I have had Key hole laparoscopic bowel surgery 3 weeks ago

What an ordeal - and I am so sorry I am illiterate about your condition. But I have faced the dilemma of whether or not to go to ER. Here’s my instinct - if you are afraid CALL YOUR DOCTOR ASAP. That is the only source to help you decide how worried to be. And it’s the only person who can define next steps if any are deemed necessary. They WANT you to do that.

Given this holiday weekend I’m not sure if you will quickly hear from members who have experience in this procedure. .. but do keep us posted.

Hello @andoman and welcome to Mayo Connect. I can understand your concern over this new symptom. The symptoms that you are experiencing sound very uncomfortable and to put your mind at ease, I recommend that you contact your doctor's office and report how you are feeling. If for any reason you cannot get in touch with your doctor, then a visit to Urgent Care or to the ER might be good.

If you are interested in connecting with others who have had surgery for diverticulitis, here is a link to a discussion that you might find helpful. https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/sigmoid-colon-resection-10282019/

Will you post again and let me know what progress you are making in reaching out to a medical professional?

Are you on a specific diet? I was on soft diet for the first 4-6 weeks. Then 6 small meals a day. After 3 years post I still do best with small meals. It's also possible your muscle isn't back to normal yet. Even though your incisions were small you still had major internal surgery so be kind to yourself and ask for further testing. Hoping things settle soon for you.

Thank you for your reply.
I did go to my doctor and they did blood tests and a stool test. Blood test was a bit lower in Total Bilirubin ALK . Phos but the doc says not to be concerned about yet. Stool came back positive for Aeromonas Species DNS but doc thinks this will clear by drinking water. I also spoke with my surgeon and he thinks my bowel has not adjusted and settled down yet, he also advised me to take metamucil which may slow down my bowel.
So as an update, I’m I’ve still got this bowel issue but it has slowed me going so much, now have to go every 3-4 hours which is still a lot and my stool is like jelly which I’ve never been before. I also lack energy obviously.
I hope this settles down but trying to stay positive is hard. I feel quite sad and so restricted.

Thank you for your reply. I did see my GP and also had a call from my surgeon from the hospital. He thinks my body hasn’t adjusted to the new plumbing so to speak and try taking Metamucil to slow things down and firm things up - it’s slowed me going to the bathroom a bit but I’m still needing to go every 3-4 hours. It’s so annoying as I feel I can’t go anywhere or do anything.
My surgeon wants me to update him in a week. One thing that I’ve never seen ever, I have jelly like stool, never heard of that before.
Reading other stories from people on here makes me feel at least I’m not a lone with this problem. I may try taking probiotics but have no idea of good ones to take, any ideas ?

They didn’t give me any specific diet, just said soft foods. I’m in hope it will settle as I’m so tired of going brother loo so much, my life is all about the rest rooms . . Metamucil has slowed my urgency from every 1-2 hours to 3-4 hours so I’m still living near my toilet so to speak.

Bless your heart. People who have never had a colon/bowel disorder that means you not only can’t leave your home, you sometimes can’t go further than the threshold to the Loo, will never understand the mental pain that comes with it. I am currently in control of my microscopic Colitis, but 7 months of sheer hell preceded that state.

I would ask my doc about adding anything this week - even probiotics.

Hang in .. and keep us posted.

I sincerely sympathize with your issues. It sounds like the metamucil is slowing things down. The jelly like consistency is due to taking it. Any yogurt on the market is a good source for probiotics. Read the labels for the best one!

Good to know - so all yogurts contain live cultures now?

Hello @andoman,

I noticed in your first post that your surgery was just 3 weeks ago. Your body does need time to adjust and recover to this "new normal."

Frequent, light meals will undoubtedly help. Probiotics are also good. I used Kefir for a morning smoothie. It is high in probiotics (but yogurt is also good). Kefir tastes quite sour, so you need to put it in a blender with some fruits. I usually use half of a banana, some frozen fruit to make it frothy and then blend it. Sometimes I add some peanut butter powder to give me some additional protein.

If you want to take an additional probiotic, lots of GI doctors recommend Align, but I've tried other good brands that seem to help as well. You can always talk to your doctor of pharmacist regarding a good brand of probiotics.

Keep positive, this does tend to get better, but it requires developing new eating habits and of course, patience with the process.