Ozempic: My plumbing is suffering!

L

L_M_B_Life

Well-known member
I'm about half a year into using Wegovy, after giving Rybelsus a shot, and I've gotta ask if anyone else has reached the point where bathroom trips require serious planning. Rybelsus worked, mostly, but the whole timing thing got old fast. Gotta take it just right, wait forever to eat, and defend your morning coffee. Some weeks were fine, but others brought the return of the sulphur burps and gas that, frankly, violates several city ordinances.

Wegovy's been easier on me so far. Appetite's more manageable. No daily medication dance. My stomach's generally happier too.

But man, nobody said anything about what would happen *after* stuff gets digested. It's... intense. Let's just say these aren't your average bowel movements. These are massive undertakings. I'm talking jumbo-sized logs that deserve their own zip codes. Every trip to the can has turned into a test of infrastructure.

Flush. Hold your breath. Hope the pipes can handle it. Flush again. And maybe a third, fourth, or fifth time just to be safe.

So, seriously, is anyone else factoring toilet performance into their meal planning, or is this just my weird new life?
 
I've been on Ozempic for, like, a year and a half. The usual twice-a-week events are... epic. I am not kidding, some of the things I've produced are bigger than small dogs. It's like they have their own ecosystem down there.
 
Just a regular stool softener might do the trick if you make sure you're getting enough fiber. Otherwise, you can end up with a situation where things are soft but you can't... move them.

If that happens, try some unflavored Miralax (or the generic version). Mix just a little bit (like 4-6 ounces) with any liquid, doesn't matter if it's hot or cold. Don't use too much liquid! It messes with how it works.

Start with Miralax every day, but you can cut back if you need to. If things are still firm even with the Miralax, add a daily stool softener.

(Just to let you know, I'm a retired nurse *and* I'm using GLP-1 meds)
 
This happens a lot. The GLP-1 drugs make you less hungry, but your gut hasn't caught up! It can take nearly a year for it to shrink. The job of the lower gut is to reclaim water, so it makes poop dry. This makes long, tough chains that are hard to pass, so you need an engineering solution. I used senna, but it bothered me. The doctor told me to use PEG3500 (polyethylene glycol polymer, it stops water loss). It's a mild osmotic med and it helped. Then a friend said to eat one big ripe banana every day. This gave me enough bulk that I didn't need the PEG3500! But you need one or the other, so I get slightly green bananas and eat them as they get ripe. Bananas have sugar, so diabetics beware. You can try an old fleet enema bottle, washed out, to put a few oz of warm water up there for an hour before. A real fleet enema is stronger and costs ten bucks, so I reuse the bottle. With bananas I needed that only once when I ran out of bananas for a week!
 
Over-the-counter docusate sodium, or Colace, can be a lifesaver for softening things up. It draws water into your bowels and makes your number twos the consistency of soft serve. I take it once a week, a day or two after my injection. As someone who developed hemorrhoids from straining, this and bananas have completely changed the game for me.
 
So glad to hear I'm not the only one having these... unusual experiences! Thanks for the tips, everyone. I'm going to try some of these ideas.
 
I wish I'd known about some of this earlier. I went in for an upper endoscopy a while back and had to stop Ozempic beforehand. Even though it had been like, weeks since my last real dose, the nurse was still worried about the delayed stomach emptying. Apparently, it can affect the procedure.
 
Hey L_M_B_Life, I get it, man. GI issues can be rough. I had my gallbladder taken out last year (not directly from sema, mind you, but the weight loss probably sped things up). Now, I basically sprint to the bathroom after eating. It's improving slowly.
 
CleanDude said:
Now, I basically sprint to the bathroom after eating. It's improving slowly.
Click to expand...
Oh man, that sucks! But good to hear it's getting better. Maybe I should stock up on bathroom reading material... and some extra strength plumbing snakes.
 
Type 2 here, so different boat if you're type 1. Glucose bounces no matter what; it's what it does. Biggest thing is the swings get narrower. My A1C was 6.8 before, now 5.2 last October. Weight dropped too, which was the main reason I started.
 
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