constipation after colon resection surgery

[mytai]

My husband had 12" of sigmoid colon removed/resectioned 6 weeks ago due to a malignant tumor.  He is lucky that it was only stage I and needs no other treatment, but he is very constipated.  The surgeon told him to take Citrucel and more fiber in his diet as well as drink a lot of water.  It's not working.  He started taking some Miralax, which did help, but then caused him to run to the bathroom all day!  Is this something that will get better as time goes by?
Thanks so much for any help with his problem!

[Tklmv]

I also had my sigmoid removed 2 years ago and become constipated. I eat fiber and salad and nothing works. I take miralax on my days off from work so I'm not running to the bathroom constantly when I am at work. It seems that my colon is sluggish since the surgery and it fills up and the food expands in my colon. I think after surgery the parts that are connected become narrowed so the waste is unable to pass. Try to pick a day during the week to take miralax. Hope this helps.

[patient915]

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[Mardar]

My mother had a colon resection 2 years ago. She still suffers from constipation. She always does a high fiber diet and has teid laxatives, but end up spending the night on the toilet trying to go. She does this twice a week or she feels ill to her stomache. She is 83 years old and the doctor tells her this is normal. It is affecting her quality of life. Any suggestions?

[scot555]

I am 3 weeks out of a 12 inch sigmoid resection with no bag.
From what I'm reading here I am doing amazingly well.
I am pretty active now and walk and drive probably more than I should.
I am taking fiber and drink plenty of fluids.
I was initially constipated for three days but I feel great now.
I think the painkillers are a problem with constipation. I have not taken any
After the second week and have had some strange pains but the drugs were what was making me feel weird and I would rather have some pain also I can better tell what my body is doing.
Good luck everyone!

[mollymts]

I had really loose stools for first 4 days then they were form small piles,  then started to feel tight when going so I drank some pure aloe vera juice and  prune juice.  That was too much and brought on a lot of gas and explosive running to bathroom. Now I am pssty.  I am only doing 500mg. Acetaminiphon every 4 hts. or so.  That has been all.  What were you taking for pain?  

[Mcupstate]

How did it work out? I'm 7 weeks and I'm in the bathroom a lot with not much coming out. I also feel very consipated other times when I get "string" like movements. Also in AM I get a clear jelly like movement. I alos use the term" never trust a fart"

[BettyCM]

I had a colon resection in July.  The first month I went a lot, but since then I've had severe constipation.  I've tried all kinds of fiber & I think sometimes it's been bulking me too much.  My dr said I can take Miralax for longer than 7 days (which is what the duration it says on the bottle) safely.  I had the same effect, though, which was that I constantly felt I had to go.  I almost think I have some scar tissue which is causing a blockage.  I called my dr today and found out she fell & will be out for awhile.  I may switch to another dr in the practice.  I thought after 6 months I would be back to normal.  Maybe I'm the exception.

[Morecambe]

Normally after a partial colectomy, the patients experiences more liquid/more frequent motions rather than constipation.  Keep trying a high fibre diet (lots of fresh fruit and vegetables to which organic bran has been added). And drink~2 litres of water per day.

regards
Morecambe