Anybody got very constipated on lowest dose of weightloss injections and managed to resolve it?

[Lucky7899]

I started on the lowest dose of Nevolat (liraglutide) (0.6mg daily) a few weeks ago. This is the first time I have tried a weightloss injection.

Side effects have been minimal - other than constipation! I was still regular, but my poos were firm and uncomfortable to pass. I have suffered from fissures in the past so was trying to avoid this.

I thought I was eating sensibly (chicken, fish, lots of fruit and veg, whole grains) and I had been gradually improving my diet for a few weeks beforehand hoping this would minimise the shock to my digestive system. I was drinking lots of water and doing lots of nice, clear wees every day. I had no nausea and a decreased appetite.

My online provider sent me a factsheet about side effects and the constipation part said to drink plenty, eat fibre and take a laxative if necessary.

I was doing all the dietary stuff already so started taking several DulcoEase tablets daily which seemed to soften things up., After a week, I thought I would decrease the DulcoEase (as the advice on the packet was to only take for a short period.) Immediately, everything went very firm again and the pain of passing it has made me come off the injections while I try to resolve this. I have kept my diet the same since and my number 2s went back to normal within 48 hours.

Im still waiting to hear back from my online provider (Asda) despite being off the jabs for almost a week now.

I wondered if anyone else has had this problem and what they found helped. My appetite is increasing again and my willpower is waning so I would like to go back on the injections, but feel like I need a definite plan to keep the constipation under control as what I was doing was not enough. Everything I read says not to take laxatives long term so I am concerned about relying just on laxatives.

I have stuff like Weetabix for the fibre. I'm on lactulose but a lot of people like magnesium citrate.

Kiwis are meant to be good, I’ve never tried them though. I started taking a magnesium supplement & that helped

Sorry to hear you are struggling. I take psyllium husk and magnesium tablets and aim to include a load of beans in my diet and things seem to be ok.

I eat a lot of green veg like cabbage, celery, brussels sprouts etc and I have two teaspoons of inulin (which is powdered chicory root) in my morning coffee. Inulin is a soluble fibre that turns into a gel when it absorbs water so it keeps poo softer.

I am 15 weeks into Mounjaro and have had issues with constipation since week 1.

I tried to manage just with diet by increasing fibre and adding prunes/kiwis etc but have had to resort to laxatives as without them I’ll easily not go for 5-6 days.

I have recently added in fibre gummies but it’s too early to know if they are helpful or not. My plan is to try to just take 1 Dulcoease three times a week and see if that can keep me from getting too bunged up. Like you I don’t want to be taking them all the time.

I have had IBS issues in the past so think that unfortunately I am just more susceptible.

I’m struggling with this too, normally go daily but haven’t since my first injection on Sunday.
Am having Weetabix Crunchy Bran, dried apricots, kiwis & grapes but have now tried Dulcoease. Think I’ll have to resort to bisacodyl next - then weigh myself 😂

Everyone has their own personal solutions I guess. For me - porridge. I have a bowl of porridge made from 25g oats, 10g chia seeds, tblspn cocoa powder and 50 mls milk topped up with water for breakfast 2/3 times a week and this always works. I do like having Greek yogurt and berries for breakfast but I’ve accepted I need to have porridge every few days to keep things regular.

Prune juice. I don't like the taste of it but it does the job for me. I hadn't 'been' for 3 days up until yesterday morning, drank some prune juice at breakfast time and then went 4 times yesterday.

Masses of water (2.5L minimum)
Inulin powder and chia seeds in yoghurt every morning
Berries
Green veg
10,000 steps a day at least

Chia seeds on my breakfast helps me. Plus a river of water.

I saw psyllium recommend a lot. In the end I found a daily teaspoon of psyllium in a large glass of water plus up to 3 MagO7 magnesium supplements at night sorted it out. With an occasional glycerine suppository if necessary (from chemist).

https://amzn.eu/d/9aEadCl

https://uk.iherb.com/pr/nb-pure-mago7-cleanse-90-capsules/68265

Magnesium complex helped with both constipation and sleep issues.

