If You're Pre-op...please Read This

hi, i am 11 days post op & have some invaluable advice for you all. if you begin to take gentle stool softners after your op...you will save yourself unneccessary discomfort. when i finally started to read the post-op message boards, this subject cropped up regularly & i thought...i'm ok, my bowels worked fine in the castle when i least expected them to, so now i'm home things will be fine. honestly, drink plenty of fluids & take stool softners even if you think that you don't need them, they can't harm you, even just as a precaution, they are well worth taking.

best wishes to you all

I have to agree with Carolyn (although you should always ask your doctor first). I am 10 weeks post op and still take Colace when I haven't been in a day or two. My gyn said this was fine and said it was even okay to double up on them.

Yes! I must stress the importance of this...I'm 2 weeks post op and having a BM without a softener is NOT what you want to go through!


Good luck!

Kathy

Hi, ladies! Just my two-cents'-worth. When I got home from having an LAVH/LSO, I took the stool softeners they gave me for a couple of days. I was not happy with the results. Once things 'moved' I wanted to use something other than stool softeners so I used a tip from this site.

Every morning for breakfast, I had 3 or 4 "bite-sized" prunes with a hot, buttered bagel and a hot cup of tea. (I prefer the actual prunes to prune juice. The prunes are naturally sweet and not bad at all.) I did this for quite a while and it worked well. I also had some salad at lunch each day. The walks are really important, too, as well as drinking water. I wonder how many of us go into surgery dehydrated and with our bowels not working their best. Perhaps it would help the ladies in waiting to be 'moving' well before hospitalization. Lots of water, walking and roughage (fiber) are good any time!

If you remember to do these things when you get home from the hospital, you'll spare yourselves some bother! Hope all goes very well for all of you ladies in waiting, and thanks, ladies, for posting!

s,

Sue