On surgeon's advice, going to try the - gulp - daily enema

[lauragb]

When I go "natural", I have that left side pain for about 15 minutes before I go, not the normal urges from the days of yore. I seldom go "natural" though.

Okay, now I'm going to get a little graphic to describe how I know I'm cleaned out in case this may help someone else. I do want to say that I think for many people, getting enough water up there is key. That does take getting used to and it's a gradual process for the body to tolerate the water, I think. Back to detail, I generally expel the stool in three phases. The first phase consists of what I call "clusturds", the little pieces that would take me hours to release in the past, phase two is a large amount of soft stool, the bulk of the cleanout and then a little later, phase three is some watery stool that isn't as digested, some roughage is visible. That's from farther up and signifies being done. I will still feel some urge but I'm done.

Now, I'm thinking of Tammylayne's past posting of never dreaming she would be describing her bowel habits for others and I'm in that same place. But I would have never even heard of the daily enema if I hadn't seen it on here. So in the spirit of helping others, I'm happy to provide TMI.

I know folks who are early in the process are reading this thread too. I would give yourself some time to adjust and try the fiber, diet and other suggestions. My situation was extreme as I haven't read about many people clustering as much as I did. At eight weeks out, I clustered for 15 hours straight one day. Even at four months post reversal, on my best days I would cluster for an hour in in the morning and around five hours in the evening, not fun. But there are many things to try and enemas are one that seem to help people when diet, fiber and supplements don't work.

And to the Enema-ites, keep experimenting, you'll find your method!

[Jachut]

Fascinating. - its 2 stages for me, I rarely gt the watery stuff but it's exactly how you describe.

[jrw118]

I have been doing the enema for over 1 year now dx late oct 2010, LAR april 2011, reversal july 2011. After reversal I had horrible clustring. I always needed to know where the bathroom was. In fact I returned to work September 2011, I am a high school math teacher, and had to have my classroom changed to be across from the bathroom. Even though I was close I still had rushes to the bathroom and accidents. I lived on imodium. I started to have bowel obstructions and knew that the imodium wasn't helping on that front. Fast forward to February 2012...I was still having a aweful time with the bathroom. I would have some good days but the bad days were horrendous. My surgeon @ MSK said to me I am going to talk to you about something you may be resistant or hesitant to use. He told me to try a warm water enema with a enema bag. He told me I could by one at CVS. ( Now I buy it on Amazon.com)He said try it every other day for a couple of weeks and see how you feel. Just like you tammy, my first few times were not so good and I almost gave up. I started over a February break from school and it was the first time I could truly enjoy my days without having to stay close to the bathroom.
Now April 2013 1 year and 2 months later my routine is pretty simple and can be done in 30-45 minutes. I start at 8:30 or later due to kids bedtime. I lay in my bath tub with the bag hanging on the handheld shower hose. I lay on my left side, fill up th tub with warm water a few inches and use the bottle of water. I sometimes have time to clean the equipment and sometimes need to go right to sit on the toilet and clean afterwards. Typically I evacuate completely in about 10-15 minutes and go to bed. Sometimes I know it isn't over and I will watch TV for a few minutes. I clean the bag with antibacterial soap and hot water and I let it hang on the hose when I am done to dry. It is our master bathroom that belongs to me according to my husband so I do nt have to worry about people seeing it. I am always able to go to sleep by 9:30. (yes I go to bed that early! LOL) I do the enema daily. I can do it within 12 hours of regular time and stay on track. Like other posters have said the longer after about 30 hour I wait it sometimes is more difficult as the poop is at the end of the GI track. The daily enema has COMPLETELY changed my life and made me normal again. I have been to disney 2 times and was free from the worry about the bathroom. At first I found it hard to dedicate the time to myself. As a working mother of 2 boys (almost 5 and almost it is not always that easy but I know I have to make the time. I am so thankful to my surgeon for suggesting it. I was very against it at first, WHAT WOULD PEOPLE THINK? Well, I do not give a SH*T about what people think any more. I have beaten this disease!!! Now I truly have my life back. Good luck to all. Feel free to message me with any questions.

[lauragb]

Great report Jessica! I am so happy to hear of another person who is having success with enemas. It seems those of us who use them have that initial reluctance but find it worth it in the long run.
I use the same time frame as you. I don't have children still at home, but the evening just works better. I have a question, are you using the disposable bags and if so, how much water do they hold?

I remembered that you've had issues with obstructions too, hopefully the enemas keep things moving to lessen the occurrence of those.
By the way, I am also a teacher and clustering is just not an option in my job!

Here's to more worry-free vacations!

[ams5796]

Wonderful posts from everyone! I can't read enough about it. A week ago today was the first one I tried (this go around) and that was a great Sunday. There have been good days and bad days since then, but overall it's been a rousing success. Already did mine this morning. Got up real early- I really like no one around while I'm doing it. I'm using the disposable bags which I love because you can see how much water you've taken in. They're sturdy so they can be washed and used over again-or not. Anyway, I think the traditional red bag would work well too now that I have the hang of it. One thing I'm not sure about is whether or not I should be using warm tap water, something mixed in with it (salt or baking soda), or purified water. Also, I do seem to be having trouble taking one and a half quarts in so I'm doing it in two parts. I wonder if that's a bad thing. I'm still having some gas pains or actually not being able to pass gas (ugh) not sure why.

