The Quiet Bowel

When I was getting ready for my j-pouch surgery, I had to do a full bowel prep. The reason that they make you do a full flush of your bowel, is so that that the doctors are able to see to go through every inch of your bowel and check or infection and ulceration. The prep I remember was really bad. I was already going to the bathroom at least fifty times a day without any prep. How could my surgeon expect me to go any more?

Surgery prep in the hospital for hydration

My parents I remember (this was twelve years ago) were very nervous that I would dehydrate so easily the night before the surgery. Can you imagine if the surgery that you have been waiting for almost six months got scratched? They were not taking any chances. My parents arranged for me to do my prep in a hospital room, the night before the surgery. They wanted me to be hooked up to IVs to make sure that I was getting the right amount of fluids. It was a great decision.

Not using the bathroom after surgery

At the point right after the surgery, everything with me was the status quo. I remember being in a fog, probably from the high amounts of pain medicine. In the next few days, I started to come around, but one thing changed drastically. I did not have to go to the bathroom at all. Each day the nurses and doctors would listen to my stomach. I wondered if this was normal, and what were they listening for?

I finally got around to asking the doctors. They explained to me that when your bowel goes through manipulation or trauma, it shuts down. It literally goes to sleep. They were listening for bowel sounds, to see if it was starting to wake up. They said that every case varies, but it should start to be active causing you to have to go to the bathroom in about three to five days. Wow, this is crazy, I thought.

Unable to eat with an inactive bowel

Every day for the next few days, my bowel was basically quiet. That is why the doctor’s left the NG tube in my stomach. This tube is crucial to pump the stomach of acid and air. I sort of liked the way my stomach looked with one hundred and forty-nine staples in it. I looked thin. I wasn’t allowed to eat until my bowel woke up. After about six days I was starting to lose hope...

My bowel finally woke up and the NG tube was removed

By the seventh day, I was finally able to go to the bathroom. The quiet bowel went away. A deed that I regretted so much for the last year was finally something I was looking forward to. I knew if I went to the bathroom, the NG tube would come out.

It is so interesting how our bodies work. It is as if it knew that I was having major surgery, and allowed my bowel to rest on its own. There is not a lot of things they tell you will happen after major stomach surgery. This is one of them. If you ever have to go down this path, remember some of the tips posted above.