bowel issues

[ctyguy]

Im 4 weeks post-op today and have given up all the pain meds in the last week, just tylenol the last few days. I did have two days where I was taking Advil earlier this week (tue/wed) due to a mild case of pericardial effusion. My appetite seems to be getting back to normal but it seems my bowel movements are still hit and miss. I had blood in my stool when I was on the pain meds so I took stool softener (M of M) and it definitely loosened things up and I had movements without any blood. This morning I had a movement (small however) and again there was some blood, mostly on the paper, a drop or two in the water that I could see. The stool itself was darkish but appeared normal.

So now my question. Have others seen this at 4 weeks post-op ? I don't want to continue with laxatives because I've read that your body can become dependent, but on the flip side I don't want to be fretting about bleeding either. My doctor said that blood on the paper is ok, its only an issue if your seeing lots of blood in the toilet bowl.

Thoughts ?

 

[Cooker]

Your doctor is right....You are only four weeks out and your body is not going to recover/adjust over night.....I suggest that you try to stop worrying and enjoy the smooth recovery that you seem to be having ....As you can tell by other post, your recovery, is going very well.

 

[Guest]

Small amounts on paper could be that you have an internal hemorrhoid (pillow-like clusters of veins that lie just beneath the mucous membranes lining the lowest part of the rectum and the anus, typically painless, even when they produce bleeding, see bright red blood on the toilet paper or dripping into the toilet bowl).

Your PCP has this cute little cone shaped device that he/she could place and look for an accurate diagnosis, it's painless, if he/she won't do it, see a gastroenterologist. At the risk of TMI, my former PCP when I lived in Dallas was excellent and he diagnosed mine. It won't give you any problems as long as you are not straining to go. Drink as much liquids as you can to get yourself regular. You may try Activia if you can eat yogurt, to get things back in balance.

My brother had a major problem with hemorrhoid bleeding and had rubber band eblation to remove all of his.

 

[Ross]

Get yourself another bottle of Colace and by the end of it, I think you'll be straightened around once again.

 

[Adrienne]

Try taking Metemucil (in juice) a few times a day. It is something you can take all your life as it is just fiber.

 

[Bina]

By week 3 my pain meds and Colace were stopped and I decided to go the natural route.
A honey bran muffin with a glass of water each morning worked like a charm!

 

[ctyguy]

Oaktree...thanks for the info. I've got a generic version of Colace from CVS. I will go back to that for the next day or two and see how things go. M of M has been effective in getting things moving but Im just looking for a short term solution as I think this will clear within a few days.

 

[Ross]

If you've been going a lot, you probably have an irritation that just touching it, causes it to bleed.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

As has been said, Blood on the tissue is often due to hemmorhoids. Think FIBER!

Snack on High Fiber Cereals such as Shreaded Wheat, Wheat Chex, or various types of Bran Flakes etc. They are 'usually' enough to keep one regular if there are no issues with constipation (such as from side effects of drugs).

'AL Capshaw'

 

[tcopel]

Just wanted to add to the conversation. Given that you are on coumadin now, you may have a tendency to bleed a bit more if your INR is up more than what you want. I know your already pretty tuned into this so wont belabor that point. Also, although I'm sure you dont want to do anything with docs and such for awhile, I think you should check into the etiology of the bleeding. While internal hemorrhoids is certianly the most common reason, particularly if you have post surgery constipation (as well as from analgesics),
there are other possiblities so it might be beneficial to mention it to your PCP at some point later in your recovery if it continues.

 

[ctyguy]

I took two stool softeners today and also had a Fiber One bar (which is really good !). Im going to see how tomorrow goes, hopefully I have a movement that is more normal. One additional thing I noticed is volume, seems Im eating a good deal but the volume of my movements are pretty low. Im eating reasonably healthy so maybe that plays into it but I've had my share of comfort foods the last few days as well. Wendy's single w/cheese today (no fries or soda).

 

[Nancy]

Here something I call the "bomb". I try to have this every day or the equivalent like a bran muffin.

2 or 3 dried pitted prunes which I chew up, then I mix two teaspoons of bran with some fruit juice, a little honey, and a couple of teaspoons of yogurt. I eat that and along with all that, I drink about 2 cups of water.

I make sure I drink lots of water throughout the day.

Also take Metamucil every day.

They told me that I had one small diverticulum at the last colonoscopy, and don't want it to get any bigger.

Also have to take some meds that are constipating.

My SIL has a terrible case of diverticulitis, had a massive bleed from that.

He recovered and so far has not needed surgery.

They told him to eat whole grains for any of his starches, and lots and lots of fiber and enough fluid.

 

[hensylee]

add big bowl of oatmeal every morning. I eat two pkgs of the instant, add a bit of sweetener and powder coffee creamer for tasts - along with the cup of boiling water. I started eating it because of cholesterol but it has other reasons to eat oatmeal.

It was hard to get used to oatmeal again because it is gummy, but I eat it while I check email and don't much pay attention to it now.

 

[jds]

Getting BMs back in shape

Getting BMs back in shape

Hello -

When in the hospital, my diet was lighter in fiber than I am used to. And my bowel habits were much less regular.

When I got home, I switched back to my normal diet of a ton of fibrous foods. Fresh and lightly cooked fruits and vegetables - whole grain bread and pasta - etc. I was still stopped up for a day or so.

I also started eating a lot of yogurt to recolonize my gut bacteria.

I took dulcolax for a day and was back to normal very quickly.

I really eat a lot of roughage - 2-3 apples/oranges per day as snacks. Usually a large salad for lunch. 1-2 lightly cooked veggies as part of dinner.

Good luck -

John