Video 10 - Constipation during Your Surgery Recovery - Mark's Prostate Cancer Experience 

I had my prostate removed in Oct 2020...it took (3) days before I was able to go #2... I spent (4) days in the hospital because of that issue, as it caused alot of discomfort, and effected my heart rate. The pain was a 10... As soon as I did go, the pain went from a (10) to a (0) in an instant. I took stool softener for roughly a week, and did not need them after. Fast forward to now 8/26/21, and I am complete - no leakage, able to get erections, but best of all CANCER FREE!!! 👊

I can't thank you enough Mark for documenting this process and sharing it publicly. I had the same DaVinci procedure for my prostatectomy, and it was very successful. Following my surgery, I was prescribed sodium docusate to help relieve constipation. After I had my first few bowel movements, I stopped taking it. I continued to have regular movements, however, I found myself needing to use more and more pressure to "push." This eventually resulted in a fissure/hemorrhoid that made defecating, sitting and doing Kegel exercises very painful. So, I highly encourage men to gradually wean themselves off the stool softener and stay hydrated, in addition to slowly reintroducing rich foods back into their diet.

I just had my surgery a week ago and have been following along with Mark's experience, as a way of gauging how I am doing. Btw, thanks Mark for posting your experience on here to help all of the rest of us!!! I have to say that so far I relate very closely with Mark's experience. I had my surgery on a Friday and spent 2 nights in the hospital. I was put on solid foods the very next day. I didn't have my first bowel movement (yeah, I know, TMI) until the next Thursday. What Mark says about the intestines kind of "going to sleep" is how I would describe how I was feeling. I could tell that I was storing up waste, but had no feeling of the need to evacuate my bowels. Then, suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, that glorious moment arrived! Woot! I was so excited that I just couldn't wait to tell all of my friends! That was 2 days ago, and now I have gone 3 times since then. I feel like I am still a bit hesitant to go, as it does kind of feel on the verge of being painful (due to the surgery in the surrounding abdominal proximity), but, um, it all comes out ok in the end. I just got my catheter out yesterday and was able to pee quite well, but that is another story for another of Mark's videos. To all who are going through this, or are about to, I think Mark's videos are a very good way to calibrate your own progress. Do as much walking as you can in the week after your surgery (and in the following weeks) as that helps move things along and wakes the system back up. Best of luck to all of us! From one Mark to another, thanks again!

Surgery Wednesday, first bowel movement on Saturday, full-on diarrhea by Sunday night. Stopped the stool softeners than I had started three days before surgery. Diarrhea got worse, so Immodium (once) and back to my morning BMs.

05/11/20 My husband had the Robotic surgery. He was in the hospital for two days. His doctor suggested that he purchase a stool softener & to use it before he needed it. The pharmacist suggested Phillips. He had the surgery on May 1. His catheter was taken out in May 7. He is exercising by walking on the treadmill 30 minutes then he increased it to one hour. So far, he is doing great. Thank for the super video.

Amazed with your strong will and confidence....

What was it like going to the bathroom? I just had surgery five days ago. I’m about to get the catheter removed Monday. I know it’s going to burn very bad when I go to the bathroom. What do you recommend?

Thanks Mark

Prunes is good for constipations. I came home from hospital Saturday afternoon, no bowel movement, just a bit of something there. Sunday morning still no movement, asked a friend to bring me some prunes at night, and after 30 min, the gate open up. Monday morning, I couldn't tell the difference passing wind and pooping, so I pooped myself..I have not been constipated since. Now, go easy on the prunes. In the hospital, they put me on a full diet straight away.

Hi Mark thanks for your input in these videos, I had the same surgery here in Portland Oregon, also same with constipation and they left my catheter in longer and given pills to help relieve the full feeling. After 12 weeks and kegle exercises I don't dribble much but I feel like I have to pee even after I just did. Not much support from the Doctor I seen him once at pre-op to go over everything and wife and I felt very comfortable with him, he showed up after surgery but now only can see his assistant and not any help just a wait and see with this always full feeling. I have at lease 2 bowel movements a day"...seems Doctor don't know? Thanks Davej

I had a catheter for 10 days and it was a very uncomfortable experience.

Good information, it always good to hear how someone else went through something that we can all learn from. Thanks for having the courage and ability to want to share your experience with others. I will be going through this shortly. I have never had this type of dramatic procedure, I guess eventually we get to experience everything. Good luck thanks for all the great comments to.

I have got my surgery on Tuesday. Your sharing is very helpful.

I had hip replacement surgery a few days ago and I dealt with constipation until last night, and I had my roommate get me magnesium citrate, and boy did that get the job done:-) make me feel so much better LOL

Buenas tardes. Traducir. Español. Te. Saludo. Desde. España Aranjuez.

I had a robotic prostectomy two weeks ago. The first few attempts at clearing the bowels are a serious challenge. Recommending a laxative as harsh as magnesium citrate is a bit much. Hard stools are better dealt with by using something like Dulcoease, which soften the stool without creating extreme gastric distress caused by other laxatives. I used higher fiber vegetables like boiled sweet potatoes, broccolli, spinach, a handful of pecans throughout the day and drank lots of water and cranberry juice.... It worked better than those laxative, which always for me, do more harm than good and cause an unnecessary, and excessively painful experience.

Um i knw this is years ago. but not good to eat a lof of bad food. its diet diet diet

Mark ... thank you so much for narrating your journey - I wish I would have listened to it earlier. I am in Day 4 after prostatectomy surgery and repeated your experience by having my favorite Southern dish of sausages, cheese grits and collared greens. The bowel movement I had was the worst part of the entire experience so far ... a glacial, harrowing process. I'm going minimalist with my food intake until the catheter is out, which will be Day 8 after surgery. I can't recommend strongly enough following Marks advice on a limited, specific diet after the surgery! Also ... baggy shorts are the ticket for the catheter!

