Post Op Problem: constipation & urinating urgency- LONG

Hi - I was hoping some of you can help me here. My blood levels were really low after my surgery so I had 2 transfusions. I was told by my doc to take 325 mg. of ferrous sulfate per day when I get home. I am now 13 days post-op (Supracervical Abdominal Hyst, kept ovaries) and I can't figure out if the gassy pain I'm feeling in my belly 24/7 is from the surgery or the iron!

I strongly suspect it is the iron. I've been drinking prune juice in the AM and PM but that doesn't seem to help. The gas pains are getting really bad. I feel like I walk a lot and I have been drinking water all day - although I am sick of water!!!!! I've been trying not to drink cold or ice water because I heard that can add to the gassiness.

My sis-in-law told me that there used to be an iron supplement with a laxative. I sent my dh to the drugstore but he couldn't find it - anyone know of a supplement like that?

Also I used to feel like I had to urinate all the time because my uterus was so huge (size of a basketball dd said) and squishing my bladder under it. I would try to go and a little would leak out. Sorry to be gross but this is the way it was and it drove me crazy.

Well after they took the catheter out after the surgery I couldn't believe the difference. I'd feel like I had to go and it actually all came out! I told the doc how great it was to be able to urinate!!!

Well about 3 days ago I started getting that old feeling again.... I even wonder if it is my imagination! I feel that sensation like I have to go and then I sit on the throne and it doesn't all come out at once.

Could this be my body "waking up" from the anesthesia? Why would this happen now? I am so discouraged.

My doc had given me the choice of having a bladder tack (a few stitches to tack up my bladder) during the surgery but I said "no" because I didn't have the traditional signs of incontinence. He didn't think I really needed it either. I had a series of bladder/kidney tests by the urologist and he didn't think I needed that bladder tack either. Now I wonder....

I don't know what to do!

Sorry so long!

Didi

Hi Didi-

Sometimes after a major surgery it takes awhile for the body to recover and function normally. I found that eating oatmeal, raisins, bran, and drinking hot tea helped with my constipation problems. If you continue to have the constipation and urination problems you need to give your doctor a call. Hope it gets better soon.

s

I am 10 days post op TAH now and I too have gas, since I take a stool softener and drink diet ice tea and water I have been a little better. I know what you mean about peeing, I now can pee a lot where before it was often but in little dribbles. I found that eating watermelon is a natural diuretic and laxative also. Hope you feel better soon

You might want to ask the DR about using Colace. They make a stool softener that is very gentle.

A diet with lots of fruits (but not apples and bananas, which constipate most people) and veggies (especially green ones) helped me. Cranberrry juice seemed to help as well. Avoid carbonated drinks and straws are not good, either.

Check with your about the urination problem. There is the possibility of Urinary Tract Infection, which is quite common post op. Also, sometimes there are spasms for a while caused by the trauma of surgery. Get checked for UTI so that can be ruled out.

Hope you are feeling better soon.

Hi Didi,

I found that Slo FE (which is time-released iron) was much easier on my system that the standard supplements, which tend to be constipating.

Hope this helps!

s

Hi Didi!

Im so sorry that you are having trouble with this. I have to tell you I am almost 4 weeks post and I am just now weaning myself off stool softeners. I had the same problem after I delivered each time. It just takes my body a while to get back in the program, I guess.

The only other time I had trouble with this was 3 years ago. I had a transfusion and was put on iron also. I used a laxative for a few weeks because the iron constipated me so bad.

Shirlo is right. Each time my doctore perscribed Colace and it worked very well. You might want to ask.

Lots of s and

Carole

YEARS ago I was slightly anemic with my first pregnancy. I took Ferro-sequal which I believe has the stool softener in the supplement. You could call a pharmacy & find out for sure. Iron causes constipation, so it really helped!!

Good luck!

I was worried about the constipation and have been using a stool softener as wel as gas-x. It has helped a lot, but I am having urinary problems...I am going every hour! I am hoping it is just from the trauma of surgery, and will soon slow down...My doctor was not very helpful in post op instructions, all I was told was no bath for 2 weeks, drive when I stop pain meds, no lifting or sex for 6 weeks, set up appt for 6 weeks. If I didn't have this website, I would be doing serious no-nos and wondering why my recovery was not going well. Thanks to everyone's great info, I am having a great recovery so far...but, I was wondering about the water and walks...how much and what is necessity for each? I sure wish my doctor was as helpful as all of you!

I had terrible stomach pains from iron supplements and horrible sticky tarry bms ( when I could actually go, that is) This last time before surgery I started spirulina which has high iron and almost every nutrient but I also took a homeopathic ferr-phos oral spray and between these two supplements I didn't need a transfusion and although maybe it's taken a bit longer to get my iron levels up, they are up and I have been a lot more comfortble along the way! Obviously check with your doctor first, mine was happy for me to drop his script and try my way. Linda

tynne- water to keep you hydrated. You will heal faster if your body has sufficient water to carry away the waste products as your repairs heal. And you will feel better and not tend to have constipation as much, either.

Walking should be done frequently. Several short walks are much better than one or two long ones. Short walks around the inside or your house are good. Avoid hills when you are well enough to walk outdoors.

Walking keeps your circulation moving and helps so you will have less chance of developing blood clots. It also stimulates your other bodily functions, such as your sleepy intestines. You feel better, too, if you do not lay around ALL the time. It brightens your mood, and helps keep your strength up.