Bowel wake up after partial left nephrectomy done open method

Reiny69

Hello my name is Randy I'm currently in recovery mode at UW Hospital in Madison, WI after having a 2.8cm cancerous tumor removed from my left kidney on 11/24/2015. I was wondering how long it takes for the bowels to wake up. When I started flushing the bowels early Monday afternoon I never got to clear fluid. I went just before surgery again. Any ideas on how to wake up my bowels??been trying gum and hard candy. I'm on a massive amount of pain meds that cause constipation, is this affecting the wake-up....I'm starving after 4 days no food or drink.

Positive_Mental_Attitude

I had my surgery on a

I had my surgery on a Thursday, and if I recall correctly, it was Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday before there as any movement.  Talk to your doctor.  Don't obsess over it.

medic1971

Gas

Are you passing gas?  Why are you not eating, are you NPO per the doctor?

icemantoo

medic1971 said:

Gas

Are you passing gas?  Why are you not eating, are you NPO per the doctor?

The big day

It can take over a week for that big day to arrive. Mine took 8 days. Make sure you take a stool softener as no one in their right mind wants to be constipated a week after a neph. Things will get better. The first week is sort of like Hell week.

 

Icemantoo

Ree_Maryland

Bowel

Hi, I had my kidney removed on a Monday ,did not have a bm till Thursday, try to walk and drink fluids . sorry to hear you had RCC , GLAD you are doing better , 

APny

Ree_Maryland said:

Bowel

Hi, I had my kidney removed on a Monday ,did not have a bm till Thursday, try to walk and drink fluids . sorry to hear you had RCC , GLAD you are doing better , 

Yes, perfectly normal. For

Yes, perfectly normal. For one thing, you're not really eating so there's not much to pass; for another, your bowels were anesthetized along with the rest of you. It was a good 5 days or so for me to finally have a visit from the poop fairy. Walk a alot and drink a lot of fluids. Take a mild laxative and start eating slowly. I had no appetite either but forced myself to have some toast and soft boiled eggs, soup with noodles, light things.

rae_rae

APny said:

Yes, perfectly normal. For

Yes, perfectly normal. For one thing, you're not really eating so there's not much to pass; for another, your bowels were anesthetized along with the rest of you. It was a good 5 days or so for me to finally have a visit from the poop fairy. Walk a alot and drink a lot of fluids. Take a mild laxative and start eating slowly. I had no appetite either but forced myself to have some toast and soft boiled eggs, soup with noodles, light things.

Stool Softener

I second the stool softener. I Didn't use one and was constipated. It was miserable. I think it was a week or more for me. I wasn't allowed to eat until day five of my six day stay in the hospital, and then I was so hungry I ordered a turkey/mashed potato dinner. No, I couldn't eat it all and thank goodness because then I had terrible gas pains. No one warned me to a. eat small meals the first few weeks and b. use stool softeners from the beginning. It will get better, one day at a time. 

sblairc

Did you eat today?

Hope you are feeling better and getting some liquids. 

It took several days for my husband's bowels to wake up. That prolonged his hospital stay. I think part of it was because he was "cleaned out" immediatly prior to the surgery. He literally had nothing to "move" around in there!! So it took forever for him to have a bowel movement since he didn't have anything in there to move around. 

Make sure you take the stool softener suggested AND read the lable of any Over The Counter purchases of stool softner for the correct dosage. I made that mistake after my daugher was born. She's 10 now and I still regret it, LOL!!!

Ask the hospital what to take after you get discharged. It might be a combination of stool softener and laxative (different things)

todd121

Why are you not eating and drinking?

If you don't eat and drink, I don't think it will ever move. You have to eat! You were emptied out before surgery. Were you told not to eat? If you wait for a bowel movement before you start eating, you may never have one.

I was eating the next day and I had a radical nephrectomy. I ate small, bland meals, but I ate. You should be drinking lots and lots of water. You do not want to get dehydrated. It's very bad for the kidneys.

It took a week for me. I got off the heavy pain meds in 3 or 4 days. I was told to take Senna plus, a natural laxative/stool softener over-the-counter. I followed the label directions and drank plenty of water. My surgery was Monday. I went home Wednesday. No BM until the Saturday after. Since I was eating the whole time, I started getting worried. The doc office told me that as long as I wasn't getting nauseaus or vomiting, to keep on keeping on. Eat. Drink lots of water. Take the stool softener with the mild laxative Senna.

Of course getting off the heavy pain meds will help too. I was off those by 2-3 days after my surgery and just used tylenol. If you can tolerate it, I would try and get off the pain meds. They are very constipating.

Walk. Eat small meals (stay away from constipating foods particularly cheese). Drinks lots and lots of water. Take the Senna plus as directed until you're more normal then get off that too. I wouldn't take any harsh laxatives unless the doc orders it.

Wishing you the best.

Todd