A Word About Poop, Plus Better Information From Canada

I've left out part of my recovery and adjustment story: information about bowel movements. That's what happens when you know friends and family are reading! It's a bit embarrassing to share my poop stories with them!

But as I always say, this blog is for myself -- and it's also for anyone else who is considering or has had bariatric surgery, who might stumble on it. I've already heard from some readers who are in that category.

So with that in mind, here is a word about poop! Obviously if you are free to skip this part.

The part about poop... in case you want to skip it

When I caught up with WRD after the surgery, she asked, How are your bowel movements? And I answered, "I haven't had any, because I've been on a liquid diet for so long," as if this was the most natural thing in the world. I can't remember what she said... we just moved on.

Two days later, I had very intense gas pains and cramping, the worst I've ever experienced. Only then did it occur to me that I hadn't had a bowel movement in three weeks! Probably not good, liquid diet or no. (A friend who is a medical professional, and who has had multiple surgeries, told me that anesthesia can have that effect as well.)

This pain went on for hours. I was nauseated, sweating, just absolutely in agony. I had Gas-X, which the hospital had told me keep on hand, both before and after surgery, but it didn't do very much.

I sent my partner to the drugstore for Senokot, as I know that's supposed to be a natural product and more gentle than something like Ex-Lax. 

I took some Senokot, then was exhausted from the pain and went to sleep... and woke up in the middle of the night, racing for the bathroom. It was disgusting, but I did feel much better afterwards.

I told WRD about this, and she asked if I was taking my Colace. Say what now? 

She said that on the checklist for bariatric surgery (meaning the information from the Canadian province where I live), it says I should be taking Colace, a stool softener, every day. We bought some at our local drugstore and I've been taking it since. It's also a gentle product, and can take several days to work.

Since then, I've had two bowel movements, but I would say I am still constipated. This is definitely on the list of potential side effects from the surgery, so I will continue to monitor it. Another bit of data to add to my food diary! 

The part about the information

This experience brought up something else, too: I was missing information. 

Before my surgery, WRD asked if I had the information booklet from our public health care. I thought I did... but what I actually had was a booklet for the orientation process. It was more general "what you can expect" information. 

The Colace incident made me realize I did, in fact, have the correct booklet. WRD sent me the full provincial booklet -- and it was so much better than what I had from the hospital! This does not surprise me. It makes sense that a public health program is going to be much more detailed and have better information than a private clinic. 

On the other hand, the dietitian that works for Oasis of Hope Bariatrics, where I had the surgery done, seems not to understand the concept of advance planning. Pre-surgery, I had to practically beg her for the diet plan. If it had turned out I needed to order Optifast, as I thought I did, I could not have bought it in time. 

Similarly, she would not give me the Phase 3 diet until the day I was ready to start that phase! She said she does this so patients won't start early. But what about planning and shopping in advance?! The day I was supposed to start taking post-surgical vitamins, she sent me a link to where I could purchase them! 

The information from our province had a checklist of everything you should buy in advance, including the vitamins, so everything is on hand when you get out of the hospital.

WRD gave me the full run-down on vitamins, and I purchased some locally while I wait for a shipment from my preferred online vitamin store. This meant I started the vitamins five days late. I'm sure I won't become malnourished in five days, but it was disappointing.

The provincial booklet is also better all around -- more detailed, written more clearly, and better designed (more accessible). Again, this does not surprise me, but I'm disappointed I didn't have this all along.

If you're in the US and you end up having weight-loss surgery done privately, you'll want to advocate for yourself with the clinic's dietitian, or if you're able, get in touch with a dietitian on your own.