Post op digestion issues

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cwinsteadslo
cwinsteadslo Member Posts: 1
in Kidney Cancer #1

Had open partial nephrectomy on April 7.  Man did I have hallucinations fr morphine. I swear I lived thru many different lives while in Hosp.  Besides the usual, most urgent is gas, constipation nausea. Any suggestions?  This afternoon I almost had family call 911.  The cramps finally stopped but now afraid to eat.  I am finally having BMS but feel sick when it happens. Thanks to all support on this site. I had stage 1 clear cell

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  • icemantoo
    icemantoo Member Posts: 3,361 Member
    #2
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    Constipation

    cwins,

     

    Constitation is the worst after a neph. It is better to have things loose for a few days. Let your body tell you what you can tolerate as you get back to normal foods. Each day will get a little better with maybe a bad day in between.

     

    Icemantoo

  • DAC677
    DAC677 Member Posts: 59
    #3
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    Opioids

    i think this impact from the pain meds and opioids was the thing I was most unprepared for.

    In retrospect it got me to wean myself off of the opoids sooner and that was good. My plan was to lay around a few weeks on drugs and heal! but then came gas and gramps and constepation. Its not the type of things that easy to ask for help with but at some points that pain was bad enough i was ready to go back in the hosptial. I know I took and tried several things and had the added bonus of a mother who is a nurse. Some of the things i remember helping the most of phazyme foir gas, miralax as a wonder drug and believe it or not my mother told me coffee is a natural laxative and im not normally a cofee drinker. I think getting off opioids as soon as the pain will let you and some good natural and rug treatments for gas and constepation will work wonders

  • Steve.Adam
    Steve.Adam Member Posts: 463 Member
    edited April 2017 #4
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    Constipation etc...

    Hi cw,

    My experience was similar to yours. Microlax enemas got things moving about a week after surgery. things improved slowly after that and generally worked ok, though I took Movicol nightly for another week or 10 days. It was more or less ok after that but took several weeks to seem normal again.

    I'd say not eating is ok if you're not hungry. (Listen to your body.)  Surgery seems to paralyse the intestines and morphine constipates us too.  Things will improve.  That's what the hospital doctors kept telling me.  'Are you passing wind? Yes? Don't worry.'

    Meanwhile I felt absolutely lousy.

    Steve.

  • JerzyGrrl
    JerzyGrrl Member Posts: 760 Member
    #5
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    Post-surgery...

    Sounds as though you're pretty much on track, although that's probably not exactly what you wanted to hear. Right after surgery, I unfortunately had the opposite issues. Not having narcotic pain meds didn't get me as bound up.  Still, a week or two afterwards, if there'd been such as thing as Prune Noodle Soup, I probably would've at least considered it. However, when the rumble-tummy finally went away, I was pretty much of the same opinion as you that maybe eating wasn't such a good idea (which of course is not the case -- some nourishment along the way is a good thing).  Feeling kinda sick when finally trying to get regular was something I went through, too. All the organs (& their corresponding tissues and cells) in your midsection are screaming, "DO YOU REALIZE WHAT WE'VE BEEN THROUGH?!" Healing is hard work and my body seemed quick to remind me of that.  

    Of course if you have questions about something you feel is NOT in any way, shape, or form, normal, your surgeon's office probably has somebody on-call.  You wouldn't be the first (nor certainly the last) post-neph patient who picked up the phone and connected with their medical group outside of hours.  I think when I called I was really hoping whoever answered the phone would say, "You poor thing -- We're gonna send somebody right over with a tummy-soothing casserole and the magic wand." No such luck!

  • donna_lee
    donna_lee Member Posts: 1,042 Member
    edited April 2017 #6
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    It all starts at the beginning...

    the Anesthetic puts all of you to sleep, including the entire intestinal tract.  Although the clear broth, juice and liquids are put in front of you, that's why the nurses keep asking if you've passed gas, or had a bowel movement.  (My silent reply was always, "H... No.  I had to starve before I came in here and you've feed me nothing solid for several days.  What's there to move?"

    Light meals, small meals, of easily digestible foods.  Bananas, orange segments. fruit yogurt, homemade noodle soup, baked white fish and plenty of liquids, all spread out thru the day.  Avoid nuts and seeds, fried foods, meats (that takes the liver and gall bladder to produce and supply bile to digest the proteins) and processed and salty foods. Carbonated beverages aren't good any way, but the theory is "bubbles in-bubbles out," as they produce gas in the colon.

    It may take a few weeks before the eating and digestion get more normal.  Meanwhile, take OTC products to deal with whatever is ailing you, but try to get normal as soon as possible.

    The hallucinations aren't fun, which I found out during a surgery in 1987.  The morphine made me think I had snakes crawling on my body and arms...so I ripped out all my IV's in the middle of the night.  Now that drug is on my list of please don't use.

    Hugs and Good Luck.

    donna_lee

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