Post-0p questions

Surgery is scheduled for April 14th and I have a lot of questions. I thought I asked a lot at the doctors but the more I read here the more questions I have. Does everyone have to do a bowel prep? When will it be comfortable to ride in a car?

no not everyone has to do a bowel prep. i have no idea why.

i suppose the car rides would depend on whether or not you have laproscopic or abdominal incisions. I'm 12 days post op (laproscopic) and was fine in the car yesterday and today.

No bowel prep for me either. Dr. suggested a light meal night before surgery. I had TAH everything removed, large incision (12inches+) and ride home wasn't too bad. I put pillow between tummy and seatbelt and hubby drove with caution the 25miles home. Best of luck to you.

I'm having LSH (I think), uterus and ovaries but not cervix. More specificaly how long will it be until it's comfortable to go for a car ride? I'm also worried about all the stuff you can't do after surgery. That's going to take some getting used to. I'm not good at asking for help.

My trick to avoid the seatbelt rubbing or putting pressure on my abdomen is a clothespin (mine is metal and made to use on motorcycle saddlebags). Just pull the seatbelt out a little after it's clipped and put the "clothespin" up by the base so that it doesn't completely retract.

You won't want the seatbelt to be on your belly on the ride home, trust me. This keeps you within the law and also keeps you comfy.

My doc didn't require a bowel prep, but a lot of them do. Make sure you have a detailed list of all your questions before you go to your pre-op appt. I had so many questions on my list that my doc (jokingly) said I should pay TWO co-pays!! It's your body and you have the right to know what will happen and what to expect.

I didn't have to do bowel prep for TVH with repairs. I found the ride home from hospital (on day 6!) to be very uncomfortable. 5 nights is a standard hospital stay here and my recovery had been uneventful.

cruise1,

Some docs require bowl preps, some don't. It's important that you follow your doc's instructions.

Riding in a car is very individual. I was riding at four days, driving myself at five days. I've read posts by women who didn't want to ride in a car for two weeks. You will need to be off pain meds if you want to drive yourself.

Best wishes and ...

My doctor required bowel prep because my uterus was huge and he expected adhesions. An empty bowel has nothing to spew out if punctured. I had a 24 hour liquid diet and a bowl prep, as well as no anything after midnight.

As to riding in a car. You will ride in some vehicle on the way from the hospital. There is no set standard. You ride more and drive when comfortable. I rode home from the hospital and it was painful gettting in and out. The bumps and turns were awful.

I did not drive until I was no longer on narcotics, could turn around and could stomp on the brake. My 3rd week and I've driven once because it was painful to twist around to see in reverse.

Your doctor will know what he/she wants you to do. Ask.

Good luck.

I had a 2 day bowel prep. Omgorsh it sucked so bad. I had a pretty significant rectocele repair and she didn't want anything in my system in case something went wrong (as in a bowel nick or something) So for a total of 3 days I ate nothing but liquid. Finally the 4th morning I told my GYN that they needed to get some food on up in here!!! It could have been charred left over last night dinner and it would have tasted like heaven to me LOL

Anyway... my ob doesn't do bowel preps with her Hyst. This was my UROgyn orders.

Tiff

My doctor required bowel prep and 24 hour liquid as well as no anything after midnight.