What did you do to get "regular" again?

[Michelle D]

Okay so bm are very rare nowadays half of my prescriptions have a side effect of constipation. I was taking colase but it's not cutting it. Tomorrow morn I'm going to try Miralax but if that doesn't work what worked for you?

 

[JimL]

I had problems on that end before heart surgery, so I was already on metamucil. I usually take a teaspoon or so a day, and can easily increase that dosage when needed. I'm not aware of any side effects.

 

[prdraper1]

Constipation

Constipation

You have 2 choices, Dynamite or Lactulose, I use the latter.
If you get hung up about constipation it will only get worse, relax and forget about it and you will return to normal. It would not hurt if you didn't go for a week. I know, I have been there.
Best wishes

 

[Debbrn]

Mirilax worked for me. I took it once while I was still in the hospital and then once a few days later. I never had any more problems. I think it helped that the docs were very aggressive and started taking care of it before I was even discharged. I also stayed on the colace everyday for about 2 weeks.

Debbie

 

[artsyfish]

Colase and prunes, prune juice or prune yogurt (activia)

 

[buncle]

Like Jim L-I take a spoonful a day of metamucil and that keeps me regular.

 

[Michelle D]

I took miralax and have my fingers crossed. I can't help to think about my non-bm because my stomach is starting to be distended and I feel pressure in my abdomen. The three bm's I've had were equivalent to one and I've been eating the same amount as I was before. So I'm definetly uncomfortably clogged up.

 

[Debbrn]

if your that clogged you may have to take mirilax more than once. Good luck.

Debbie

 

[Lynlw]

if your that clogged you may have to take mirilax more than once. Good luck.

Debbie

Justin's last couple heart surgeries, they had him take miralax as long as he needed pain meds.

 

[Duffey]

I read this in Dr. Gott's medical column, and I intend to try it the next time I run into a similar problem.

Combine equal amounts of applesauce, prune juice, and bran cereal. Take two tablespoons in the morning.

He said it has to be refrigerated so keep that in mind when deciding the quantity you're going to make.

 

[Bina]

I took Colace for 3 weeks along with breakfast Bran Muffins, or Raisin Bran cereal.
Fruit yogurt may help some people, but didn't help me.

Avoid white rice, white bread, and most cheeses.
Eat fibrous fruit: figs, prunes, pears, apples, salads with a light oil dressing.
Keep meat low on the menu....chicken or fish won't bind too much. Beans are great. TOOT TOOT.

 

[Michelle D]

Yay! I had a bm. I don't know if it was the miralax because I thought it was supposed to take longer to work. Anyways I'm so happy that I feel like throwing a party.

 

[Bina]

YAY...put a gold star on the calendar.

 

[Cris N]

Funny how we can get so excited about ... um... defecating:redface2:

I, too, had a major problem with this. Besides avoiding cheese in particular and enjoying a high fiber diet, oatmeal did wonders for me. Also, I used the drugstore brand of colace - morning and night - worked better for me than the brand name product.

 

[Michelle D]

I'm getting very frustrated. I'm glad I had a bowel movement but also coinsidingvwith surgery if a low fever kept low by motrin and plueral effusion. I don't want to swamp this forum with new threads but I'm wondering which of the two is more likely to cause fever. I'm still waiting for blood culture results. I'm so tired of worrying about endocarditis and a-fib. I'm sick of fevers, gurgly lungs, distended stomachs. Nobody mentioned these things to me prior to surgery yet it is so common.

 

[Lynlw]

I'm getting very frustrated. I'm glad I had a bowel movement but also coinsidingvwith surgery if a low fever kept low by motrin and plueral effusion. I don't want to swamp this forum with new threads but I'm wondering which of the two is more likely to cause fever. I'm still waiting for blood culture results. I'm so tired of worrying about endocarditis and a-fib. I'm sick of fevers, gurgly lungs, distended stomachs. Nobody mentioned these things to me prior to surgery yet it is so common.

The low grade fever most likely is caused by the effusions. Since effusions are caused by inflamation, a low fever is one of the symptons you may have them. Most likely IF you had an infection this close after surgery your fever would be higher, as long as your incision looks good you probably are ok as far as infection, (which would be more of a concern this close after OHS than BE)
. Unfortunately we have lots of experience with this. Justin gets pericardial effusions after almost every one of his heart surgeries, since we know the symptons for Him, as soon as he has the little more pressure and a low grade fever for a day or so, we call even before it gets to the point where you are instructed to call (101ish? I forget) and because of Justin's history they bring him right in for an echo so the past few surgeries we caught it very early while there was just a small amount of fluid and so it never got bad. When he had his sternal infection it was completely different, in a matter of hours his temp went pretty high, and he got bad chills ect. and felt over all pretty bad much worse than he felt the day before. The Motrin took his fever down but it was still high and in a couple hours was up past 101, while he was at the doctors getting checked. We were very lucky that infection was caught relatively early then so his heart didn't get damaged.
You seem to be paying good attention to your body and would probably notice any problems early, which is good they are easier to treat then for the most part.
and I know it is easier said than done, but try not to worry alot about things that might happen. it is very exhausting

ps, the miralax "should" work quickly in a few hours but if you are still taking pain meds, you might want to make sure if you haven't gone in a day or so, if you are eating pretty good, you might want to take another dose. Justin thinks it taste like when you chew on a stryfoam cup, so he likes it better mixed in cold juice..(thats how he took it in the hospital)

 

[Michelle D]

Thanks Lyn, I am and always was a hypochondriac, so coming home from surgery has been worse for me than the surgery itself. I've had bad experiences with incompetent doctors misdiagnosing me or not telling me when somethings come up. I was diagnosed in Feb with the leaky Mitral valve but two years ago I went to have an echo done for PVCs and they failed to tell me then I had a leaky valve. When I started having chf symptoms I was told I have asthma, ADD, and panic disorder. So these forums help me so much put things in perspective, I don't trust any doctors except my cardiologist which I'll finally see Tuesday. These forums also help me come up with questions to ask.

 

[Lynlw]

Thanks Lyn, I am and always was a hypochondriac, so coming home from surgery has been worse for me than the surgery itself. I've had bad experiences with incompetent doctors misdiagnosing me or not telling me when somethings come up. I was diagnosed in Feb with the leaky Mitral valve but two years ago I went to have an echo done for PVCs and they failed to tell me then I had a leaky valve. When I started having chf symptoms I was told I have asthma, ADD, and panic disorder. So these forums help me so much put things in perspective, I don't trust any doctors except my cardiologist which I'll finally see Tuesday. These forums also help me come up with questions to ask.

I remeber, I was getting very nervous you wouldn't have your surgery before too much damage was done, you would have alot of problems, so I can imagine it is even tougher, being so far from your surgeon and having your own card be away.

 

[Michelle D]

Yay! Miralax is amazing. I took it for two days and this morning it worked let's just say I lost 3.4 lbs since last night. Phew! What a relief!

 

[ShezaGirlie]

Yay! I had a bm. I don't know if it was the miralax because I thought it was supposed to take longer to work. Anyways I'm so happy that I feel like throwing a party.

Oh gee Michelle -- I think I'm going to be out of town and will miss your "party"..!! Hey wait.......I did see where you lost 3.5 pounds....WHOA..!!