Smelly farts post surgery

[maeloi]

Hi, this is embarrassing. I had a laparoscopic excision of endometriomas and removal of endometriosis a couple of weeks ago. Since then, my farts have been smelly. In the first couple of days after surgery, the color of my poop was greenish-brown and loose, so I sent a stool sample. The result came back negative for bacteria or Clostridium difficile, etc. Gradually, my poop has become soft instead of loose. It has also become yellowish and clay-colored. My fart is still really smelly up until now. I still take dihydrocodeine and laxido. Does anyone have any idea why I am having this type of poop and smelly gas? 😑

[Poppyg16]

Having surgery can upset the whole system a bit, Did you have bowel prep or any antibiotics during or after your surgery as these can kill off the friendly bacteria in the digestive system. I always get totally out of balance after surgery or antibiotics and follow the advice a doctor in hospital gave me to rebuild my micro biome with good bacteria from eating lots of different fruits and veg, natural yogurt, kefir, pro and pre biotic supplements and avoiding processed foods as much as I can. This usually helps things settle the best they can for me as I also have endo and scarring on the bowel which plays havoc with the poop side of things. There is lots of information about the importance of a diverse micro biome and diet so it might help if you do a little research to see if you think it could help you. You should also aways check in with your doctor again to see what they think is going on and before any supplements or dietary changes to make sure they are safe and suitable for you and don’t clash with the laxatives or any other medical conditions or medication you take.

Kind regards Poppy

[maeloi in reply to Poppyg16]

Hi Poppy, thank you so much for your response! It has helped me a lot in understanding whats going on with my digestive system. I am trying to monitor now my diet.

I think I am still in denial about the impact of endometriosis and surgery to my life.

I dont get severe pains and any bowel or urinary problems before my surgery. I decided to have surgery because I couldnt get pregnant and I was scared for my endometriosis to get bigger. It was only during my laparoscopy when several endometriosis were also found inside my reproductive organs and rectovaginal area. I am just lucky that my gynae is an endometriosis specialist and he managed to removed all of them.

2 weeks post op, i still experience pain but it has become more manageable now. However, I do feel cramps on the right side of my pelvis sometimes and I dont know why since the previous endometriomas were on the left. There was a night when it has become very painful. Have you experience the same? Having menstrual cramps post op?

Thank you for your response - Loi

[Poppyg16 in reply to maeloi]

Hi I am pleased your pain is now more manageable and going in the right direction. I alway try to look at post op pain as my body helping to let me know how much I can do and when I need to take it a bit more steady. Your pain could also be a period pain that hurts more than usual as there is inflammation and sore bits in there but you need to get a doctor’s advice as I’m not a medic and would never advise anyone to self diagnose. Pain after an op is individual to each of us and being diagnosed with this condition is a shock and takes a long time to accept and also is very frightening at first as it affects everyone differently so we can worry about all the what ifs. Please don’t go down the dr google route and make yourself more stressed as it’s a waste of valuable energy as this is different for everyone. Endometriosis UK is the best place to gets the facts and guidance when first diagnosed. I know someone who is in her late 30’s and has just been lucky to be blessed with a baby that she conceived after having endo surgery. Keep focusing on your plans for that beautiful baby and feel empowered and take back your control that you have the knowledge of what is going on inside and can now push on getting help with fertility. I think you should be reassured that you consultant is a endo specialist and that it has been identified and treated so you can take the appropriate steps to start your family. There will be a lot of inflammation in there that needs to settle. I also used to find that my menstrual cycle would be upset for a while after surgery. My gp said just because there are small scars on the outside with a lap doesn’t mean that there isn’t a lot of healing to go on inside. It’s still really early days for you but if you read the posts on this forum you will see there are lots of variations in the timeline for healing after surgery. It all depends on how much was done inside but surgery can be disruptive to our whole system and can take a while to settle. I feel a little reassurance and a check from your doctor would be very wise and advisable. I’ve had multiple abdominal surgeries throughout my life, but was treated by consultants who weren’t specialists so please take comfort in the fact that you have someone who knows their stuff. When it comes to post op pain It’s always best to get it checked out just in case an infection is brewing. Only your doctor can really reassure you and the sooner you get checked out the better. I really feel it would make your healing easier with some professional reassurance as worry, anxiety and stress can make pain feel worse and take more of a toll on you when you really need to be taking it easy and being kind to yourself at the moment.

Take care and let me know how you are doing, thinking of you at this time

Poppy

[maeloi in reply to Poppyg16]

Hi Poppy!!! Reading your reply had made me emotional!! I read your reply few days back and followed your advice. You are right about brewing infection! My WBC was high! I just got admitted last night because of severe pain and they found out from my CT that my right ovarian cyst that was drained during laparoscopy got filled with blood again and unfotunately ruptured. Now I am on antibiotics and awaiting transvaginal scan.

