Okay - Gross Bowel Question!

[Chrisandgary]

Hi! Gary is 2 weeks post op and doing great - he is walking - taking the kids to the bus - we went shopping one day - I cant believe how well his 3rd OHS has been so far - he is doing better than the first 2!
The only discomfort for him (aside from a few coughing fits that make the pain worse and for longer) he is having major problems going to the bathroom.
He is taking percosets for pain, and 3 iron pills because he was anemic - I took it upon myself to lower him to 2 yesterday. To offset these binding drugs he has been taking 3 colace per day, 4 tbsps of milk of magnesia and 3 glasses of prune juice per day. Still nothing is moving! Any suggestions? Now he is passing alot of blood and he is starting to become afraid to go.
Tomorrow we go to the cardio for the 1st preop visit - I am going to ask him to stop the iron - do a blood count for him - he cant stop the percosets yet - he is still round the clock every 4-6 hours with them.
Thank you all!
Christine

[hensylee]

pain meds will do that very quickly. Call his doctor first thing tomorrow - make them listen. He needs help like NOW. He is hurting and he has enough to deal w/o this, too. Be sure to tell them about the colace, etc, that he has been taking to help the situation and that it ISN'T working. Don't put this off any longer.

[geebee]

I agree - call doctor. Constipation causes straining, which causes hemorroids, which causes bleeding which is bad for someone on coumadin. In addition, too much backup can cause an intestinal blockage that could possibly need surgery to correct.

Please get this taken care of ASAP.

[Cris N]

This happened to me during my second hospitalization. They tried everything until I finally begged for an enema :eek: . It worked. (Did hear the nurses at the station talking about "Code Brown" :p )

Get some help right away!

Cris

[Yaps]

In agreement, pain killers will constipate.. and it can quickly lead to a dire situation. ( someday I will explain how a member of my family died... :( ),please get him to a doctor.today, love the pup..

[KathyAntonelli]

Christine:

Although I am not a post surgical patient, as you know, I have been constipated my whole life. I've been to specialists, etc. Anyway, nothing has ever worked on me, even Pericolace. But I bought the CVS brand stool softener plus stimulant laxative and take 2 of them and they work like a charm for me. Believe me, I've tried everything. Hope this might help.

Kathy

[JohnnyV_46]

I'm a newbie and it'll be 3 weeks tomorrow since my surgery. I have had IBS since I was in my late teens...and not the constipating kind either. Its kind of been a blessing for me to have something (percoset) thats kind of slowed things down for me. I'm sorry to hear anyone having problems with their Bowels tho because it doesn't take long to realize what portion of the body is Boss!.....So do you guys have a Place where you get together and chat ? I noticed that the Chat function here doesn't work.

Mooooo.... I have a cow valve

:D

[Chuck_S]

Constipation was a problem for me too. It took about 4-5 weeks postop before things went back to normal, and I was not on pain meds. Softeners did not help either. Talk to the Doctor.

Best of luck,
CS

[Cris N]

Chris,

I'd like to add another comment. Right now, all the remedies you're trying are probably not going to produce results. The stuff is most likely compacted & stuck :o Yeah, I know this sounds really gross but sometimes life is like that.

He really needs to see someone or you need to talk to the dr office, if you haven't already. Tell them it's getting critical. After he gets things moving again (I had to use the benzocaine spray for topical pain relief) dr told me to take 2 colace at night & 1 in morning. Also to use M.O.M as necessary & to add more fiber. Actually he suggested oatmeal at the perfect maintenance food. Or, ask if it's ok to use an OTC fiber product.

Hope cardio visit went well.

Cris

[The Bionic Duo]

Well I'm not the Heart patient, my husband is, but I've had two knee replacements within two years, so I know about the constipating effects of pain pills. Like Johnny V I have mild IBS (the other kind like his) so constipation is kind of a blessing for us. The only thing I've found that works for both problems is taking a fiber supplement EVERY day--if I don't I'm in trouble. I take fibercon tablets (two or more per day), but there are many more out there and you sometimes have to try different ones until you find the one that works for you.

Joan

[liza]

It sounds like he really needs to be seen. I had bowel problems after my first surgery. The stool softener did NOTHING. I ended up using glycerin suppositories. They weren't the most pleasant, but they really helped. Good luck, and I hope everything works out okay. (No pun intented! ;) )

Liza

[Johnny Stephens]

I had this REALLY BAD when I first got home. My surgeon's assistant said I was in "extended labor" LOL :D

Two words: Fleet Enema

[Chrisandgary]

thanks for all of your advice!!! Poor Gary was in such agony - I dont know which hurt worse his ribs or his a**!!!! We went to the cardio - he said start mixing up 3 and make a cocktail - just like what was mentioned above - there is 1 thing that works for everybody - you just have to find it.
Gary is now running too loose thanks to 4 tbsps MOM and 3 tbsps mineral oil and colace and prune juice and oatmeal and fruit..... he is much happier!
Thank you all again
Christine

[cocoalab]

Glad you found a remedy. I was going to suggest Miralax. It was perscribed for my son a couple years ago and worked like nothing had in years. He is fine now and hasn't needed anything in a while. I do give him Fiber Choice just to keep the fiber up though. Magnesium supplements also are stool loosening and he takes 400 mg 2X daily.

I hope things keep improving for Gary.

[Cris N]

I had this REALLY BAD when I first got home. My surgeon's assistant said I was in "extended labor" LOL :D

Two words: Fleet Enema

As I mentioned earlier, my problem occurred while I was still in the hospital. The day after I got relief, the surgeon came in and said, "Well, I heard you gave birth yesterday." OMG, it hurt so much to laugh! And yes, my two words were the same as yours. :o

Cris

[Yaps]

Fiber tablets ..daily, this should aid in his endeavor..glad things have loosened up,love the pup