It's the 4th day since my LIS. Feeling OK but my concern is my bowel movement. Had my first BM the other day and it took 3 tries to completely empty out. I've been taking Miralax and works great. BMs are very soft like frozen yogurt but I can't seem to complete the BM in one attempt and this has been the case the last couple of days and even this morning. I'm slowly adding more fiber each day, wheat toast, veggies but afraid to bulk too much since fiber makes me bulkly in the past. My bottom feels a bit tight with the urge to go maybe from the slight swelling but not much pain down there. Is this normal?
I'm afraid to push so it takes me 2-3 attempts to empty my BMs completely throughout the day. I'm afraid these multiple attempts will irritate the area. I'm taking sitz baths each time and washing the area with light water. Anyone with a similar experience?

hi fishboi and congrats on mustering up the courage for surgery! i'm 12 days post op and have the exact same issue with my bm's. since my surgery today has been the only day that i went once and i do believe there's more that would come out if i sat and pushed, so since this morning i do have the feeling that i'm somewhat backed up but unless i think it's just gonna flow i'm not risking any strain at this point, so i have added more fiber water today in the hopes that when i do go, either tonight or in the morning (which is when i go everyday), i will be more likely to flush out everything. it is quite annoying to have to go more than once, since it's bowl to sitz, then i kind of walk around trying to stimulate the remainder, and then bowl to sitz again. this could take me anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half each day...i'm not sure why it happens this way as i'm sure i'm getting enough fiber and my bm's are smooth to come out as well...i do think that eliminating any strain is key at this point so waiting to eliminate everything is the best route to go for us. i'm going for my post-op crs visit on monday and will address this with my doc, if she can offer any suggestions, i'll let you know. best wishes with your recovery! angel

yes what you are experiencing is very normal. I went through the same thing. I would sometimes go 3-4 times a day, throughout the day in the first days of recovery. I was eating well and taking Miralax 2x a day. I did cut the Miralax back to 1 cap daily. It seemed to help. I still sometimes go a couple times a day usually in the morning like 1/2 apart. I am very regular 7am and I am there. Just don't push, take deep breaths and let it flow smoothly. It works itself out in time.

Thats Sue for the words of encouragement. BMs are getting better the last couple of days. The Advil is kicking in on the swelling. My only question is how long should I continue with Miralax. CRS said since it's been 10 straight days I've been taking it, I can try every other day and slowly taper off of it. I do feel slight bloating but not sure if it's from the Miralax. I only take 1/2 dose daily. In the past prior to LIS, a full cup makes me too soft and too frequent.

Hey Sue, i know exactly what ur talking abt! these days, i tend to have 2 BM's all in the morning abt 1/2 apart. I get the feeling that i may have some scar tissue around the LIS incision site cuz its a little hard. Just at the moment the stool comes out i feel the stool rubbing past that area which is hard and cringe slightly. This stays for all of 5 seconds and the later stools come out without any discomfort. No discomfort either after Bm's.
Fishboi, its great that ur BM's are getting better! Way to go!!!I'm not sure abt this but i think many boardies have stuck with Miralax for 2-3 months! I just used to take ispagula husk for the first 10 days or so and then stopped using it cuz the Bm's seemed fine without it!

I find that it does take some time as my body doesn't appear to empty as readily as it used to. Don't know if that's age, trauma, surgery, etc. At any rate, I find that if I lie on my right side in the tub for a soak after I've emptied as much as I can (without straining and pushing, just letting my body do it's thing) and massage my abdomen comfortably while soaking, whatever else is there for emptying moves on down and can come out. I've not had to push and not had more than the occasional irritation from going an extra couple times in the day if I've indulged in too many carbs. Just be patient, your body is changing and adjusting.