It's the little things

So I had to take a break from my normal thread to interject today's revelation and important milestone. Today I moved my bowels. Let me say from the beginning that I do not generally speak of such things and I do believe these are truly private matters. But, if I could help even one person by documenting my ordeal, it would be worth all my tribulation and embarrassment. What you need to know Bowels need to move, regularly. If you don't, it's just a matter of time before something goes horribly wrong. Percocet (my pain med) has the side effect of hardening your stool. While I was at the hospital I was given a daily dose of stool softener. After I left the hospital I was not, nor was there any mention of it. It was not on my prescribed list of drugs which also includes over-the-counter meds. In short, I didn't think about it. While I was at the hospital, they checked my urine output every hour, measuring how much urine I was producing but there was no mention of bowels. Well today, it reared its ugly little head, 9 full days after surgery. I'll be brief but to the point They were like little rocks the size of marbles and they were stuck together to form a giant rock, solid and immovable. It did move to a point but then it got stuck, in between, something, somewhere, I don't know. All I know was that it felt like I was trying to pass a large object and the pressure was well beyond what I could tolerate. My head felt like it was going to explode, I couldn't stand up, I couldn't sit down, I was in bathroom hell. After about an hour I realized I was in big trouble, I finally called for my wife. She was horrified (as was I) and she blames the hospital but we discussed our options calmly. We could go to urgent care (but I didn't think I could make it through the requisite waiting room) or we could call the pharmacist to see what they would suggest. The pharmacist suggested an oral stool softener and in the meantime I could sit in a hot bath to hopefully soften things a bit. So I did, for over an hour, but it wasn't helping. My wife in the meantime had enough time to drive to and from the pharmacy twice, the first time returning with Senakot (a laxative), the second time with Senakot-S (stool softener). I took two and waited. I didn't know what I was waiting for, I just waited, in the bath. The ugly I went ahead and removed this portion since I didn't see how it would benefit anyone but a very select few. If you would like to know how this story ends, I'll be happy to email it to you. It's sufficient to say that after 2 1/2 very long miserable hours I ultimately found relief. The lesson is simple, be aware of your meds and make sure to include a stool softener if you are using pain killers.