by MattMecham » 22 Jun 2011, 12:06
Dawn, Bambi, NG, various others: I guffawed at the contents of some of your posts.
"My husband, the retired band director, says my farts have dropped more than an octave (he's right- they sound really low in pitch now compared to my screech trumpet days!)"
That's some funny stuff right there, and I can attest to having the same experience.
Anyhow, I'm 3 months post LIS, and I have some leakage issues, but since I had leakage issues for several years before I even got my fissure, it's just sort of another-day-at-the-office for me. It's not too bad -- I may have to go and clean up once or twice over several hours time between dumpers, and it's not very much. I do get the irritation on occasion, and I have found that Bag Balm works really well for me. I don't slather it on so much that my ass looks like it has rabies -- just a dob on the tip of my finger, and I cover the area that is irritated (usually just above the hole and just below the hole). Bag Balm is an incredibly effective, and soothing, barrier.
I'm hoping that the leakage will decrease over time, but to tell you the truth, I am so damned happy to not be shatting shards of glass, the leakage is an opportunity cost I am very willing to pay.
NG, those nachos would have made me crap my drawers, too. I try to keep things in moderation (though I do go a little crazy now and then, like when my wife came home from a meeting yesterday with three left-over pizzas. I am a weak man). For instance, my breakfast this morning consisted of an apple, 2 TBSP of whey protein powder mixed in skim milk with a small handful of blueberries, and a corn tortilla with 1 oz. of shaved lean ham, 1/2 oz. of mozzarella, and 1 TBS of light cream cheese. Drank a couple of glasses of water with everything.
I also lifted weights this morning for 40 minutes, and then ran on my treadmill at 4 mph for 15 minutes, and then walked for 5 minutes at 3 mph. My weight training is not too strenuous -- I do it more for weight loss and cardio, so I don't go heavier then 35 lb. dumbbells for upper body. I also work my core and lower body. I do this workout Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and on Tuesday and Thursday, I only use the treadmill (no weight lifting) and run for about 40 minutes. On Saturday, I run for an hour (again, no weight lifting). On Sundays, I don't do jack.
What I guess I'm trying to say is that a balanced diet, along with daily exercise, really seems to help even out my bowel movements (so I'm not shatting all day, or not shatting at all), and improves my leakage, too, since the shat consistency is more normalized because of diet and exercise.
Keep your chin up and your butt puckered -- I am confident that things will improve for us.
Semper Fi,
Matt