# Oh God. Antibiotics and the potty {Lots of TMI} **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 2, 2023, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-god-antibiotics-and-the-potty-lots-of-tmi/994025 "2023-12-02T19:34:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2023, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-god-antibiotics-and-the-potty-lots-of-tmi/994025/1 "2023-12-02T19:34:59Z")
I’m in Hell. I had minor surgery on Wednesday. Surgery went well. No issues Thursday, nor Friday. Saturday? **Total** voiding of my bowels. All at once. And I was _this close_ to being on the potty. Cleaning up the potty, my clothes, & etc was a chore. Laundry day came early. Much Lysol Concentrate used. I’m so weak & shaky that I can’t bring myself to curse. 💩 ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2023, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-god-antibiotics-and-the-potty-lots-of-tmi/994025/2 "2023-12-02T19:39:34Z")
Can you call a nurse line? You may need to change antibiotics. Eat yogurt. Drink Pepto bismal. That’s what I’d do. IA-no kinda-health person. I’ve been on lots of antibiotics than caused belly troubles, tho’. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2023, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-god-antibiotics-and-the-potty-lots-of-tmi/994025/3 "2023-12-04T17:54:40Z")
Stay hydrated! As I understand it, antibiotics cause this issue because they do the same lethal magic on your intestinal flora that they do on whatever infects the rest of you, and when your intestinal flora gets off kilter/decimated, that’s when things get dicey. ---
**Author:** ![Mikkel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikkel/32/13151_2.png) [@Mikkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikkel)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2023, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-god-antibiotics-and-the-potty-lots-of-tmi/994025/4 "2023-12-04T17:59:57Z")
Yes, but a different antibiotic may kill less of the beneficent bacteria. At least the clinic doing the surgery should know about this … explosive side-effect, who knows, they may have some remedy. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2023, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-god-antibiotics-and-the-potty-lots-of-tmi/994025/5 "2023-12-04T22:30:10Z")
By Doctor’s Orders, I have stopped using the stuff. Thank God. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2023, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-god-antibiotics-and-the-potty-lots-of-tmi/994025/6 "2023-12-04T22:35:55Z")
Yay! Feel better soon. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2023, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-god-antibiotics-and-the-potty-lots-of-tmi/994025/7 "2023-12-04T23:43:14Z")
If anything, doctors are usually worried about the suppressive effect anesthesia can have on one’s intestines. After my most recent surgery they insisted I take Dulcolax® to make sure the pipeline got moving again. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2023, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-god-antibiotics-and-the-potty-lots-of-tmi/994025/8 "2023-12-04T23:51:52Z")
I am deeply sorry and glad everything’s, ahem, coming out all right. No offense to WE (and good call, really), but back in the day, we didn’t need no TMI warning: > [@Another bathroom etiquette memo: Do you have a prehensile rectum?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-bathroom-etiquette-memo-do-you-have-a-prehensile-rectum/75367): > > Look, Fuckwicket,I know you got your problems. I’m aware of the fact that your metabolisim causes you to have to be in the bathroom five seconds after you eat. Or you’re taking exlax with each meal, I don’t know, but whatever the case, can’t you clean up after yourself? You can’t weigh more than 120 lbs, and I’ve been working with you for years. Every single time I’ve used the crapper after you, it’s a mess. Today was just the final straw. There was shit on the seat. There was shit under the s… ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2023, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-god-antibiotics-and-the-potty-lots-of-tmi/994025/9 "2023-12-05T01:02:31Z")
I remember that thread, one of my favorites from “the old days” I’m lucky in that I haven’t yet had bad reactions to any kind of medications. My body tolerates anything I have enountered, at least so far. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2023, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-god-antibiotics-and-the-potty-lots-of-tmi/994025/10 "2023-12-05T01:12:35Z")
> [@Briny\_Deep](#): > > No offense to WE (and good call, really), but back in the day, we didn’t need no TMI warning: Yes you did. the example you gave came from The BBQ Pit. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2023, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-god-antibiotics-and-the-potty-lots-of-tmi/994025/11 "2023-12-05T13:27:53Z")
Recovering. But, very-very tired.