TMI question.

I am a private person and never in a million years did I think I would post this question. LOL

So I am 12 days post -op and the hubs asked me raising his eyebrows "is all this gas from your surgery or will you have this much gas forever?? Umm b/c it seems like you have a ton of gas now??"

So will the gas thing calm down? My 4 y/o son thinks it's hysterical that moms "tooting" up a storm.

I have a call into my nurse. But I am curious, how long should I be concerned with no bm. I know everyones different, but is there a new normal after surgery. I am taking 6tsp of benifiber a day and don't know if I should be doing something more. I am ok for now, but am terrified of getting backed up.

LOL. Women always hate to talk about gas. My wife wouldn't even poot around me for the first 2 years of marriage. When we were dating she sent me out of the apartment while she pooped.

I can only give you my experience, which will probably differ from yours.

I had no BM for the first 5 days after surgery. By week 3 I was back to normal. Once a day. Ocassionally once every two days.

The surgery gas was gone after about the 5th day as well.

I'm starting my 8th week now. I don't have much gas. But I eat a lot of meat. Grilled Chicken or ground beef most of the time. I've found that while I don't have a lot of gas now, when I do have it, it is much more toxic. I ran the wife out of the bedroom one night. 

I do belch a lot more now. But I force myself to do that a lot to make sure I'm not swallowing a lot of air with drinks and such. My 4-year old son and 6-year old daughter get a kick out of daddy belching so much.

Enjoy the ride and know that at least you won't have to work so hard to entertain your son.

Hi there,

I wouldn't worry too much about gas or the BM. Your body is still healing and trying to figure itself out...

Once the BM's are going smoothly again, the gas should 'quiet' down. At 12 days post op, you should still be on a liquid or soft diet. With so little food going down, there isn't much to go out. It will take a couple of months to settle it all down into a routine.

I used to do the BM every morning, but now, almost a year out, It's only once or twice a week.... but it's comfortable and normal now. There isn't as much food, so there isn't as much waste either.

But be a little forewarned, Your toots will get a whole lot more smelly than before. Before my toots were quiet and unsmelly (mostly) but now.... they're still kinda quiet but I can clear a room!!!! lol.. puts my teenage son to shame... he was always the Fart King... but now Mom is the Queen of All.... *evil little grin*

I hope this helps...

Melody

Start taking Magnesium Citrate NOW so you don't get backed up. Take it daily  to be regular.    Are you drinking with a straw? You get more gas when you take in more air when you drink ,what goes in comes out the same way.  Also some forms of protein and veggies will now make you more gassy Someone on here will know the supplement you can take to help the smell and gas. I know Beano  helps. And if you eat something to rich  or you feel stuck have Papaya  Enzymes in yourpurse and at home and by your bed. Take four and i is a nayural meat tenderizer so helps digestion. No question on here is out of line we all live with these questions and  what you think someone also has you have just been brave enough to ask.

On July 6, 2011 at 9:26 AM Pacific Time, missnanajean wrote: Start taking Magnesium Citrate NOW so you don't get backed up. Take it daily  to be regular.    Are you drinking with a straw? You get more gas when you take in more air when you drink ,what goes in comes out the same way.  Also some forms of protein and veggies will now make you more gassy Someone on here will know the supplement you can take to help the smell and gas. I know Beano  helps. And if you eat something to rich  or you feel stuck have Papaya  Enzymes in yourpurse and at home and by your bed. Take four and i is a nayural meat tenderizer so helps digestion. No question on here is out of line we all live with these questions and  what you think someone also has you have just been brave enough to ask. Actually no, I am not drinking thru a straw. I am still on a liquid diet. Trying to move to greek yogurt and such since last week but my pouch wasn't ready for it.
Where can you get the papaya? How much magnesium should I be taking?

