The cool thing, is that I'm not missing any of those foods. My simpler diet seems to be quite satisfying, which is a good thing, as that means it is maintainable over the long haul.
I should note that my bowel movements have been virtually pain free, but yesterday, I had the sensation to go, but when I got to the toilet, the sensation went away. I had to sit there over ten minutes before anything happened. I did notice some blood, which I haven't seen recently. Not sure what's up with that.
I hope everyone else is healing nicely.

Rob,
Don't you still eat those things, but in much smaller portions with veggies on the side?
The ribs are making my mouth water!
I read somewhere that if you don't go in 10 min. you should get up and return when the urge returns. Otherwise it puts too much pressure on that area.
I find that drinking a tall glass of room temperature water helps bring the urge back.
TGIF!
-Tanya

Tanya,
You are correct - You should only visit the bathroom when you need to go and if things dont start moving naturally in a minute or two then you should give up and return when you do need to go.
If you have hemorrhoids then sitting there for ten minutes will cause havoc with them! Once external hemorrhoids start swelling this disturbs the fissure and can make things more painful.
Davo

rasmith3530 wrote:The cool thing, is that I'm not missing any of those foods. My simpler diet seems to be quite satisfying, which is a good thing, as that means it is maintainable over the long haul.
I should note that my bowel movements have been virtually pain free, but yesterday, I had the sensation to go, but when I got to the toilet, the sensation went away. I had to sit there over ten minutes before anything happened. I did notice some blood, which I haven't seen recently. Not sure what's up with that.
I hope everyone else is healing nicely.

It's unsettling when bleeding happens. I was healing alright - but I had that killer bm early last week, and then I had post-bm bleeding for three days thereafter. Then for the past several days, I've had horrible soreness. My crs is overseas now, but yesterday I got in to see an entirely different crs - and he examined me and said that things look okay - no infection or anything awry - and he thinks my killer bm possibly stressed or stretched the area . . .
He talked with me about fiber, stool consistency, and said that I do need to very slowly decrease the Miralax and have a good intake of fiber (Metamucil, or Konsyl, etc. - plus vegetables, etc.) and water. He said that stools need be bulky enough to gently stretch the anus, but soft enough not to hurt anything. I think that seems to be the general consensus of most crs's.
Oh - he also gave me a prescription of Valium (as a muscle relaxant), to be taken with two Advil every night . . . and last night that's what I took . . . and boy, oh, boy! - I was in a relaxed sleep for several hours. It was wonderful.
So, hopefully, Rob -- the healing and post-op stuff will someday be a distant memory for all of us. --- Hope you're having a nice, pain free day.

workingonit wrote:Rob,
Don't you still eat those things, but in much smaller portions with veggies on the side?
The ribs are making my mouth water!
I read somewhere that if you don't go in 10 min. you should get up and return when the urge returns. Otherwise it puts too much pressure on that area.
I find that drinking a tall glass of room temperature water helps bring the urge back.
TGIF!
-Tanya

Hi, Tanya - The water is what I do, too. I'll warm it and add a little honey, and that usually helps stir things up.

Sweet,
Mmm, honey sounds like a good idea. Especially as I am fighting a cold right now.
I had a setback yesterday. Sore again after feeling so close to being healed. It sucks.
Sorry you are sore too Sweet, but glad the CRS proclaimed all is well. I see mine on Thursday and it has been over two months. I saw the second opinion guy, but he only really looked at the outside.
Well anyways, these things take time I guess,... and then some!!! :)
-Tanya

workingonit wrote:Sweet,
Mmm, honey sounds like a good idea. Especially as I am fighting a cold right now.
I had a setback yesterday. Sore again after feeling so close to being healed. It sucks.
Sorry you are sore too Sweet, but glad the CRS proclaimed all is well. I see mine on Thursday and it has been over two months. I saw the second opinion guy, but he only really looked at the outside.
Well anyways, these things take time I guess,... and then some!!! :)
-Tanya

Hang in there, Tanya -
I know from my own experience that getting through this takes a lot of patience -- and along the way there's a lot of pain and frustration to deal with.
Even with surgery, healing still has to take place, and that takes time, too. My surgery went well - but I did have a setback and am trying to get past that painful episode. You're right - setbacks are awful and can be so discouraging. Really, my patience has been tested to the core with this ordeal (my AF, then surgery, and now the recovery).
I like the crs I saw yesterday - and in fact, I'm planning on seeing him until my crs gets back and maybe even after that, if need be. That valium he prescribed really relaxed me and helped me sleep. That's something, anyway. I'm off the Colace, am back on Konsyl and other fiber - and I'll slowly wean myself off the Miralax, but not until I think I'm strong enough down below.
It's just a very slow process. --- Let us know how you do. HUGS!
- SB (Carol Ann)

Guys, once again, thanks for a tip with the warm water. I will have to give that a try. As for diet, I'm so far doing OK. A friend invited me for dinner last night (he owed me for some help I'd provided him a while back). He had what I probably would have ordered several months ago, this monster slice of prime rib. Instead though, I had Chicken Marsala with wild rice and mixed roast vegetables. I also cheated a bit to try some potato lakes that my friend's wife stated were really good. With this, I had a Lake Michigan Highball (water in most people's vernacular). I was quite satisfied, and did not miss the beef at all. I skipped desert (well, I guess the potato pancakes, with applesauce could be counted), and did not miss the absence of a soft drink either (I don't drink alcohol). This morning, I awoke with a blood sugar reading of 82, so dinner seemed to be cool with my system as well.
I'm happy to be reading the success stories that you guys keep posting as well. Keep them coming!

Hey all. I haven't forgotten you guys, just that I've been doing some different stuff with other health issues and didn't get a chance to get back.
Well, tomorrow will be one month (actually, tomorrow is today already)! I feel like a new person when it comes to my butt. Bowel movements are not painful, I'm no longer having any discharge of any sort, so I no longer have to use the Tucks and maxi-pads. I have mostly stuck to my diet, and I have avoided spicey stuff after the Jalepeno encounter. I have cheated a couple of times, like the Maxwell Street Polish Sausage I had today. Oh, it tasted so wonderful, but tomorrow, I'll be back tto my chicken and veggies. I've been trying to incorporate more in the way of veggies that are higher in fiber, as it would be nice to get off the Metamucil eventually. I'm going slow though.
Later today, I'll be going to the local Veteran's Administration clinic, for screening and an intake interview. I'm hoping that maybe they can figure out what's up with my head and the tremors, plus possibly have some different options for my back problem. We'll have to see. One thing that will probably help is that I should get some assistance with the cost of my medications.
Although my butt is feeling so much better, my mood has still been all over the place because of the other issues and my resultant lack of independence. It still sucks to be stuck at home most of the time!
I hope everyone else has had their rears healing well.

Oh, I forgot to mention a new issue that has cropped up. Just in the last week or so, I have been waking up in a state of hypoglycemia. One morning, my waking blood sugar was only 33. I had trouble thinking what to do and ate a piece of hard candy. Well, I guess that wasn't enough by itself, as I passed out for several more hours. This went on the better part of the day and it wasn't until the following day that I felt normal. Where I used to wake in the 80s, I'm now waking in the 60s, and yesterday was another low, at 49. From what I gather, anything below 50 affects brain function. So, we'll be talking about this tomorrow as well. I'm keeping my tester by my bedside, along with some candy and packs of dried fruit, just in case.