The Colon Club

OK so, it was my first time having surgery, and I recently had a hernia operation and a hysterectomy within two weeks of each other. The hernia operation went pretty well, the hysterectomy I knew would be messy because it was about a year overdue and I had a very large uterus. Before I went under for the surgery I had a friend with me who was a nurse. She knew all the language that the doctors and the nurses were talking about, they talked very quickly, a lot of it I didn’t understand. Even when I woke up they sort of directed a lot of language to her, because I was still under the effects of anesthesia. One of the things she told me they said was because of all the bleeding from the hysterectomy they had to clamp down on my bowel so that there was no contamination. Now that I’m better I’m having a lot of problems using the bathroom. What I’m feel is that my bowels have some of irritation I hurt from the descending colon. It feels like I’ve been punched a few times. And when stool passes through it feels like augmented. My doctors are telling me to take the MiraLAX, stay hydrated, and wait. I’ve done that. So recently I’ve been passing these pencil thin like stools. It’s frightening because I think I read somewhere early on that that could be a sign of a blockage. I don’t know if it’s me but I feel (physically) like there’s something more that’s trying to get out then just these extremely soft pencil thin like stools, but I don’t have an X-ray so I can’t be sure. Does anyone know what this is? Or can relate?

I hope you’re feeling better. Recovering from a big abdominal surgery can be challenging. One thing I didn’t know prior to my surgery is that the bowels sort of go to sleep if they get moved around. This seemed to be true for me. It didn’t all wake up at the same time either so my gut felt weird and irregular. Miralax being an osmodic draws water to the bowel and softens it. It’s a different action than a laxative and can take a little while to work. I use both as needed. BM’s and their consistency will always have our attention and rightly so. They can tell us a lot. We come to understand our particular bowel language and can recognize if something is amiss.
Diet and stress contribute to function and probably the most impactful (no pun intended) is pain medication. Finding a balance with laxatives and pain medication is very individual and I know you’ll find your way. If you have no dietary restrictions, up your intake of fruits and veggies. Drink water. And then drink some more!
Feel better.

Thank you for your insightful reply. I will take this advice. I have a follow up appointment with my first surgeon that did my hernia surgery this morning, the 1st surgery. I’m going to tell him my latest discovery of the pencil thin stool, but if it is something to worry about, it would be the last surgeon who would need to know. I believe some damage may have been done because of the complications of my hysterectomy, but regardless I just want to get better. I have been eating a diet close to someone with IBS. I want to see if it gives me some relief because I have similar symptoms. Thanks again. Any other information and insight would be helpful.

I hope your appointment went well and that you're doing better!*hugs*

I realized my problem is gas still trapped inside my body from when they had me under from surgery. So when they put you under they inflate you so they can better see your organs and it can take a while for the air to leave your body. So, as a result, I’ve had to do a lot of things with a pillow against my chest like coughing, sneezing, etc., or else they just don’t come out/it’s painful. I tried making a BM with a pillow squeezed against my chest (as if I’m hugging a teddy bear) and it worked. It comes right out like usual. I’m hoping I won’t have to do it forever and I can find a way to get this after-surgery-air out of my body, but it’s working for now without stool softeners or laxatives.