You can get the papaya at walmart, GNC, pretty much anywhere with a good selection of vitamins. I have not gotten them yet, but I have a few friends who swear by it. You will have some time before you have a regular BM post op. It takes time for your body to get back to business so to speak. Make sure you don't strain (sorry for the TMI) as that is not good to do while you are recovering. If you start worrying about it I would highly recommend you call your surgeons office and listen to what they suggest you do. Every surgeon has a different method/plan so I would only take that advice from your surgeon's office. Best of Luck to you!

Kristie

Then gas is probably your metabolism is still changing remember this was a major surgery with rearranging you insides and gas is fermented food and they say we have tons of extra lining the intestines so your body is getting rid of the toxic gases. I get my papaya from Walmart and Walgreen. Magnesium Citrate I take  400mg  I use Bluebonnett brand. Remember we can only absorb Citrate as in Magnesium and Calcium  and dry VitD3. Any oils we cannot absorb because of the part of the intestines that was rerouted. TMI, you will see fat floating in the toliet. Greek yogurt is my favorite, I use Fage Total 0% it has less sugar and 20grms of protein per serv.. BE aware that some have more sugar than carbs you want the most bang for your buck! I use it anywhere I would use sour cream, baked potatoes, chicken,tuna  and potato salads,dips chicke  enchiladas(recipe on Campbells cheese soup can). I also make a mean cheesecake using greek yogurt and SFJello instant cheesecake flavor pudding dry and milk and NO Sugar Added Cherry pie filling ontop I get it  from Kroeger or Walmart. My family loved it and the potato salad for Memorial Day, they left no leftovers for me! 

Can you give me the exact recipe for the cheesecake? My b-day is on Sat the 9th and I would love to try this since I can't have the traditional b-day cake. Thanks!

BM - IMO - you need to have one every day or at least every 2 days so early out. Once you are farther from surgery - not having BM every day - may make the gas to be more "violent". It is like that for me. 
Logically: things stays inside you - in a  nice warm environment - and the bacteria will have time to process the "left overs" much longer - making more of gas - methane gas - that really smells.  
Leave food in a warm place for a day - it start smell, but leave it there for 2-3 -4 days - and you will not be able to get in that room due the the rotten smell.  Same things happens inside of us. Have that picture in mind when you think of daily BM. Or when someone tried to tell you that having BM every 3-4 days is OK. yea... right... 

There is ways you can help your body - get enough water, fiber and good probiotics. People use stool softeners (like miralax). or Mag oxide. 
I take app 800-1600 per day of mag oxide as supplement (capsules). It is cheap, my body can use magnesium - need magnesium, and the rest helps my BM to be easy and daily. 

The other issue is with gas: some food is more difficult to digest, they would cause more gas in some people.
The only way to avoid the gas - it is to limit that food. i.e.
- Milk - some people become lactose intolerant, and even small amount of the milk sugar - lactose may cause gas and bloating
- Sugar alcohols - SA - some have no issues - others can't stand them ( even small amount in SF gum affects me)
- beans - are notorious for causing gas - but since they are great as protein and fiber source - many people choose to eat them and toot. (I can't - the gas is causing me a lot of pain - maybe due to adhesions?)
- raw or cooked veggies - same as with beans.  Some people can handle that better than others. 
- simple carbs - they may cause a lot of gas due to malabsorbtion - maldigestion
- fats - same thing - once I was done losing - I increased the amount of fat in my diet - and the gas was "to kill small animals" like.  Eventually my body adjusted. 

Last but not least - we malabsorb a lot first few months - maybe couple of years - so there is more "let over" for the bacteria to make the gas.   Eventually, as you figure out what your body reacts to, you could modify the diet to make sure that you have as much - little gas as you can handle. 

First few months post op I was glad I was a single gal.  

I don't have any more gas now than I did pre-op. I've never had the room clearing, toxic gas either.... until.... I ate cabbage!! I shared about a half a cup of cooked cabbage with my dog and it was a close call as to who was stinkier.

I take magnesium (thank you Hala!!) and I have a fairly normal BM everyday. Things got a little too loose so I backed down to one gel cap a day and all is well.

You'll find a regime that works for you!