Swollen belly and constipation ~ any ideas?

Hello,

I am brand new to this site and have truly appreciated everything I have read here so far! I am surprised, flabbergasted, distraught at how wiped out I feel. My counts were low going into this surgery and of course they dropped again. What is this "swollen belly" thing? I call mine "jelly belly" and it is so far the most bothersome thing about this surgery...oh yeah, besides the fact I haven't gone number 2 yet. Sorry to be so blatant, but these two things are really bothersome. I am taking Colace 3-4 times a day, eating apricots, drinking alot and no results yet. I am also afraid to go because my swollen belly muscles aren't working too well to assist in the process. Any suggestions, comments, ideas?

Thanks!

csumme

It's great to have you join us!

I'm sorry you're experiencing "swelly belly" but it's ever so common, I'm afraid. We even have a smilie for it! It will help you to read our HS article <link> Swelly Belly. Constipation can be a very real problem, too. So many ladies struggle with this and I hope they'll be along soon to share. In the meantime, I hope this article Constipation will be useful. It's very important not to strain at this point in your recovery.

Please don't hesitate to contact your doctor if things don't improve or you're at all worried about anything.

Sending all good wishes for a smooth recovery!

Have you tried Kaopectate (formerly Surfak) stool softener? That is what they gave me in the hospital and I continued to take at home for a week or so. Works well... no explosions! ha! If you don't go in the next day or so, you may need to call the doc. You don't want to get impacted (to use one of my grandmother's words!)

You can always OD on chocolate... that works too and is fun!

Good luck!

Hi csumme,
I also had a TAH almost 4 weeks ago. The gas pain was the worst part at first. I made sure I took my colace 2 times a day, drank water and walked around as much as I could. My DR gave me a suppository to take when I got home from the hospital. When it was quiet and no one was around to bother me I used it and 1/2 hour later it did the trick. I only had to use it one other time but I found if I made sure I ate my fruits and veggies and took extra fiber (Fiber Sure) I eventually weaned off the stool softeners and am now pretty regular. Be patient with your body, your colon is a bit sluggish right now. Things will get moving soon. As far as swelly belly, once you start "moving" again that will help a little. Rest often, put your feet up and be patient. Unfortunately it's all part of healing. Wishing you a quick recovery!

Thanks for the responses so quickly. I am trying all of them. I am having the hardest time dealing with this swelly belly. I am having my staples removed tomorrow and will plan to ask the dr. if this much is considered normal. I have not been doing hardly anything at home so overdoing is not the cause. I did come home from the castle less than 24 hours after TAS/BOS because I wanted to. I am a nurse and my goal was to get out of the castle as soon as possible! I have great help at home so I knew I could do it. I guess I just thought I would be feeling much better by now. I really appreciate this site. It is always good to have such a network of sisters who understand. Thanks and keep the info coming. I really appreciate it.

My secret to constipation has been benefiber (you can mix it in juice or water and it is tasteless) works good! Those stool softeners never worked for me. Hope your day is good.
Hugs,

Hi csumme! Yes, it's kinda sad that the big event to look forward to is your first BM but once you finally have one you will feel better, . Had my first last night, 4 days after surgery, another one today.

I took milk of magnesia last night; things were rumbling but just needed help to get moving. Plus I could feel the constipation and that is not fun when you're already sore and have no muscles worth speaking of to bear down with. Once was enough, though, so now it's apple juice and prunes (if you like them) once a day. Oatmeal with brown sugar is good too, as is any dried fruit. Just don't overdo it-you can't move fast enough yet!

As for the tummy, that'll go away eventually. Everything in there has been pushed, pulled, and otherwise rearranged. I was lucky-I got a glimpse of the instrument table in the OR before I went to sleep and I'm telling you I thought I was in a medieval torture chamber ! Those retractors are scary looking things but that's what they use to pull and hold the muscles away from where the Dr needs to work. That's why theyre swollen.

Anyway hang in there, walk as you can and stay hydrated.

Boy, did I have trouble with constipation for the first three weeks! That and gas gave me the worst of my hyst pains....without those two sources of pain, the early recovery wouldn't be so bad.

Enemas are a real no-nonsense solution, bang!, problem solved for at least 24 hours. You can follow that with stool softeners for a couple of days while at the same time eating a lot of fiber foods and drinking a lot of water....then see if that hasn't kick-started your system enough.

I drink a great deal of boiled water at a warm temperature with freshly sqeezed lemon every day. That's a great nature's helper, too. If you continue that habit after your recovery, you'll find that drinking it first thing in the morning before food keeps you regular and gives you a great complexion at the same time.

Oh, a great source of fiber that makes you go is dried apricots....they taste a lot better than prunes and don't make your fingers sticky.

I'm sorry your so uncomfortable. Just realize that your tummy is definitely temporarily out-of-shape. I don't know if you've tried any products from the "Store" that absolutely soothe and help the way your tummy feels. Personally what worked right off for me concerning BM is home-made All-Bran muffins with blueberries and strawberries; oatmeal; and lots of Cheerios. Good luck, if your experience is anything like mine, you won't need your tummy's help at all. bonniebolander60