Two FULL days of bowel Prep? Help!

Hello sisters!

Well, I am one week away from my scheduled surgery on Monday the 8th of December.

I received my bowel prep info in the mail from my surgeons office and I took it to my General practitioner on Saturday for him to review.

This is the prep:
Saturday the 6th of December: Clear liquids ONLY.
Sunday the 7th of December: Clear liquids only. Then between 12 & 2pm mix the whole bottle of miralax with 64 oz of gatorade (or other beverage) and drink it all gone.

Also, for both days I am to have NO dairy products.

My General doc was surprised at the two day prep.

I am concerned because I am type II diabetic and have never gone without food or protein shakes for this long.

Also, my surgery is not scheduled till 1pm on the 8th.

I feel this is a LONG time to go without nutrition let alone being a diabetic.

Anyone else ever have to do this type of prep or heard of it?

Thanks for any help as if going thru surgery was not stressful enough, now I have to worry about no nutrition and odd blood sugar levels over the weekend!

This "fun" never ends!

Vicki

Hi Vicki. I was surprised when my Dr. wanted a two day bowel prep too. I did not have the additional concern of blood sugar, however. Perhaps you could call him and ask if your prep should be the same, considering your diabetes.

That being said, I did not mind the bowel prep nearly as much as I thought I would. I was just nervous enough not to miss eating. I had bought jello and clear juices and bouillion and I was allowed clear hard candy too. The laxative (day 2) meant staying very close to the bathroom. Mine was a much smaller amount to drink, but then I did an enema that night and another the morning of my surgery (at the hospital). It was a very good "cleaning out".

I completely understand the rationale for the bowel prep, but it amazes me that there is such a wide difference in what various Drs. require. Some gals do no bowel prep.

Hope that you do well with it. In a strange way, I felt pro-active when I began my bowel prep....like I was finally doing my part in getting "the show on the road". I hated the waiting for surgery, and once bowel prep started it signified that my procedure was eminent, thank goodness!

My best to you. Let us know how it goes.

I have read where a lot of girls had a two day prep, but I am with Barb, you should call your doctor's office and remind him of your diabetes. I know with the one day prep that I had, I was absolutely starving!! Also, don't freak out like I did when I didn't have a BM for 4 or 5 days following the surgery. You are so empty that it takes time for the food to work its way through your system. Ask your doctor if you should take a stool softener afterwards too.

Take care, good luck and let us know how you are doing!

Oh thank you "sisters" for coming to my aid!
I have known for 34 days of my surgery and all this waiting has taken an mental toll on me.
Not to mention weight GAIN and the crying EVERY DAY!
Then I get these prep instructions and I was like, this can not be right!

I go tomorrow morning for my pre-op chest xray and blood work and whatever else they poke and prod me with.

I am going shopping on Tuesday for my clear liquids and I am going to put some sugar free ice pops/water ice on my list.

Funny how they tell you clear liquids, yet you can have all colors of drink you want! Go figure!
I guess they just mean no particles of food in the liguids. Dang them! ha! ha! I like the hard candy idea! Another thing to add to the list!

As you stated Barb, I too am so ready to get this show on the road! I am ready to start MY part of this adventure.

Thanks for the tip about the stool softener Kay! I am adding that to my list for the shopping trip!


Does anyone know if drinking green tea is a problem concerning anesthesia? I was going to ask that question tomorrow at my consult but you ladies are all so knowledgeable!

Thank you all so much...

Vicki

I think a 2 day prep is standard for some people undergoing colonoscopy, but I would still call the surgeon's office and remind them of your diabetes.

I don't know about the green tea thing but you are right when they say clear liquids they mean "particle free" something that you can see through. The only time they are concerned about color is if you're having a colonoscopy done (I had one of those 4 days before my surgery) then you can't have anything w/ red dye in it (no red jello or popsicles) becauseit can mistakenly appear as blood during the procedure.

Reason for doing prep is that if they nick the bowel and it's cleaned out less risk for infections, they can sew, go and do some antibiotics. This is especially important for laproscopic procedures. My dr. said if I didn't do the clean out and they nicked a full bowel it could very well mean they would have to do a TAH so they could make sure there wasn't infection. So definitely better to do the bowel prep. Also remember they don't limit the amount of things like jello, italian ice, boullion, etc that you eat. So if having lots of that can help you stabilize your diabetes all the better, but check with your doctor.

I adore you ladies so very much!

I see that you have all had recent procedures and are such an inspiration to me! I am scared outta my mind about all the "what if's", like making it thru anesthesia and the surgery going guickly and me waking up.

There is always the emotional part that I have yet to totally deal with, as in never being able to have a child.

One step at a time for this princess...

Next step...tomorrow's pre-op procedures...here I come!

I only had a one day bowel prep and that was bad enough! I cannot imagine two days. That being said, in my opinion, I think your body handles the surgery better having been cleaned out. I didn't have any problems with gas. My doctor's nurse says the bowel prep does help that. I didn't have a BM until day three, and it wasn't much. Oh, you need Gax-X...even though I didn't have any problems, I was told to take it from the beginning after surgery and I think that's why I didn't have problems. Good luck.

I would definitely get some Desenex (?) and use that before the effects of the laxatives work.

Hi! Here's an idea I came up with when I had to do a bowel prep once: "thick" sparkling Jello.

You take your favorite Jello flavor (I happen to prefer orange), and dissolve it in 1/2 cup boiling water (instead of 1 cup). Then after it's dissolved, add 1-1/4 cup (10 oz.) 7-up, ginger ale, or sparkling water. Stir gently.... (and be prepared for it to fizz up quite a bit in the bowl). Chill.

Because you use less liquid (1-3/4 c. vs. 2 c.) liquid, the Jello will be a little "chewier" than normal, and it will have a slight fizzy taste, too. It's really pretty good! It gives you much more of a feeling that you're actually eating something.

to all.