Did anyone have to do a BOWEL prep before surgerY??

I will be having a Laproscopy assisted vaginal hysterectomy on July 20. My friend had it done last year, at a different hospital and mentioned that she had to drink and go through a "bowel prep" ......said it was almost as bad as the surgery.....(smile)

Just wondering....
thanks,
Paula

Paula,

I am having a LAVH on July 13th. My dr already told me that I will have to do a bowel prep, a betadine douche, and a fleet phosphor soda laxative drink. I am not looking forward to it, but I have heard that it isnt so bad. I hope that it really isnt bad, because I certainly dont want to go into surgery w/ a sore behind, which tends to happen if I have to go too much.

If you really want to know if you need a bowel prep, call the dr office and ask for the person in charge of surgery scheduling. The lady at my dr office and I have really formed a good relationship. She is always more then happy to answer any question I may have, and has called a couple times to check up on me and make sure that I am doing good.

I had a LAVH two weeks ago, and yes, I had to do the bowel prep. Different doctors have different requirements so you may not have to do it, but if you do...plan to spend a lot of time near and in the bathroom!

Dianna,
Thanks for your reply! I really appreciate it! I will have to call and see.....nothing has been said so far. It sounds as if it is really up to the doctor performing the surgery.

Best wishes during your next few days....
and remember you will be a PRINCESS for a little while!
Paula


LOVETOREAD~ How are you feeling now that it has been two weeks post op? I'm planning or scheduled also for a LAVH.
Paula

Regarding the sore behind thing, a helpful hint that worked real well is getting the flushable moistened wipes. It will help you feel cleaner and isn't as harsh on the bottom. It really helped when I was wiping every several minutes.

Thanks so much for the tip I know that I am allergic to the prep H hem wipes, but I can use the cottonelle wipes w/ no problems at all. I didnt think about using them for this prupose though. Thank you for the suggestion. I will make sure to buy a couple boxes when I go shopping in the morning.

Hello ladies, not trying to scare anyone but i just had my hyster on 20 Jun and complications arose. I had a lap assisted hyster, my uterus didn't slide out due to scar tissue. my dr accidently cut my rectum about a 1/4 in. Dr repaired the cut but also advised me that had i not done a bowel prep prior to, he would have put a colostamy bag on me for 3 mths. A week 2 days they took the drain out of my stomach that was laid by the cut to make sure all was clear and i am healing very well. it will be 2 weeks this monday. So, although it was literally a pain in my behind to do it...i am grateful i did.

Take care and best wishes for a speedy recovery when you get yours done.

I agree ladies.. do the bowel prep. My Dr told me that if I did not and something got cut that shouldn't I would be back in 3 mos for bowel surgery.

The bowel has to be sterial to allow it to be stiched she said and it you don't do the prep it is not sterial, also the reason for the liquid diet.

Good luck to all

I had to drink the stuff in the green bottle (can't remember the name of it now!). It tastes YUCKY! Make sure to refrigerate it and drink it over ice. Also, follow the instructions about the timeframe to drink it in. I didn't it (was supposed to drink 1/2 bottle at 9 am and 1/2 bottle 2 hours later) I didn't finish the first bottle until I got home from work that night and so had to start on bottle #2 to get me "going". I was allowed to eat breakfast but only clear liquids after breakfast (lucky it includes popsicles and jello!).

Oh, also, if you can get the day before surgery off from work that's a good idea...no fun being at work and running to the bathroom every so often to stink it up (peeyew!).

My doctor said that she wanted the bowels as clean as possible to allow movement (I took that to mean so she wasn't bumping up against solids in my bowels).

Good luck! I like the idea about the flushable wipes, I hadn't thought about that one and now wish I had .

Also, remember to drink a whole lot extra while drinking the "green bottle stuff". That helps get things flushed too (yet another mistake I made).

I have been told I will be doing a bowel prep for my TAH/poss. BSO on the 7th, and frankly that made me feel better about my dr (whom I've only met the one time) since I've heard terrifying stories from women who didn't do one and then had complications. the bowel prep issue was actually on my checklist of things to see if I liked this dr or not! it just takes one tiny little nick to create a whole huge mess and it just doesn't seem worth it to me, IMHO. of course, doing one without working with the dr on it can be a problem too, so definitely discuss it with him/her first!

the consensus seems to be that it really is quite nasty, tho there are different ways to go about it. not sure yet what I'll have to do...not looking forward to it at all

thanks, lovetoread, for the tip about the flushable wipes! never would have thought of that, will be picking some up today!