food: before & after

Morning Ladies,

Just wondering about what I should eat both before and after the surgery?..from what I've read, going to the bathroom is a 'big deal' and I want to make it as easy as possible so don't want to eat things that will make that more difficult.
Also, I need to go grocery shopping before...assuming it'll be awhile before I will go again, so what types of things are good to have on hand?
I do have to do that 'bowel prep' stuff...is that awful?....did you drink it with anything else?...how close do you need to be to a bathroom afterwards and for how long ?

rjj

Hi rjj -

The bowel prep isn't too bad, but I would stay close to the potty once you've started it! Being on clear liquids the day before surgery (combined with the prep) gets you pretty cleared out. Since my surgery, my appetite has been really minimal and since I had posterior repairs I was REALLY worried about the BM issue. Be sure to drink LOTS of water, eat fruits and veggies and things with fiber. I have only been able to eat solids for a couple of days. I kept my energy level up by drinking Boost. Also - my doc told me to stay away from 'gassy foods' like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce for at least two weeks. With the gas pains from surgery - THAT was NO problem for me

I don't like fruits and veggies and pretty much don't eat those at all, but...I guess I'll just have to. I usually do eat salads though so will have to remember to stay away from them. I also try not to eat things with processed sugar in them....does Boost have sugar?...

rjj

Hi rjj -

I wasn't required to do a bowel prep before surgery. (I had a TAH/LSO.) I just ate very light the day before ; I didn't have much of an appetite anyway. I am 10 days post op and I still don't have much of an appetite although I am eating. Thinking positively - I have been able to loose some weight.

As far as diets - stay away anything that might produce gas or can contribute to constipation. Pain meds do unfortunately have that affect. I hate to say it - but I have found prune juice helpful and lots of water. I am regular but there are times I do get reminders that I just went through surgery and I just try to relax through it. I did experience gas pains and GasX was helpful.

another good thing to eat is multi-grain or regular oatmeal. I also take a magnesium caplet every night to keep my bowels going

don't like fruits & veggies, huh? Hmmm try to find things high in fiber... that will help your bowels keep going.

Which bowel prep are you having to use? I had a 3.5oz bottle of stuff to drink and I added a packet of crystal light lemonade to it and that worked well... whichever kind you have make sure you put it in the fridge the night before... it's much easier to handle cold! When I had a colonoscopy I had to drink a gallon of that stuff!

The bowel prep stuff usually starts working in 30-45 minutes, so you'll definitely wanna stay near the

rjj-
They sell 5 or 6 different varieties of Boost. I'm not certain if there is one without sugar. I know they do sell one with high fiber, which may help with the BM issues afterwards. There is also a drink called Ensure out there that may be more suited to your needs. I have found the nutritional drinks to be a lifesaver the first week. They kept my vitamin and mineral intake up as well as my energy level when I just couldn't bring myslef to eat 'real' food.
Best of luck!

My Dr. told me to pruchase Magnesium Citrate...10 fl. oz......and the nurse said to drink it with a straw...that sounded good cuz I can try and make it past my tongue and just go down my throat....I'll look at the Crystal Light to see if it has sugar.
I have oatmeal on hand....hmmm, maybe I should purchase some magnesium caplets for afterwards....whew....so much to remember and think about.
I'm gonna put my mag. citrate in the frig right now so I don't forget...thanks for the reminder.

rjj

rjj,
Crystal Light has Splenda in it.... it's one of the sugar substitutes... not sure if you like that or not, but I think it tastes MUCH better than sweet-n-low or equal... tastes like sugar to me.

I found that for me, the magnesium worked better than the laxatives, because it doesn't have the stimulant stuff in it, which was giving me cramps. A lot of the other sisters here used milk of magnesia, but I don't like the liquid stuff and my dh couldn't find any caplets.

Glad I could help... makes me feel better to be useful to someone!!! Thanks

Hi rjj;

With the bowl prep drink, they said it can take a few hours to work. Mine worked within an hour. Everyone is different. After you drink it, you probally want to stay home just in case.

What I shopped for prior to surgery were things easy to prepare for both myself and my BF. Tuna for sandwiches, Stoffer products are good and easy. Skittet meals came in handy. (The ones that have everything all ready and all you do is heat them.)

Spicy foods bothered me the first couple of weeks.

Thanks for sharing... I thought it was just me that had issues w/spicy foods!! I usually eat a lot of spicy stuff... but for the first 2-3 wks I couldn't stand it! Weird.... I also avoided anything carbonated.... caused more gas build up