questions

Since reading this, I have some questions. Please bare with me, as they are all random.
1. post op, how do you sleep when you get home? On your back, side, what? IS it hard to turn over? Does your hubby sleep in the bed too, or lets you have the whole thing?

2. bowel prep? Whats that? Should I do a liquid diet the day before?

3. gas? When do I start taking gas x or whatever? What foods should I avoid & how long before & after?

I'm trying to avoid as much pain & nausea before &
after my surgery by educating myself as much as I can.

Hello there Lisa! My name is Lisa too and I live in LA County, right next to you

1. post op, how do you sleep when you get home? When I got home I slept on my back and then during week two I was able to sleep on my side but with pillows everywhere As far as DH goes, that is entirely up to you.

2. bowel prep? Whats that? Should I do a liquid diet the day before?
I did nothing special, no special diet or anything. Just stopped eating and drinking the night before like they told me too.

3. gas? When do I start taking gas x or whatever? What foods should I avoid & how long before & after? They gave me gas x in the hospital when I couldn't pass gas. They also give you a stool softener, if they don't, ask for one!! When I got out of the hospital I continued to take gas x and a stool softner and I still do and Monday will be my 3rd week into recovery. I think I could probably stop both but I am not ready to yet *wink*

I hope this helps

Take Care
Lisa

1. Sleeping...I didn't really sleep when I got home. It was more like taking lots of naps during the night. I had to sleep on my back for the first week...which was miserable for me. I was able to roll onto my side in week 2. Because your tummy muscle will be sore you might want to put a chair at your bedside to help you in and out of bed. This way you use your upper body instead of your abdomin. The chairs serves the same purpose as the hospital bed rails. Keep lots of pillows handy since they will be very valuable to you when trying to get comfy in bed. Pillows are great to push against your tummy when you cough and sneeze. They are also handy to put between the seatbelt and your tummy for that ride home.

2. Bowel prep...I didn't have any.

3. Gas...I was given a chewabale medication in the hospital for gas...but it wasn't helpful. The gas and constipation issue went on for about a week. Prior to surgery you might want to pick up lots of fruits, veggies, prune juice, whole grain breads and Colace. You might need these things for that famous post-op constipation.

1. post op, how do you sleep when you get home? On your back, side, what? IS it hard to turn over? Does your hubby sleep in the bed too, or lets you have the whole thing?
I don't have a DH but I wouldn't have wanted to sleep beside anyone for about 2 weeks. I slept on my side the first night in the hospital, I couldn't have slept any other way, it was the most comfortable for me. I couldn't turn over in bed though, it's hard to get up for at least 4 days.

2. bowel prep? Whats that? Should I do a liquid diet the day before?
I didn't do a bowel prep, my dr said I didn't need one but they will tell you that at your pre-op visit. I didn't eat anything after midnight the night before and I stopped vitamins or medications one week before, that was it.

3. gas? When do I start taking gas x or whatever? What foods should I avoid & how long before & after?
I didn't take anything for gas, it might have been helpful. They gave me stool softeners when I was going home which are very helpful. I only took those for 3 days then I didn't need them.
Good luck and take care!

Hi Lisa,
1. I slept with pillows around me and still do even though I can sleep on my side. I am actually sleeping in our downstairs bedroom as our only bathroom is down stairs and I have to get up to go to bathroom several times a night and not ready to go up and down stairs that much yet although I miss sleeping with DH who is in our upstairs bedroom.

2. I didn't have a bowel prep either, my doc just said to make sure I went the day or night before.

3. I just used stool softeners, I bought a thing of gas x but didn't need them which from what I've read isn't usual.

I hope all goes well and the best thing to do is write down a list of pre op questions and bring them to your appt. Thats what I did.
Good luck to you.

Hi Lisa!
Sleeping? well, I slept in the recliner for about 2 weeks or so. i was terribly sore, and could not lay down, nor did I want to try. I walked around for 3 weeks like my stomach was stapled to my toes. lol

Bowl Prep? Oh Lordy. I had to have one. All I can say is, make sure your toilet has a comfy seat on it, you may be in there more then you will be anywere else. Up untill the time I had to stop eating, I ate everything I could. Actually, the morning I had to start my prep, Iate a big breakfast. I knew it wasnt going to stay long, and it didnt. One thing I sugest you not to drink is apple juice. I dont like to drink water, which it would have been better then the juice, but it made my stomache cramp more by drinking it. Spicy foods made it burn. As far as after surgery, I suggest you not drink alot of milk, or eat dairy like cheese. It will constipate you and make it harder to go to the bathroom. Thats when you should drink the apple juice. lol. TAKE STOOL SOFTENERS. After surgery, they will be your best friend. You may not become constipated, but the fear of being constipated will make you not want to try to go. I was hooked up to a morphine pump after my surgery, and they say thats the worst thing in the world to constipate you, and they are right. Before trying to have a BM, ask your nurse for a stool softner, it will help. GAS WASNT REALLY A PROBLEM FOR ME, BUT YOU MAY DIFFER. Have a box of Gas X on hand just in case, but I was quit nusiated after surgery. Ask your nurse for something introvenis. I lost about 30 pounds after surgery because I did not have an appitite, I ended up BACK in the hospital on 2 different occasions because I could not urinate. The second time I was admitted. I was producing the urine, but could not go. My bladder was so full, they had to drain the bag a second time for it to hold it all. On the 3rd go around they admitted me again. I ended up with a kidney stone. OH MAN!! That hurt worse then my surgery!

