The Colon Club

I don't know what my bowels are doing. I started out after my reversal with the liquid lava, then moved on to several good days of semi-solid movements. The last two days I have pretty much been constipated. I am just eating and drinking normally, not taking anything. Has anybody been through this? Any suggestions to help me back to those semi-solid movements?

I don't have any specific suggestions, except to say that most of my meals post-reversal used olive oil as a base (e.g., for making omelettes, etc.)

The MD Anderson website has several documents on constipation management. You might try some of their suggestions. The download links are at the right-hand side of the page below under Patient Education:

https://www.mdanderson.org/patients-family/diagnosis-treatment/emotional-physical-effects/bowel-management.html

Yes I became constipated and I worried I had another bowel blockage because I also had some pain. Went to hospital and was told I was constipated, kind of embarrassing because that was never my issue. They gave me magnesium citrate. Was not fun, but did take care of it. Mine was prob from taking immodium and lomotil to help with my clustering. You may want to try miralax, my GI told me to use this if I ever have an issue. Just stay close to bathroom. In fact it was one of the options my GI at the bowel control clinic suggested daily, to allow me to evacuate most at one time. I chose to do daily enemas as it gave me more control over when. Good luck I hope it gets resolved.

Ever since my diagnoses and after radiation, surgery and chemo, my bowels have never been the same. I can go from a solid BM to liquid in a single BM movement. I do know certain food do effect my bowels. Eating cheese will bulk it up, salad greens, especially spinach will pretty much give me the runs.

If you are not already doing so, keep a diary of food you eat and if it effect your BM.

Good luck,

Lee

I have noticed even with doing enemas certain foods can make the process less smooth. Too much cheese is one of them. So yes since we are now so intone with our bowel habits now, keeping a food diary is a great idea. Before cancer we probably didn't think as much about it, now it consumes us, especially in the beginning
.

I have been keeping a diary of food and bowel movements since the first day. I'm eating the same foods, that's what has me so confused. I guess my intesines are still trying to figure out what they want to do.

Ann/Aqx99:
Your reversal surgery involved handling and manipulation of the intestines by the surgeons. Intestines, as a general rule, are sensitive to touch and manipulation and easily irritated/upset by any surgical procedure. Slowing of intestinal motility is a common post-surgical by-product - i.e. constipation as one symptom.

MiraLax is a good choice. It is an osmotic agent that draws water into the large intestine with a gentle motility nudge. You
can titration dosing to meet your own needs, a little more or a little less depending on the outcome of your bowel movement (diarhea or loose bowel movement scale back on the MiraLax; constipation or hardened nuggets of stool add in additional MiraLax). You can use MiraLax on a regular basis, if needed for bowel management, without risk of laxative dependency.

Milk of Magnesia is another good choice. It is also an osmotic agent. Magnesia is a naturally occurring mineral in the body that plays an essential role in muscular contractions. Milk of Magnesia relieves constipation by giving the intestine a muscular boost along with flushing the intestine with a net positive influx of water.

Stool softeners are a less than ideal choice. Stool softeners draw water into the lower intestinal tract but nothing more. For a large intestine that has delayed motility due to surgical handling, the result is more aggravating than helpful in relieving constipation. Stagnated fecal matter in lower intestine becomes heavily weighted by the influx of water, and sits like wet cement. Constipation can be worsened with stool softeners in a slow to move intestine.

Simple yoga postures can be helpful in easing constipation. Elongating and rotating the torso in relation to the pelvis acts like a deep massage. You need not engage in overly complex postures or poses to derive benefit in mobilizing a slow moving intestine.

And never discount good old fashioned warmed prune juice or warmed 100% Concord grape juice (100% grape juice, NOT a juice blend and NOT a juice cocktail with added water) to ease constipation.

You are wise to try to stay ahead of troubling constipation before it becomes more than annoying. I hope that your lower intestine is soon humming along like a well oiled machine.
Karen

I took a dose of Citrucel today and it seems to have done the job. I have now swung to the clustering side of things. I'm just glad I don't feel the need to strain anymore, that had me nervous so soon after surgery. I guess I just need to find a balance.

As usual Karen your comments are spot on. Your post should be compulsory reading for anyone who had a low or ultra low anterior resection and is struggling with evacuation. So much more helpful than the standard 'eat more fibre' response.
Thank you

Aqx99 wrote:I took a dose of Citrucel today and it seems to have done the job. I have now swung to the clustering side of things. I'm just glad I don't feel the need to strain anymore, that had me nervous so soon after surgery. I guess I just need to find a balance.

I'm still working on that balance and my reversal was in late September! I have found that it takes time but improvement can occur. My first two weeks were liquid lava, then I started on metamucil and it instantly improved- so very much the opposite problem at first. I added 1/2 tab of immodium because I was flying (3.5 flight there not that good; 3. hr flight home with immodium, so so nice!) and have kept that up as well. Now sometimes I swing to more constipated side of things, so I'm trying to drink more water and also have upped the metamucil a bit more so that I'm now taking 1.5 to 2 tablespoons, per my surgeon's instructions. Food definitely affects things too- more salads, more fiber (bean burritos!) = more pooping. Anyway it's an experiment so don't be afraid to try things out, little bit at a time.