Magnesium situate is only a table spoon salt and lemon juce it works

Mark I just like to say thank you for all the videos and advice and what to expect ..

Just had prostate cancer surgery 20th June 2017. This is my fifth surgery overall (4 anal rectal). Best advice is to change your position . Squatting is always better ...... and if you're unable to squat, please research a device called Squatty Potty. This will help you eliminate gas, large movements, etc. Also after no bowel movement after surgery for 4 days, I attacked the "clog" from the bottom using a fleet enema instead of magnesium citrate. Got my movement within 4 minutes, problem solved. Stool softener 2x daily, lots of alkaline foods and water now.

Thanks for the videos...the constipation is what you get for feeling too good too quickly.

Hello Mark, Thank very much for sharing your recovery stages. I’m scheduled to go through the procedure on December 17th. Actually, the 411 you shared helped to put my mind at ease. Keith

Thanks for the excellent and informative videos, Mark! I'm having surgery with Dr Ashutosh Tewari at Mt Sinai on May 11th, 2023 (next Thursday!) I have full confidence in his abilities as a robotic prostatectomy surgeon with thousands performed under his belt. I hope things go as well for me as they did for you. I'll keep that fiber focused "solid" foods diet in mind, after that first gas passing, to help me return to normal bowel movements as quickly as possible. :) Dave in NY

So appreciate all the videos you have posted! in 3 weeks I will undergo this procedure...

Mark, I had my prostate removed last April 12, 2018. I noticed that until now five days after the surgery, I still have blood in my urine flowing thru my catheter. Is this normal? Thanks.

Good advice. In a similar boat myself

I have a question no one talks about .I get up around 7 or 8 times a night to pee. I had a biopsy and 2 of the cores came back positive for cancer my urologist said my Gleason score is 6 a 3+3 my psa is 3.7 he wants to just do active surveillance for now but if i have my prostate completely removed with it stop me from having to get up 7 or 8 times a night to pee no one talks about this.

Im going through this same surgery recovery. Stay hydrated and 1 teaspoon of bee pollen granulars each day will help keep you regular

I had the Holep procedure! Not a prostatectomy, just all the stuff that was getting in the way of the urethra! I had frequent bouts of urination like every 20 minutes. So it was nice hopefully to get back to regular urination. After the surgery the day of and the night I couldn’t pass gas, so I got very bloated. That started ending the day after. They removed the Foley and I was able to pee! 👍 no Foley at home. Later I had to go back in and have a dilation on my bladder neck. I did have the Foley in for a week. Getting used to taking care of the bags was a bit to get use too , but it just got to be a routine. I hope your healing goes well!

I took stool softeners for about5-6 days. I was a little scared about the first BM. It worked. I had my catheter in when I had my BM. I was careful and didn't strain. Just let nature do what it's supposed to. A week after having my catheter removed I'm lucky I haven't had incontinence issues like others I've seen comment.

Extraordinary advice. Thank you very much. I'll be careful about my diet after surgery.

I've been following your experience - which has been very reassuring. I know yours was a few years back but I'm sure is still very relevant. I've recently been diagnosed - it has not spread and I'm waiting on a date for surgery to remove the prostate . Running through your experience has already answered a lot of questions for me. Thanks for that Mark - hope all continues to go well for you .

Very constipated after catheter is out afraid of straining to poop😏some stringy poop I’m now fasting hope it will help?

This has been an invaluable video. I just went through the surgery you did Mark and I can’t thank you enough for taking the time because the doctors are just harried. They don’t really have time to get into the stuff and for whatever reason their staff doesn’t either, so your lap with a whole lot of?’s and in that environment you’re likely to make mistakes and understanding the downside of eating too rapidly is extremely helpful. As weree your other videos

diet is always important..particularly when breaking a "fast".. great information.. thank you

Thanks Mark. Your videos are very informative. I am on day 7 after surgery and catheter comes out tomorrow. Fortunately my BM have been very regular but I am very tired each day.

Thank you for sharing. I am appreciative and grateful.

Why did you have to have TWO catheter removals?

Very helpful, thanks!

Thank you for all the info!

Coffee ok? Chocolate ok?

Your experience is so different from 90 percent of the people who go through this that it serves no purpose other than a commercial for your urologist. Most of us are sore, incontinent and have other problems that since you didn't experience them you basically have no real advice for most of us. Glad it went well for you.

Thanks for your detailed feedback mark it's very beneficial to others. By the way I had surgery last week on the 13th of October with a single incision below the naval. The surgery started at 830am and and was home at 230pm the same day! The only discomfort was the catheter which was removed 2 days ago on the 20th which was a big relief. My urologist was dr. Nessyan tebyani who pioneered robotic da vince surgery in orange county california in 2008 and has done over 1500 of them. Wow. The only issues I had was the discomfort of the catheter which was gone when it was removed. Yes I have some incintenence which I am getting over sooner than later using legal exercises I did before surgery also. Just a piece of advice to others due to go through such a surgery, try to work with a urologist who specializes in SINGLE INCISION technique instead of 4 or 5 cuts on the abdomen cause the recovery is outstandingly faster. I was allowed to shower the same day of surgery and went home in 6 hours from the start of the surgery! I was amazed myself when the surgeon told me I can go home at 230pm same day. Anyone wants to call me please do 9493376000.