Blood in stool

[ctyguy]

Im two weeks and a few days post op from my AVR. I've been on Percocet and have been taking stool softeners and seems I have a movement about every other day, although some days in a row as well. I've had small amounts of blood which I expected but today was a bit more than small. I've already called my doc and the nurse said to simply watch over the next few days. I know the Percocets are part of the problem and even though I have some discomfort still Im going to stick to Tylenol only and try to tough it out. Im also going to take the stool softener at least for another few days as well. I know water is the best softener but can anyone tell me what types of foods I should avoid ? Cheese ? anything else ? Any insight would be appreciated, this kinda freaked me out a bit.

 

[Susan BAV]

The first thing I did was double check if you were on Coumadin. You may want to also post this in the anti-coagulation forum, to get further and specifically-experienced feedback. Just the title of your thread scared me. I hope someone will have a good suggestion for you. Please keep us posted. Hope all goes well. Take care.

 

[Cooker]

Very common?.These pain meds can be very constipating and it will take a while for your system to get back on track?..Are you on coumadine?....If so, this may increase the bleeding a bit?..I had this same concern post op and was told if I was not turning the toilet bowl water red and if the majority of blood was on the toilet paper then not to worry?.I?m sure you are fine but it is scary when it happens the first time.

 

[LUVMyBirman]

Higer fiber diet may work.

 

[ctyguy]

Cooker...thanks for the info. Best I could tell most of the blood was on the paper and it was indeed bright red. Given that I didn't just have a bowel movement, also had to pee, the water color was hard to say. Kinda orange actually so I'm guessing there was a mix of urine and blood. I will have to be more systematic going forward for the next few days, pee and flush and then see what transpires. But the bottom line is im going to suck it up and stay off the Percocets, take the softeners for at least a few more days, and see if this resolves itself, I expect that it will.

 

[Cooker]

Lots of fiber ....Prune juice is my choice but don't tell the Ref ....Put it in a coffee mug and heat it up in the microwave.....a couple of those should do the trick....make sure there is no one between you and the pot

 

[ctyguy]

yuck !

yuck !

You know I've never even tried Prune Juice, but I just remember the smell as being awful. The wife is off to the gym in a few I will ask her to pickup some on the way home. They told me that in the hospital but I never got past the smell. Can't hurt to try it. I'll just hold my nose and down it !

 

[Karlynn]

If your stools are hard and/or you're having to strain, you may have exacerbated an existing hemorrhoid or created new ones. If your stools are not dark and tarry-looking the bleeding is most likely associated closer to the rectum and my guess it is an overworked rectum or hemorrhoids. But absolutely keep in touch with the doctor.

 

[ctyguy]

Im keeping the straining to a minimum, thats why Im going to go with lots of water, prune juice and the stool softener as well as ditching the Percocets. Hopefully that and a low fat diet, which Im already on should keep the movements to a minimum and hopefully flowing without issue when the do !

 

[Blanche]

Ctyguy:
I would like to echo the recommendations of Oaktree and Cooker. After my husband's surgery in 1990, he has problems similar to the ones you describe.
I loaded him down with high fiber foods and prunes and prune juice. It was too much too soon. He had some very nasty stomach and bowel distress. It really proved the old maxim, "Sometimes, too much is worse than not enough."

He took it easy and slowley and all come out alright (pun intended.) Metamucil is some really good stuff. Years after his surgery, he had a stroke. When he was released from hospital, we began him on Metamucil and small glasses of prune juice. We also increased his fiber slowley. It worked quite well and produced good results without the stress.

You may want to go very easy on some foods that can addd to constipation, including banannas and carrots....just for a little while... just in
small amounts for now. But yogurt and berries might help.

Kindest regards,
Blanche

 

[Jkm7]

In Mass General, the nurses kept asking me if I had moved my bowels. Apparently, no one goes home until that happens. They gave me a few glasses of prune juice but had me slowly sip it...not down them all at once. Later during the night, they brought me a second. Next day I needed even more help but finally was able to go so could leave the hospital for home. They seem to like the prune juice route as it is more gentle than other remedies.

(I'm one of the weird ones who actually likes prunes and the juice. It was something I enjoyed. )

 

[Cooker]

Try not and worry...good advice from all...................It will all be behind you soon.

 

[CThrock]

I stayed away from diary products while on pain killers. I ate alot of fresh fruit and drank alot of water... and they say to walk as much as you can. I guess it helps the pressure and movement of the ingestive system. I was off the pain meds a couple of days out of the hospital, just took ESTyn.
Hope you feel better soon!!!!

 

[Bina]

Karlynn made a very good point:
If you see blood in your stool that is bright red and fresh looking, it is probably from an anal fissure or minor hemorroid. No worry.
If your stool is very dark and blackish the blood is from a higher up intestinal or stomach problem, which needs to be checked asap.

Post op, even in hospital, hubby brought me bran muffins.
I keep regular by drinking water (duh), eating veggies, and eating Pop Corn.
Dairy products and my calcium supplements give me a "hard" time and as such are limited.

You should be having a movement each day and not straining.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Higer fiber diet may work.

Here's another VR.com Quote (from Ross I think):

"Two Prunes a Day Keeps the 'rhoids away"


You might also want to try snacking on a small bowl of Shreaded Wheat, Wheat Chex, Oatmeal, Bran Flakes, or any other High Fiber Cereal or food source (apples, ...)
(works for me)

'AL Capshaw'

 

[Magic8Ball]

a stool softener until they are far enough out from the operation that a valsalva maneuver won't strain the stitches in the aorta.

Just to add to this one, i kinda worked this one out for myself and stayed on a stool softner for nearly 12 months....may be a bit overkill but better in my mind than the alternative possibility.

I used a product called lactulose which is a clear liquid that tastes ok.

 

[nickm3]

I had problems similar to yours, Miralax works wonders, it is a very mild laxative that you can take for as long as you need to. Keep going with the stool softeners too.

Nick

 

[queenie]

ctyguy---If you can live with Tylenol my hat's off to ya. You can call the Dr. and get a step down drug like Darvocet that is a little easier on you all the way around. At only two weeks, I can't imagine being more than a step away from the medacine bottle. Maybe you are a tough city guy and I am a delicate country flower. Take Care,

 

[ctyguy]

update since my switch to Tylenol only

update since my switch to Tylenol only

hey all... well its been about 36 hours since I got off the Percocet and went to Tylenol only. I read on a Coumadin site that the active ingredient in Tylenol (Acetaminophen) can still mess with Coumadin if you take over 2275mg in a 24 hour period. So that means 7 regular strength tabs or 4 Tylenol ES and maybe 1/2 of another. The ES Tabs are 500mg. Since the Percocet had 325 mg of the Acetaminophen in them to start with I went to bed last night with nothing and just toughed it out. Wasn't pleasant needless to say. I was up at 4:30 this AM, couldn't get comfortable and popped two regular strength tabs straight away. I just now took two more and will take two more around 10pm tonight before Im off to bed. Thats 1950mg for the day which is below the limit I found listed. Prior to surgery I lifted weights quite a bit and I've been told that healing the muscle in the chest is more painful and I think after last night I can account to that. But to be honest once I got up today, started moving around it wasn't too bad. Sore yes, unbearable no. I still haven't had a bowel movement yet either which is what made me freak and ditch the pain pills to begin with so we will see how that plays out. But I wanted to thank you all for the support on this, Im still trying to get my brain wrapped around the fact that I had OHS 2 1/2 weeks ago.