Hey Guys,
... I have leakage too. I'm sooo "bummed" about it. I came accross this thread today, while researching what to do about it on the web. Some of you may remember me as the sap that had the LIS done twice. At first I attritbuted the leakage after surgery #1 to Mirilax as it stopped once I ceased the mirilax. However still had pressure and 2/3 poops were painful so I was talked into surgery #2 as the surgeon felt he didn't cut enough muscle. Then after surgery 2 all was well with the leakage issue (still have the horrible pressure, arghhh) until I stopped the metamucil X2 daily as I am so sick of drinking it after 2 years.
I'm willing to bet the theory about pinching it off is correct that someone mentioned earlier. It just makes sense. It's like a little bit is leftover and slowly leaks throoughout the day until it is all out because our muscle is no longer able to close it off or push it out. I never have stained the undies either, just slow minute leakage that can leave an arse poppy red and very uncomfortable.
I didn't see anyone recommend Metamucil here. It works because it gels your poop together and comes out solid without hurting. So if you want to put the but bags away or have to go somewhere where wiping your but a million times/showering isn't convenient then I suggest metamucil. No mess whatsoever.
Unfortunately I attributed my stomach cramping daily to hormone shots/ovarian problems until my recent vacation. I went camping with my husband and 2 year old son for 4 days and was terrified. I drank my metamucil twice daily had no mess, but my usual stomach pains were quite bad. Then after camping my hubby and I flew to Vegas where we were supposed to rekindle the romance that my issues have robbed us of. Needless to say, I was too busy partying till 5:30 everymorning to keep my regime up of metamucil. I also wanted to enjoy the food so I omitted some doses as Metemucil robs me of my appetite (not necessarily a bad thing normally right ladies?) So I had to tote around my "butt bag" and wipe frequently. Too bad constantly worrying about your ass takes away that "sexual feeling". Can't win...
What I noticed when I returned home and had my next full day of Metamucil was that that was what has been causing my lower left quadrant stomach pain, at least I think. I did an experiement yesterday, didn't take it and voila no pain again. Crazy. After a year of stomach pain and crying to doctors, Metamucil was the cause and only on one side? All that being said, I'm pretty sure most people do not get stomach pain and I cheat often and have gotten lazy over the last year (don't drink the water afterward/put in a tblesp instead of a teaspoon if I forget a dose, ya da ya da...) So moral of the story is to try Metmamucil to get on with your life. I am going to wait a week, journal the stomach pain and reduce my dose to see if I still get good effects. Another thing is ground flaxseed (has to be ground) as it also is supposed to gel it together as well. Oh, for those of you that don't know, Metamucil is different because it is the only "laxitive" that contains psylium husk, which is what does the gelling.
My concern is that since I have pelvic floor issues, is this going to get worse with age? I find myself worrying about this hourly I swear. I have to attend physiotherapy again soon, and I am worried that she'll rip my muscle even more while doing her internal trigger point therapy in hopes to finally get some relief from this pressure feeling. I am so angry at myself for getting the second surgery and can not even talk to my surgeon because I am so pissed off that my leakage issue is worse, even though he told me that it wouldn't and told me the only thing that might happen would be an inablility to control my gas. I felt backed into a corner. I really wanted to get better and he told me, "what are you so scared of" that the leaking would resolve and he's never had a case of it in his 100's of surgeries. I hope this doesn't seem to muddled, I'm tired and should go to bed. Please try the metamucil and post what your results.
PS. Last time I talked to the CRS he said if I did have leakage concerns because I was so scared of it getting worse even though he said it wouldn't happen (as I haven't seem him since 2 days post op in March) there is an injection now to fill up the sphincter. I'm not interested personally as I think I have had enough trauma down there, just thought I'd throw it out there and see if anyone else had heard about it.