You really inspire me. Ive read some of your posts. I admire you for your resilience and optimism. Despite of what youve been through and going through, you still take time helping people like me who is also struggling with this condition. I am just starting to realize the complexity of Endometriosis and its already making me scared and anxious. I feel blessed though, to have found this forum and people like you whom I can share my experiences with.

Hope youre okay and doing well.

❤️🙏🏻 Loi

[Poppyg16 in reply to maeloi]

I’m so sorry you had to go to hospital again and having to deal with more pain and worry but also just so relieved that you got checked out and are now safe and getting the treatment you need. I hope you can take from this to trust your instincts, you were right and felt something was going on that shouldn’t, please try to feel empowered that in the future this can hopefully give you the strength you need to not be made to doubt yourself. You know your body better than anyone else and over the years I have become so in tune with mine because of this condition that I can usually pick up quickly what is going on. I know this will be a scary time for you and it will take time to accept and adjust but please try to take some comfort on how you have dealt with this in such a strong way when you are probably feeling very depleted. As I mentioned before to you antibiotics really upset the micro biome and digestive tract, I’m still recovering from a course I finished two weeks ago after another abdominal infection. I’m taking in a lot of pro and prebiotics, kefir, natural yogurt etc which is gradually settling my tum but like you I have experienced still being very gassy and loose!!!

Please feel free to direct message me any time you need some support and you think I might be able to help, sometimes just being heard and understood by someone else can help us not feel so alone.

I really do hope you are feeling better soon, let me know how you are doing. Sending all my best thoughts to you for a speedy recovery. Poppy 🌞

[maeloi in reply to Poppyg16]

Hi Poppy! Cant believe its been a week since I replied to you. A day after I got admitted, I suddenly experienced another episode of severe suprapubic pain! Aside from the cramps, i felt an excruciating stabbing pain in my lower belly. It was so unexpected, I was just chatting with my husband and friend when I suddenly felt it. I started crying and screaming, asking for pain killers. The doctors did not prescribe morphine for me when I got admitted so I was asking for the nurses to get the doctor immediately as I felt like I was being stabbed inside my tummy. I vomited because of it and fainted for a few seconds. I felt that something had ruptured inside of me because there was a sudden gush of warm fluid inside my lower belly that feels like blood.

So I then started telling them what to do to me. I asked them to take my vital signs and saw that my BP dropped significantly. I asked them take bloods from me. I kept telling them that I am having internal bleeding. I felt my tummy getting distended and my insides were inflammed. For the first time in my life my breathing had become shallow, it was painful to deep breathe.

I was given subcut Morphine and them oral morphine every couple of hours after that. In the morning when I was settled, I explained to the consultant and doctors what happened to me. They still thought it was because of my right ovarian cyst. I insisted that It was not from there and I requested for a repeat scan to check if there is another source of bleeding. The consultant eventually agreed to have my scan repeated. My hemoglobin dropped from 110 to 83 as well so my CT was done immediately after. It was then confirmed that the source was different.

I had Pseudoaneurysm of the LEFT ovarian/uterine artery.

I was transfused with 2 units of packed rbc and then the hospital transferred me to St Georges Hospital via ambulance where I underwent Embolization of left ovarian/uterine artery. I was discharged last monday. I had my bloods checked from the hospital where I first got admitted and they told me my bloods are back to normal now. All my symptoms have improved as well after the procedure.

It was such a scary experience for me.

You were on my thoughts when I was in the hospital. I told myself that I am not alone on this and there are women like you who would know what I really feel. I try to be strong everytime.

I am having my first period after surgery and its worse than before. Im struggling with the period pain at the moment but Im hoping this will settle by tomorrow

How are you doing Poppy? I hope your loose stool has settled and you are feeling well today.

Warm regards, Loi

[Poppyg16 in reply to maeloi]