Very severe constipation problem here, (such that I can’t reach an appropriate dose of Mounjaro for suppression and have to delay my doses until I can manage a satisfactory bowel opening)

Currently having to take 2 tbsp olive oil daily to try and smooth the bowel lining and ease passage, it does seem to be better so far, but takes 48 hrs from ingestion to take effect for me.

(About 20 different types of other recognised solutions have not worked at all for me).

Chia seeds and prunes for me! Prunes contain sorbitol, which draws water into the gut.

When I had chia seeds without the prunes it went the other way for me.

Another one here taking Psyllium Husk. Absolutely brilliant. I've noticed such an improvement in my bowel movements - from before WLI too.

Yes, me! Am on 2.5mg still and cannot poo! Won't be moving up the doses before this is sorted.
Have tried prune juice, chia seeds, kiwi fruits. I drink a minimum of 2L water a day and am active.
The only thing that works is dulcolax but I don't want to be doing that too often....

How do people take the psyllium husk - are they tablets, or a powder? Please suggest as I'll try anything....

I’ve really struggled with this. On 2.5 MJ dose and have been for a long time, and struggling. Just one bowel movement a week which is also painful. As well as pretty much everything else that’s been suggested, I now have orange juice daily, and I think that, alongside everything else is the answer for me.

Two teaspoons of Epsom salt in a class of water will open the flood gates with aplomb within 30 minutes. They work a bit too well so do it on a day when you don’t have to leave the house for long periods.
once you’ve cleared the backlog take Psyllium husk and magnesium tablets daily.

I linked to this above. A heaped teaspoon in a large glass of water. I find it mixes more easily in warm water. Then I'd have another glass of water. It makes a gel with the water that helps everything along.
I did need magnesium as well, certainly at start with.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07L9WJ4P2?ref=cmswwrcsoocpapinndp4GAW2AA140VZ2SCNZGWK&reff=cmswwrcsoocpapinndp4GAW2AA140VZ2SCNZGWK&sociallshare=cmswwrcsoocpapinndp4GAW2AA140VZ2SCNZGWK&previewDoh=1

Thank you, I'll try this.
And you have reminded me about Magnesium. I tried to take that to help me sleep and had to discontinue as it gave me diarrhoea. So that may be the answer!

The form of magnesium is important, @TheNinthLock! Magnesium oxide can flush you through, so need to be careful with the dose. Others such as glutamate have less impact on your bowel.

www.webmd.com/diet/magnesium-constipation-how-use-it

I really struggled in the first 6 weeks or so but since then I've been absolutely fine. I think it was the combination of the injections slowing my digestion and the sudden change in diet.

I take two psyllium husk supplements and a magnesium citrate supplement every day. Early on I also had a daily (small) glass of prune juice and once needed to take Senna tablets but I haven't needed to in weeks now and seem to be fine with the supplements.

I have had a problem in this area even before starting Monjaro, so I was already used to keeping my fibre levels up, and having prunes and Senna on standby.

Having been forewarned before I started on MJ that this can be an issue, I have taken 2 Psyllium husk capsules (Solar) every morning first thing, with a large glass of water.
A high proportion of my diet is vegetables, and when I have fruit it is pears, apples or berries. I usually keep back some vegetables from our evening meal, and have them with my eggs for breakfast, or a couple of tomatoes.

I also avoid all white carbs as I know they bung me up.

Drink lots and lots of water; drinks with caffeine (coffee, tea and colas) are diuretics, ie they make you pee more, so they take fluid away from your bowel.
Fibre needs a lot of water in order to transit through your system, so you need to up your water intake for this reason as well.

Every evening I think back and if I haven't gone that day, I take a Senna tablet which always does the trick. However I only need to do that every 2 or 3 weeks. It's not advisable to rely on them regularly.

Prunes are a lifesaver. If I go away I take a packet of soft dried prunes with me and have 3 every morning as no one else is as fixated as me at getting vegetables and pulses on their menu.

Your pharmacist will have lots of good advice as to what you can take right now to get things moving again. Find a pharmacy that has a small consultation room and ask to speak to them privately. There are quite a few laxatives to choose from, so let the experts guide you as to what might be best.

I do hope everything is back on track soon.

Thank you xx

Glycerin suppositories, I put one in and within a minute I'm on the loo and it lets everything flow!!! They changed my whole WLI journey as I really struggled.