help.. hard time with b.m's

i'm 3 weeks post-op, at first i was not having any trouble at all with b.m's but the past week, its been bad. i've been taking the stool softeners, but they dont seem to be helping anymore. does anyone have any suggestions as to what would work.

Hello!

I will say right away that i am no doctor, but make sure you are drinking plenty of water and eating good fiberous foods! Plenty of fibre! Strange that stool softeners don't work, how long since your last good BM? Any pain with those? Gas? If you cannot go at all, and its been a week, I would call the doctor! Good luck , i have had similar and it isn't comfortable, luckily softeners worked for me, but if you havne't gone in a while, always good to get it checked out! Hope it clears for you!

Well, first off - if you are taking Percocet or any other pain meds still, that can constipate you...so I'd still do the stool softeners (Colace or equiv) - talk to your doctor about being able to take them morning and nite...that helped me out more than just taking one.

Also, the old standby of prunes and prune juice doesn't seem bad if you can tolerate the taste - or even some dried apricots might be good. Those individually packed prunes from Sunsweet aren't bad at all if you ask me.

Just don't forget to also drink a lot of water - and then some walking around to get your bowels active again. Even my kitties will do a mad rampage around the house before they use the litter box sometimes...so there's got to be something for exercise!

Wish you all the best.

If this is something new, I would check in with your doctor. BUT, I found Milk of Magnesia worked well for me and was gentler on my system. Also, make sure you're drinking enough liquids.

I had problems from about week 2 on........and have just gotten more comfortable in the past few days.

Good Luck!
Christine

thanks everyone, you know, i havent been drinking as much water as i was when i came home from the hospital, i will try you suggestions.. thanks so much!

Hope it works for you! Happy healing eh?

Hi - there was a thread about this a few days ago. Someone mentioned Miralax. I went and got some and swear that stuff is a miracle. I've been going perfectly comfortable ever since. It seems like a lot of ladies have success with this product. I guess it used to be prescription but it is newly available over the counter. It is a combo stool softener / laxitive.

Good Luck,

Starbgirl

Yes, I have been using the Miralax since Tuesday (see my post on the worst BM ever!) and things have been going much better!

What ever you are taking (softeners,or laxitives)please remember that they will not hardly work at all unless you are drinking a ton of some sort of fluid.Water is best but anything is better than nothing.I did not have a BM for the first week after surgery and called my doc and she asked me how much fluid I had been drinking.when I told her about 32oz. she told me to atleast double it.If you take MOM make sure you drink atleast 8oz of water to chase it down with.It will make it work a lot faster.I am not a doctor but am speaking from personal experince.

Hi to all! I had my hysterectomy 11/6. I felt better the first week than I do now.........my issues are my stomach. It hurts, even up to my ribs.....Not sure if it is a BM issue or surgery issue. I called the Dr the other day and nurse told me to take a stool softener every nite, which I do, and if it gets really bad, I can take a fleet enema. Can anyone out there relate to me and give me some advice? Anything is appreciated!! I am hurting!!