Seriously GROSS poop issues!!! 3.5 wks post-op

Okay, I really thought I had the bowel issues under control...obviously I was mistaken. Right after surgery, I was super crampy, nauseous, etc...but had no problem with the bowels. I was taking 250 mg Colace 2x/day, plus MoM caplets 2 at night (just can't do the liquid stuff!). Stayed really crampy and nauseous, so was taking Levsin sublinguals (prescribed for IBS) and Bentyl (also for IBS), and the cramping went away...mind you, I have not actually discussed the bowel issues with my doc, b/c w/ my particular insurance/medical group, it's truly a PITA to get through to the doc's office by phone, and by email it takes days to get a response. Anyway, I was going, regular, pain-free...and weaned off the Bentyl...stayed on the Colace, but ran out of the MoM for a few days.

And OMG. I got SOOOO impacted!!!!! I literally had to DISIMPACT myself last night b/c I was sitting on the toilet for HOURS, in agony, feeling like I was trying to deliver a baby through my rectum!!! It was the grossest thing ever, but at least I finally got relief.

I just can't believe, with the amount of Colace (500 mg a day??!!) I'm taking, plus water and hot tea I'm drinking, and I'm back on the MoM caplets...that I would get THAT impacted! And I'm eating spinach and other high fiber foods! WHEN are my bowels going to decide to start working again??????

I'm so sorry you went through all of that and that your Dr. is so hard to reach. My LAVH was a four days before yours, and I am still having crazy gas noises and constipation issues when I don't take my Colace. If I had gone through what you just did, I would make sure I at least spoke to the Dr.'s nurse. That kind of straining could cause problems, and I know of one person on the website whose Doc. sent her on bed rest for overdoing it with one of the symptoms being bowel issues.

I read this because of what I went through a few weeks ago with the SAME issues. I had to do the same thing as you and I cried for about 3 days over the problems I was having. I ended up quitting my pain meds because of it. I started realizing the discomfort from the surgery was not nearly as bad as the constipation. I wasn't taking any stool softeners or anything for a while either. I did have some hemmorhoids because of the straining and I'm also lactose intolerant, so I drank TONS of milk (to make myself go) and then I took 3 stool softeners at once--I used over the counter, was not given anything from the doctor. It worked and I felt much better. I had to start walking tons and realizing that AS SOON AS I felt I had to go, I would go to the potty. If I waited, it would make me constipated. That was a very hard lesson to learn. It's not PERFECT yet, but it's much better and my surgery was a couple of weeks before yours. I'm at 6 weeks post-op this Friday. So know that it will go away!!!! I'm sooooo sorry you're going through this.

I am SO there when you talk about that stuff. I had to go to the emergency room I was so compacted. They said my x-ray showed my insides really full up. They gave me an IV and anti-nausea in that and an enema. Yeah, super! NOT! Anyway after I threw up which was tons of fun with the stitches still fresh and then pooped my brains out they let me go home. I talked with a friend of ours whos a natural remedy doctor. He told me the colace works by taking the water out of your intestinal tract tissue and putting it into the intestine to keep everything soft. That made sense since I was somehow magically dehydrated even after drinking tons of water. So he suggested I use GROUND FLAX SEED I put one large tablespoon of ground flax seed in a cup of vanilla soymilk and shake it up real good, I think it kind of tastes like a shake since the flax seed makes it thicker. I have not had an issue one since I started doing that. He said if I wanted I could have a cup of coffee in the morning to prompt the bowel movement but I have found that I haven't needed that . But what a great excuse to get starbucks! Sometimes if I forget to take it at night I take it in the morning with my Carnation instant breakfast drink mix, you can't even tell it's in there then.

MiraLax worked for me. It was gentle and no taste and dissolves easily in water.

Good luck!

I have seen others write in bfr that they and I had to stop the pain medication. also one person said they always took there stole softeners with prune juice. I upped the colace to 3 pills in the day and one gentile relief laxitive at night. worked perfectly and I no longer have any problems. its better now than bfr the surgery , I also have IBS

I hear ya about the bowel issue! Am 6 wks post TAH BSO and also stopped much of the pain rx because of the constipation. The colace does work, but i also took some Benefiber in my tea and did alot of WALKING in the first few weeks -- even if it was just pacing back & forth in the house!! It really helps.
I can tell you that is DOES get better so BE ENCOURAGED. You might want to try some Activa yogurt & smaller helpings until everything gets "going".
Thanks for the flaxseed suggestion. I have heard that is really good for you.

I'll definitely have to try the flax seed - I have a bunch here - I'll just have to grind it up.

I haven't been on narcotic painkillers since about 10 days after surgery, so that's not the problem...that's part of why I was so astounded that my bowels are still being so lazy!!! I could totally understand if I was still taking Percocets all day long or whatever...but I'm not and haven't been for a couple weeks now...so I was hoping my intestines would have figured out how to work again by now!! LOL

As for the walking...I can walk around the house and up and down the stairs, but I have a 5 yr old and 2-yr old twins, and I'd have to push the twins in a stroller or pull them in a wagon to go for a walk (can't really contain them on the sidewalk any other way...they are too quick!)...and I don't think the doc would be cool with me pushing/pulling that much weight just yet. So no walks around the neighborhood yet.

I have another suggestion that may help with your issues of constipation. I have found magnesium to be a godsend for many, many reasons. So many of us are magnesium deficient and don't even know it. We are so conscientious of our calcium intake, but don't realize that the body cannot rid itself of excess calcium naturally so it builds up in different parts of the body causing issues. It deposits and calcifies (kidney stones for example). Magnesium and calcium are like the yen-yang of fundamental nutrients. Even people who take a cal/mag supplement may not be getting enough. I started taking Natural Calm Magnesium supplement as a means to deal with stress on an occasional basis about 9 months ago.

But it was not until I was looking for answers regarding an issue my 9 year old was having with facial tics (and trying to avoid a diagnosis of tourettes syndrome and all of the prescription drugs that would make him a walking zombie) that I discovered all of the disorders that magnesium deficiencies can cause or aggravate. When I started to read the laundry list of conditions and disorders my jaw dropped as between me, my son, my sister and two nieces we had about 20 of these between the 5 of us, including IBS, asthma, facial tics, ADHD, migraines, calcification of mitral valves (me - in fact my maternal grandmother had her's replaced twice), anxiety and depression. This cannot be a coincidence.

My family is now using both the Gillham's Natural Calm and the Kid's Calm. My son is NO LONGER has facial tic's or constipation (never put it together - he has had issues with this for YEARS!!), my nieces are having less and less issues with asthma, and one has reduced her ADHD meds.

Search for petergillham.com

There is some great info here as well - The Connective Tissue Disorder Site. I like the ideology used here as they ask many of the questions about what is CAUSING the symptoms we are treating - rather than just treating the symptoms (sound familiar dear sisters?!?!)

ctds.info/index.html
ctds.info/5_13_magnesium.html

The great thing about this product is that the body will let you know when you have found the perfect dosage by the looseness of your stool. Once you have gone from a soft stool to a very loose stool you are using too much and can just reduce the amount. AMM07 - I don't think you would complain too much about this?!