Hi Loi, I’m so very sorry to hear what you have been through, but also so proud of you that being so strong and taking control of your doctors and telling them what needed to be done when you must have felt at your weakest and very frightened so you got the care and treatment you needed. You have come so very far in a short time from when I read your first post. It must have been so frightening for you but please take from this not to let it scare you more but reflect on how magnificently you took control and dealt with it so hopefully you will never take not being listened to again. You now have the strength and power needed to navigate this horrible condition and you listened to your body and knew what was going on. I’m hanging on in there on the strong pain meds and have been feeling very rough and in bed for the last week, some of which is side effects from the tramadol and oral morph that make it difficult to stay awake for long. Stools still not settled but have chased up getting a sample test to make sure the cdiff I carry is not active due to all the antibiotics I have had to take. I have however just got a new date for my big surgery in four weeks time which was cancelled a couple of weeks ago due to the doctors strike. Even after all the years of this and operations I’ve been through I’m still frightened but know I can get through it as I’ve done so many times before. I’m very lucky to be under the care now of a BSGE specialist centre and have a really supportive team and amazing endo specialist nurse . Just a little tip from me that might help you is that after things calm down from an experience and trauma that you have just been through people might expect you to be fine. Most times with me after it’s all over and I’m on the mend my mind takes time to process it all and I can get very low for a while. This is perfectly normal after surgery and trauma and just our mind and bodies way of trying to make sense of it all and get over the shock. Please be very kind to yourself in the next few months and don’t be pushed by others to ‘get back to normal’. Do things at your own pace, that make you happy and allow yourself to have bad days and let out all those feelings that I’m sure are wizzing round in your head just now. You have already been through more than many have in your younger years. It’s healthy to have a good cry, let it out, I do often. It’s a sign of strength to let yourself have the bad days as well as the good. We are all just human and what you have been through required you to dig so deep into your reserves. Also as with everything that happens to us in life we will naturally be changed by it so please don’t let others bully you to be exactly the same as you were before, this stuff is life changing but I’ve found it has personally made me so much stronger, I value the little things, I’m a nicer person towards others challenges and no longer the pushover I used to be in my younger years! Sending you all my heartfelt best wishes and thoughts for your recovery and please stay in touch if you want to and I can be of any support to you. Poppy🌞

[maeloi in reply to Poppyg16]

Hi Poppy, everything that you said is true and relatable. I don't want to joke about it, but I feel like you are a psychic for having guessed all that I am thinking and feeling right now. After my embolization a week ago, I still feel some dull ache and heaviness in my lower belly. I am still taking painkillers and bought this period TENs machine for it. I cry at times when I feel down, and as the eldest in the family, I feel obligated to look after my family. But because of my endometriosis, I feel the need to prioritize myself and save money for myself just in case something happens again in the future.

I admire you for your courage, for enduring all that you've been going through. I wouldn't be surprised if you were feeling dizzy and drowsy with both tramadol and morphine. I had tramadol once in the hospital, but I told the doctor to stop it because I felt really groggy with it and did not like it. I always want to be alert to be able to know what is going on around me, as I feel that I can only trust myself and my husband with regards to my care.

Im glad to hear they have already scheduled your surgery. I hope they dont cancel this time. How are you feeling today? I pray your pain is a lot better today.

Thinking of you, Loi

[Poppyg16]

Hi Loi, just checking in with you to see how you are doing. Really hope things are heading in the right direction for you now. Sorry I haven’t replied sooner only I’ve just myself been discharged from hospital after another infection causing sepsis!!!!

All my best Poppy ☀️

[maeloi in reply to Poppyg16]

OMG, what happened? I'm so sorry to hear that. I hope you're feeling better now. Are you still on antibiotics? Please continue monitoring yourself at home.

I don't feel well myself. Last week, my right upper wisdom tooth got inflamed, so my dentist had to extract it. Since then, I've been in pain and it's worse today. The entire right side of my face is aching now. I've been in agony the whole day. My painkillers don't help much. I cried this evening because I'm feeling really down and getting more depressed. I don't like this pain. How I wish all this will end. 😔

[Poppyg16]

oh no Loi, it just seems to go on and on for you. Good you had a cry though to release some tension. So sorry to hear this is happening to you. I think you really need to get help again with your tooth ache tomorrow if possible. It could be that because you are so run down it has caused you to get another infection and all this stress is making you more prone. Your poor body has taken a bit of a bashing lately so be kind to it and yourself. I wish I had a magic wand to make you feel better, but hang on in there it’s just taking a little longer than you would like. The body is incredible in how given time it recovers. My heart goes out to you, tooth ache is so nasty. Please don’t suffer without seeking help as soon as possible because you may need antibiotics again!!! I won’t bore you with my problems on this post as this is about you, not me and I feel privileged if I can be of any help to try and support others, I have posted a very long post with a bit of a rant this evening to get it off my chest with my whole story of the past few days. I shared it with the forum as I needed to take my own advice that I give to others as I’m really struggling at the moment and need to allow myself a little time to be down and process it all. Also feeling very sick from strong antibiotics.

Let me know how you get on with the tooth pain, please don’t just put up with it and contact your dentist tomorrow and insist on being seen and checked out.

Hope you can get some rest tonight

poppy

[Poppyg16]

Hi Loi, I’m just checking in on you to see how you’re doing. How’s the toothache? I do hope nothing else has happened to set back your recovery. Have you managed to get some medical help or had a post op check yet? I’m slowly improving. My mobility is a bit better and the pain levels gradually reducing. I’ve got a couple of days more on the strong antibiotics so hopefully the side effects from them will soon subside. Sorry I haven’t checked in on you earlier but I can’t stay awake for long on all these pain meds and my body still recovering from the infection.

Hope you have a better week, sending all my best Poppy 🌞