What helps with Constipation after prostate cancer surgery?

Posted by robo45vt @robo45vt, Sep 15 6:48am

Day 4. I m used to going poop every day. First thing in the morning. Sore from surgery, can’t push. What do you do to go poop? Should I give myself an enema? What can I take? Taking stool softeners but no poop yet. Take a probiotic also.

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Are you taking any opioids? They quite often cause constipation.
You could also try some Metamucil every morning, prunes/prune juice. I have not had my surgery yet (tomorrow) but have experienced this from previous surgeries and to be honest the prune juice always seemed to do the trick.
You should ask you doc about an enema.

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Thank you. I have prunes here from Costco. I ll try those

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The only thing I can think of to add to the previous comments is taking care to drink plenty of water. My health care providers had urged me to be sure to drink plenty of water. With inactivity sometimes it's easy for me to unconsciously fail to drink enough water since I'm not working up a thirst.

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I take 3 senna and 2 colace twice a day and sometimes miralax. When you start on ADT drugs and the second-level drugs, these problems continue.

Of course with any opioids you may need all 3 of the things I mentioned daily to be regular.

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One other thing I did (besides drinking more water) was I ate a lot more fruits and vegetables every day during my recovery. I don't know but I think the fiber really helped and I didn't have any health issues to worry about when making that change. I also took a Colace (actually the Costco Kirkland knock off) non-stimulative stool softener once and often twice a day. BTW, I'm not a medical professional but rather I'm just sharing my experience as a patient with you. Best wishes on your recovery.

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Thanks appreciate it. Was sore from robotic surgery. Try Metamucil and prunes

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@jeffmarc

I take 3 senna and 2 colace twice a day and sometimes miralax. When you start on ADT drugs and the second-level drugs, these problems continue.

Of course with any opioids you may need all 3 of the things I mentioned daily to be regular.

Jump to this post

Turned down the OxyContin. Just taking Tylenol.

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@robo45vt

Turned down the OxyContin. Just taking Tylenol.

Jump to this post

I’ve been down this road and I’m STILL on it! But I won’t digress…
Most posters have given you excellent advice- Miralax is pretty good. But you CAN’T PUSH after surgery! I did and wound up bleeding from every surgical incision (robot) plus the drain and the penis; wound up with an incisional hernia and corrective bladder surgery from it.
An enema is an excellent remedy to get you out of the impaction phase you are heading into if you don’t poop soon. After you administer it, try to hold it in as long as you can otherwise you’ll just excrete water.
Also, remember that you’ve been placed on a soft diet post op and that contributes to
Decreased stool production.
I recently purchased a ‘squatty potty’ on Amazon snd it is extremely helpful in aiding your leg/abdominal position and giving you a built in push posture that reduces straining on your part. Best!

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Thanks pooped a few time already. Just used to popping every day easy

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Glad to hear that you were able to do it. I had my surgery on 09/12/24. Per my doctor's instructions, I started taking a daily Colace the day after surgery and then I was to use a suppository if there wasn't a bowel movement after four days. Fortunately, I was able to have a movement on 09/15/24. Right now, my biggest issue is the bloating in my abdomen and associated discomfort. My catheter is to be removed on 09/20/24.

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