by MattMecham » 21 Apr 2011, 22:49
SS,
Yesterday (Wednesday) was my 21st post-op day for LIS. I had my surgery at about 11:00 am, and I took maybe 4 endocet for the remainder of the day, along with about 6 Ibuprofen. The painkiller that the surgeon used when he was finished with the surgery started to wear off at about 5 pm, and I felt pretty sore in that area (like I'd been kicked by a pony, not a full-sized horse), but I was able to sleep pretty comfortably. The next morning, I took just one endocet, and then maybe four Ibuprofen the rest of the day. I treated myself like a big baby for about five days (lots of lying in bed and watching DVDs).
I can honestly say that by the end of the second day (had surgery on a Wednesday morning, so I am talking about Thursday evening), the pain was VERY minimal. I could not feel the fissure pain at all. I was scared of that first bowel movement, but when I finally had one on Friday morning, it was not bad at all. I felt constipated and the stool was a bit hard, but there was no pain! And except for those five endocet and about ten Ibuprofen, I have not felt any need to take any more painkillers. So I was actually only taking the narcotics (endocet) for not even a total of 24 hours. I think a lot of it has to do with taking it very easy, staying in bed, and babying yourself. Don't try to get right back in the saddle the next day. Take a week.
During this time, I was taking a full dose of Miralax, one stool softener in the morning, and one stool softener at night. I drank at least 16 cups of water a day. I ate a lot of soup without chunks (high fiber soup), jello, a few crackers, and some fiber one with soy milk. Six days after the surgery, I was eating more solid foods, and the bowel movements were pretty normal -- VERY little pain (in fact, I wouldn't call it pain -- more like extremely mild discomfort), no blood, I could just feel a slight pull on the left where the incision was made. And the big plus? My body was wracked with pain for several hours after each bowel movement. Praise God.
By eight days post-op, I was back to work full time, though honestly, I could have gone back after about four or five days, I felt so dang good by comparison; however, I wanted to make good and sure that the incision was healed up, and that I could go through a day without some sort of mishap.
Incontinence: honestly, it is not a big deal. I experience just a tiny bit of leakage, and only after softer stools. This only happened within the first couple of weeks post op. Now, it is hardly worth mentioning as I continue to get back to normal.
Right now, on the 21st day, I feel as normal as could be. No pain to speak of since the 2nd or 3rd day after surgery, bowel movements don't scare me, and I do just about whatever I want to. I can travel now without being scared of a "fissure attack".
Though I no longer take Miralax or stool softeners (stopped about two weeks ago, and my bowel movements have been just fine), I still watch what I eat, and drink lots of water, but I am not obsessive about it anymore.
I went for almost three years of on-again, off-again intense agony -- I sure wish I had made the decision to have surgery sooner. Godspeed, my friend -- you will come through this, and be happier for it. Please let us know how it went, as soon as your butt can sit in a desk chair.
Semper Fi,
Matt