Already today I feel great. Usually Sundays I'm a little stressed out. All my kids come over and want to go out for lunch. My daughter likes me to go shopping or get a manicure. I would never say no, but I take drugs and feel stressed the whole time. Sometimes I actually can't go out with them. Then, usually after a day like that I'm up half the night clustering. So, I'm looking forward to today.

Again, thanks to all of you!

Ann

[ams5796]

FYI the disposable bags from amazon hold one and a half quarts of liquid.

[tammylayne]

So I did my enema on Friday morning, ended up having several BMs Friday afternoon and right up till midnight. I knew Saturday would be a "free" day as I had gone so much on Friday...so I did nothing. I actually found a red bag enema kit at Walmart (HA to all the enema kit hoarders!!) so this morning I set out to try this approach. Had to go out by 10, so I started at 8. Trickier, as I didn't know how much it held or how quickly it would work/empty. I think I put equal to 5 fleet bottles in the red bag. I took about a third,,,emptied a bit, did more, then emptied alot, did a little more...went a little more. Was in the shower about 40 minutes after I started, had the urge for another 2 hours even though I didn't go. I think that is my biggest challeng right now,,,trusting that I am done. I think I still like night time....I feel less stressed than in the am when I have to be out the door by a certain time. I think I am going to stick with that for now, at least until I learn to trust my urges. I would say in all I was able to take about 4 bottles worth, but in 3 seperate insertions, and I cannot hold it for any length of time...I usually have to stop and empty right away as it starts to flow out

Soooo...feeling reasonable optimistic,,,finding my way.

Thanks for all the sharing...really giving me a boost. Happy Sunday!!

[jrw118]

Great report Jessica! I am so happy to hear of another person who is having success with enemas. It seems those of us who use them have that initial reluctance but find it worth it in the long run.
I use the same time frame as you. I don't have children still at home, but the evening just works better. I have a question, are you using the disposable bags and if so, how much water do they hold?

I remembered that you've had issues with obstructions too, hopefully the enemas keep things moving to lessen the occurrence of those.
By the way, I am also a teacher and clustering is just not an option in my job!

Here's to more worry-free vacations!

Hi again.
I use the red "hot water bags" non disposable ones. It holds 2 qts I think. The obstructions have settled down in the last 3 months or so. Although I am very uncomfortable at the moment. Hopefully it will pass fast.

[ams5796]

Hi All,

Just wanted to update everyone since I really can't tell anyone else about this (except my husband). I would grade yesterday at about a B. I did the enema early in the morning and had a nice day with my family. By about 7 pm I kind of felt like I "had to go" but I didn't (and couldn't), but I was uncomfortable. That's why the day gets a B. I don't know if I could have been cleaned out more or if I pushed it and ate more than I normally would have. I did end up sleeping fine. I didn't have to get up thankfully.

Today I did another one early this morning. It's a holiday in Massachusetts today and we're all home so it would be nice to stay out of the bathroom! So far I feel great.

I feel like I'm finally getting into a groove with this. I hope it's working out for the rest of the beginners on here!

Ann

[tammylayne]

Yeah for you Ann!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I feel the same way...I am having these little enema successes...and I can't share with anyone but my husband,,,so I post them here!

My day was good yesterday, and this a.m. I toyed with getting up and doing one or waiting till tonight. Darn cat woke me up at 6:15 DEMANDING breakfast...so I thought ok...that is my sign to get up and give it a go. This was my best one yet!!! I ended up using about equal to 4 fleet bottles over 2 inputs, everything was over, done and cleaned up in at 30 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I still felt the urge for about another 45, but I trusted myself and just waited for it to die off which it did. The cleanout wasn't as big as Sundays, but I am wondering if that is because it was 24 hours later, which I have not been 100% doing since I started this a week ago.

If every morning went like this am...and I had no washroom issues the rest of the day, I could SO TOTALLY do this!!!!!!!!! Is this what it is like for you Lauragb???

i leave for Jamaica next week, and if this keeps working the way it is, I know I will enjoy my time away so much more....

[ams5796]

Thanks Tammylayne. Yeah, for you too!

I agree that doing it daily makes each one easier. I know mornings aren't for everyone, but it is really a good time for me. Then I don't have to think about it all day which I love!

As cliche as it sounds I truly feel like I have a new lease on life!


Ann

[tammylayne]

Well... I spoke too soon...or I guess "typed" too soon!!!

I just spent 20 minutes in the loo here at work with explosive Big D Popped 3 immodium, hope it will slow things down, I have a meeting in an hour...I have been know to be able to bust through 5 or 6 immodium, so here's hoping it will stop.

I really thought things were going to work out today

[ams5796]

Oh no, Tammylayne, that's too bad. I hope you got through your meeting. I wonder why that happened. It's hard to have that daily enema peace of mind if something like that's going to happen!




Ann

[tammylayne]

I am going to go back through this thread...I think someone said, maybe Peleton that they take immodium after the enema.....Maybe I need to do that. I was just surprised that it happened 5 hours AFTER I did the enema, not like it should have been something that hadn't been expelled earlier...very odd.

I did make it through the meeting...guess the immodium did the trick....

Tomorrow is a new day...a new enema!!

[ams5796]

Yes, I remember Peloton mentioning that he took Imodium after the enema. Ha, I wanted to avoid drugs, but I agree that they may be necessary. I still have that "got to go" feeling after meals. I guess Imodium wouldn't be a problem if I'll be doing an enema the next day anyway.

I guess it's still a work in progress. Glad you got through the day okay.



Ann