Hi desperatehousewife,
Thanks for sharing. I agree with Pauls theory about the muscle being weaker and not able to push it all out. It makes perfect sense. I have noticed that the leakage gets better as time goes on which makes sense also since the muscle does regain strength over time as we recover.
Paul posted a link that you may find interesting in the References,Websites and Facts threads.
I've never heard of the injection. That's interesting. I wouldn't do it though,Lol. It's really a minor nuisance at the point I'm at in recovery and seems it's gradually getting better.
Since your around 4 months post-op, hopefully you will see improvements with this as time goes by! I know it's hard to get your sexy on with issues like this,LOL. :oops:

Me again!
Just wanted to post some research about what to do if this gets worse for us as we age. I've been pretty depressed about it until I thought about it more in depth. Since 20% of people over 60 right now have some sort of fecal incontinence (women are the majority - due to childbirths) and we are now appoaching a time where there are going to be more seniors than ever, the medical community will have a huge financial incentive to cure/improve us because so many people will be suffering from this. So that relieved me a bit.
Anyway, I did some research on the injection thing and found that scientists/surgeons are experimenting with different biomaterials ranging from collagen, silicone to gels - even micro balloons that are implanted around the sphincter. This is relatively new so I believe the jury is still out as to what works best. The idea is that these compounds will narrow the canal which will help comprimise for the lack of sphincter strength and muscle loss. There is also a pacemaker - like device that can be implanted to provide constant signals to the sphincters that is supposed to help a lot too. Aside from that there is sphincteroplasty (not good long term results and quite painful apparently - one study suggested that only 25% still experienced improvement after 5 years and this procedure can go bad and make your problem worse) artificial sphincter (huge failure rate) and muscle from your leg transplanted in your ass (again not good success at all).
So here is a link to something recently published http://www.empowher.com/irritable-bowel-syndrome/content/2-new-treatments-address-fecal-incontinence .
I can live with what I have now. Unfortunately for me, I don't believe it will improve as I've had two surgeries. I just hope it stays where it is. I went back on my metamucil 2 days ago (1 dose at night followed by water, and yogurt with ground flax in the a.m.) - no mess whatsoever even with multiple bms a day. My LLQ cramping seems to be better too, I guess it is important that I don`t forget the water! I hope we keep eachother posted as to what works for everyone and whether or not it improves as we approach the 1 year mark. Good luck everyone!

Hey Desperatehousewife,
I think things are going to improve for you. It's still early in the game. I'm 9 months post op and I've noticed improvements even since I started this thread at 8 months post-op. It's 10xs better than it was at 5-6 months post-op.

Thanks Dawn, that`s very reassuring and hopeful to hear your success story. HUGS!

I am similar to Paul in that it depends on the bm. If it's looser, I have a little leakage. I use 4x4 gauze sheets though that help keep it off my skin. Has anyone had any problems with gas leakage? Sometimes I can hold it in and sometimes it slips right out. I had surgery at the end of July, and it has gotten better, but not all the way, and I am nervous about this. It doesn't make a lot of noise, so that part is good I guess. How long do your muscles improve or heal? I had a fistulotomy, hemrroidectomy, and skin tag removed.

I still leak 14 months later, but have to keep my BM's soft due to a recent tear or I'd firm them up which stops leaking

Hey guys, unfortunately I'm back. I'm 4 months post-op (it seems way longer than that) and I was basically fully recovered after about 2 months but I'm still dealing with leakage as well. I had some of it pre-op but was hoping the surgery would fix that. My story is similar to everyone else...
I don't take Miralax or anything and I always have an easy BM in the morning without trying and clean up as usual til there's nothing on the TP. Then I take a shower and wipe again. I'll then go to work and sit for about an hour before I need to get up and wipe again. All this wiping isn't from paranoia, there's either wetness or fecal matter every time. Not only does this make my pants smell by the end of the day (my fiancee says it's not noticeable but when you think you smell like poop nobody can convince you otherwise), but it also chafes and irritates my ass.
I came here hoping people would say it would go away with time but that's not the impression I'm getting. At least I'm not alone in this!

Hi brewmaster, did u ask ur CRS abt this? If not, u shld..

No, I haven't talked to him about it yet. I was hoping for good news from the experienced people on this board first. I'm curious... how is my situation different than what everyone else said?