frequent bathroom trips after colon resection

[Ivona524]

I had a colon resection 5 weeks ago.  In the past two weeks or so, I can't stop going to the bathroom. I go about every 1/2 hour...and this goes on all day some days.  Is this normal?  WIll it be like this all the time?

[Ivona524]

HI,

How are you doing?  Did you get medical help?  

[jdwithhcv]

Have you called your doctor?  Don't panic, some other physician will be covering his cases and you should be able to speak to a doctor who can tell you if you should go to the emergency room or else be seen before your own doctor returns from vacation.  Call your doctor's office number and ask his service to have the covering doctor call you.  Good luck.

jd

[debmuse56]

i had my sigmoid coloctocty on December 16th  i saw my doctor on the 29th who did a blood test and check me over said i was alright now.  and he discharged me  that night, monday night, I took a pain pill but hadn't eaten much at 11pm found myself on the floor passed out my husband picked me up.. I didn't feel my legs under me hwen this happened i didn't even kn ow i had gotten out of bed to go.  but landed on my back.  i am wonder ing today wednesday, I had a blwel movement and found red blood in the toilet and on paper.  could i have done something to the inside of me?  my doctor is out on vacation for 2 weekd.  how would they test me to find out if everything is alright?  im so scared

[Morecambe]

Hi - after an appropriate period of "settling down" my toilet visits declined to ~4 during the day and ~ 0-1 during the night.

The frequency will definitely be above your "pre-operation" level but hopefully within a tolerable limit.

If you ever suffered from constipation, then this should be a thing of the past.

Good luck - and have a Happy Christmas yourself.

regards
Morecambe

[Ivona524]

HI again,

Just wanted to thank you again..I've been on the Metamucil/Immodium regimen for the past 3 days or so and already my bathroom visits have been cut by half.  I'm also using less and less of the Immodium.

It's good to know there's light at the end of the tunnel.

Merry Christmas!

Ivona

[Ivona524]

HI,

Thanks very much! I will definitely read your post.  I find it very frustrating trying to find information.  I phoned my GI this morning, and his nurse just passed me on to the surgeon.  So I called his office.  All I was told that using Metamucil and/or Immodium is OK.  This just confirmed information I found on the internet on my own.  I find that while I had great support while in the hospital, once I've been discharged I'm on my own.  

WHen I visit the loo....the #2's are already really 'sludgey' (good word!) and I am trying to figure out how to make 'em more solid.  I will try the Metamucil...in the meantime I have to take Immodium if I want to have some semblance of a normal life.

I really was looking for the doctors to let me know if this is normal and/or of this will improve over time.

I appreciate your help...I may try your 'recipe'...thanks!

Ivona

[Morecambe]

Hi - I underwent a total colectomy almost five years ago.  In response to another Medhelp patient's question, I described my own experiences on:-

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/523166

You may like to log on and read that posting.  I am assuming that your visits are to carry out a #2 every half hour rather than a #1??  This does seem very frequent and my own recollections immediately after the opperation are perhaps every 1-2 hours during the day.  However, this does lessen as time passes.  There is one recipe that I can recommend and that is home made muesli (soak organic oats + a few spoonfulls of organic bran in milk, add grated apple/other fruit + nuts + squeezed lemon juice).  I felt that this made my motions more "muddy/sludgy" and reduced the frewquence of toilet visits.  A bit like throwing sawdust onto a liquiid spillage on the kithen floor if you see what I mean.

Do rest assured that the frequency will reduce - but this is a legitimate question to ask your surgeon who will have faced this question almost every time that he/she has carried out this operation and will have many case studies with which to substantiate the reassurance that I am sure they can provide..

regards
Morecambe

[jdwithhcv]

This will pass (pardon the pun!)  It takes a while but it gets better.  Best of luck and enjoy the holidays.