, so I had no idea what to expect. But desperate people do desperate things, no doubt about it. It was a little funny because I took a pill one day with no results. Two pills the second day, and still nothing. So I was starting to give up. So I killed it on the third day with three pills, the maximum recommended. Ooops… it was a little too much, but it worked.

The moment I found my perfect dose, things improved from one day to another. I started living again like a normal person—no need to fear while approaching the bathroom. Things were like usual. No bloating, no nasty gasses, no tummy ache. Everything was working like a clockwork.

It took me forever

The only silly thing is that I had to wait for this solution for almost 7 months. That long, yes. It is unbelievable from my understanding now. I had to figure things out myself. There was no one to help me with this. And we all know that this is a widespread problem for all bariatric patients. We all suffer from these extremes. It keeps surprising me that nobody has told me anything before. It is a great solution and the pills I found are some natural herbs, so I can take them indefinitely. (Aliviolax)

Spreading the word

To all my fellow bari patients: stool softeners exist, you can buy them in the pharmacy, they are relatively inexpensive and you can buy a whole big pack of them. Once you find the brand and the composition that is best for you, do not doubt it and have them always at hand. Thank me later. It might take a little trying, maybe you will need to try a few different brands with different compositions first, and then adjust the dose, but trust me, it is incomparable afterward.

So if nobody told you before and you didn’t know the same as I didn’t, here I am to tell you. Some things are really shared only by word of mouth. Our bari team prepares us for the surgery, but they never had it themselves, so they have no idea what struggles we are facing later. It is up to us to help ourselves and spread the word. Bari tips and tricks at their best 😀