I wish you good luck with your surgery and recovery. I hope some of this helps. You never know, you may be one of the lucky ones that have a breeze through surgery and recovery. BUT you will be glad in the end. NO more PERIODS> lol. One day you will wake up and think, hey, I havent started yet, I am late. Then reality sets in and you remember you will never have one ever again. First thing I did after my surgery was clear the cabnit of Tampons. PHEW!! What a relief. God Bless You!

I couldnt sleep on my side for the first week and I never sleep on my back so that was one of the worse things. I couldnt wait to be back in bed with DH as I really missed him being there. He was worried he would accidentally hurt me in the night so we put a pillow between us before going to sleep on the first couple of nights. Didn't need it but it made him feel happier. You will need to get up several times in the night for the bathroom in the first few weeks which may disturb him if he is a light sleeper so you need to do what is most comfortable for you both. Make sure you have tons of pillows and a hot water bottle. I would also recommend a grabby stick for picking things up off the floor and so you can get your knickers on without having to ask for help all the time (you wont reach your feet for a while)

I didnt have a bowel prep as my Dr doesnt do them.

In the UK we don't have gas x but we have something called deflatine which is for gas. Not sure if it did any good really and the gas was pretty bad and still is periodically. As far as diet is concerned I have stuck to fairly bland meals and have kept them small. E.g wholemeal toast for breakfast, a ham sandwich for lunch and something like soup or chicken, jacket potatoe or mash for dinner. make sure you take stool softener as you cannot strain AT ALL after the surgery so it has to be able to come out by itself and as you are not moving around and the aneasthetic slows your gut down you have to avoid constipation rather than wait until it is too late. You are better off being the other way if you know what I mean.

Hi Lisa

This is my second abdominal surgery in two years and several of the other post op sisters have done multiples so you're going to find all kinds of good stuff here! First and foremost, while a lot of us will answer here, do yourself a favor and go to the top of the pre op page to the section marked "hints for you hyster". You will find sooooo much stuff up there from people who've been through this site!

As for your three excellent questions....
1-slept in the recliner for 4 days last year, 9 days this time. Much more comfortable than being on my back in bed. My abs were too sore to lay down and I wasn't ready to play with the pillows. Get one of those nice donut pillows for around your neck (mine is from Target in the auto travel section and is those squishy beads....awesome!!!!). If you think you can't sleep in a chair, trust me, you'll be very surprised. You just kind of crash! lol

2-bowel preps vary by doctor. Some make you do the drink and some do enemas and some do nothing! Discuss it with your doctor. Either way, again if you search bowel prep on here you'll be overwhelmed with how much info there is. The key points we all seem to go to when you have to do one though are to: have some nice wipes (those Charmin things or something) handy, have vaseline or A&D to liberally coat your rectum external and internal because the tissue there will get very very sore from the stuff that comes out of you (sorry if that is TMI but you'll see quickly we don't get shy about this stuff here! lol), and do not wander away from the bathroom if you're doing the drink stuff....you'll think you're done and you're not!!!! lol

3-Gas-X.....I just posted about it yesterday and it is in that hints section I was referring to. With intestinal and digestive gas post surgery you will find getting onto your left side as much as possible will help ease the gas and make it easier to pass. Its an anatomy thing. I did not take Gas-X until I was in so much pain from post surg constipation that I thought I was going to die. Swore I didn't have gas....it was just constipation. I was consti but there was gas too and I have since then been taking the Gas-X at least twice a day. It does nothing to harm you so why take the chance. And stool softeners. Oh gosh make sure you know ahead of time what they are going to start you on at the hospital and keep taking them regularly when you go home. With what I had done my doc has said I will be on them for 5-6 months.

Hope all your planning goes well. You're doing the right thing asking questions!
hugs
K

1. post op, how do you sleep when you get home? On your back, side, what? IS it hard to turn over? Does your hubby sleep in the bed too, or lets you have the whole thing? I normally sleep on my side, but just couldn't manage that for a day or two after surgery. I was really nervous about sleeping with my husband in the same bed (he loves to cuddle tightly *ouch*) so we put several pillows between us as a buffer, plus they felt really good to lean up against. Turning over can be a really nasty time until the incisions and things start healing more. But I'm nearing two weeks post-op and even caught myself rolling to my stomach last night! It's so much better and faster than I thought it would happen.

2. bowel prep? Whats that? Should I do a liquid diet the day before? Your doctor or hospital will give you all that information. I didn't think I would have to do one until the docs office called the Friday before my surgery (scheduled that monday) and gave me all my instructions on liquid diet and evening bowel prep.

3. gas? When do I start taking gas x or whatever? What foods should I avoid & how long before & after? I only took the phaszme (like gas-x) one time since my surgery. The gas pains just come and go for me and definitely ease up if I get up and walk or move around a bit. I'm careful still of what I'm eating.

I'm trying to avoid as much pain & nausea before &
after my surgery by educating myself as much as I can.
__________________If you get nauseated from surgery, make sure to tell everyone that asks your info once you get to the hospital. I had wonderful meds this time and absolutely no sick feelings whatsoever. A real miracle for me.