Okie doke thanks guys, I'll try to be patient. I've kind of gotten used to the swollen anus and light soiling. I'm working from home for 2 weeks and just hope it gets more manageable before then. If I've got to go back to the office with this soiling stuff going on, that's definitely going to be a bit interesting ... probably more so for my coworkers than for me :)
Kim, I think when I first joined the board, we talked a bit about beers and burgers. Thoughts of that will be my guiding light these next few weeks!

Hi, don't get discouraged by the light soiling, it's normal for some. The muscle was cut so the sphincter is relaxed and any stool left in the area after a bm will just slip out for a while. After a while your muscle will gain back a little of it's strength although it will still be more relaxed than before and you should be fine. A nurse gave me a good tip after my LIS. She said to take a tucks pad, rinse it under warm water and ring it out the best you can than place it on the surgical site and close your cheeks it will stay in place and catch any discharge. When it gets soiled throw away and use a clean one. This worked great for me and no ruining clothing. Good luck with your recovery. Suzy

Oh! Suzy! Great post! :)

Thanks Suzy, I do something similar with some cotton pads (the kind used for applying cosmetics). I fold them in half and stick them between my butt cheeks, then check them every so often and replace them when they have gunk show up on them. It seems that they get some brownish gunk every time I pass gas, which is a lot due to my fiber intake haha.
It is good to know that the light soiling is normal for some people. It's not like I'm having full pieces of stool slip out so I guess I can't really call it incontinence. Plus I think I only had about 5 mm of muscle cut if I recall correctly, which I understand is a relatively conservative cut.

Ugh! Just got some sudden bright red blood from the anus after not having had any bleeding at all for the past 2 days. Not a huge amount but didn't expect to see it. Hopefully that's normal... Butt actually felt pretty good this morning but now it feels all tender and irritated again. Guess that's what I get for complaining about the brown gunk so much, "hey pal here's some blood for ya now shaddup about the brown stuff alright."

As long as it is a small amount, then it is not to be unexpected.
My pain pattern, as I healed from day 4 to about the time I returned to work in a week and a half, was quite sore after a BM, with the dull achy pain diminishing as the day went on, with the occasional sharp pang out of no where and a weird spasmy tic that would (once or twice) hit my anus out of the blue, lasting for about 10 minutes.... all of this getting slightly better each day...