dVH/RALH: Bowel Prep...

Sorry if this is duplicated...

My surgery is scheduled 11/10...I have to do a bowel prep the night before. I can eat a light lunch (soup and sandwich) and then all clear diet until surgery with nothing after midnight.

Here is my concern...

Doc wants me to drink 10oz of Mag citrate between 4-5pm and then AGAIN between 8-9pm.

Here is my concern...will I get ANY sleep? I have to be at teh hosp at 730am the next morning. I'm sure I'll be anxious and sleep little anyway but running to and from the bathroom is only going to take away teh few winks I may manage to get.

Anyone have to take this so late in the evening? Any advice?

This is what I did and I slept very well at night. I really did not eat much of anything before I started. I think I might have had 2 or 3 jello cups in the morning. Then I went to get my haircut and get my pedicure (you know you have to pamper yourself a little - lol) and I got home around 12 or so.

At around 1 I drank the 1st bottle of mag citrate (make sure it is COLD). It started to work within the hour. I then took the next bottle around 4 or 5 I think and I was all cleaned out. I went to the bathroom one more time in the morning and I never had any problems.

Hi Bulrich,
Just to be on the safe side, I would call your Dr.'s office and talk with his/her nurse and ask if you ate lighter during the day, could you begin the bowel prep earlier in the day.
Explain your concerns about getting sleep. You just don't want to take the chance of your surgery being cancelled if you do not follow your Dr.'s instructions to the "T".
Let us know what you find out.

I drank mag citrate and was able to get plenty of sleep. It worked well, and I didn't have to keep running back and forth to the bathroom...

Ok no one warned me about the bowl prep! I've NOT been able to hold anything in. I'm already on a blan soft diet because well the swelling is pushing everything into my lower colon and the pain involved with ANYTHING passing is well way too much for a human body to endure without drugs which they wont give me because of the bowl problems I'm going through!

My surgery was scheduled for 11 am, my doctor told me to start drinking the bottles after lunch...so I started about 2 pm...in additon to the to the 2 bottles of mag citrate my doc said fleets enemas until only clear liquid was coming out....2 suggestions...start earlier than the doctor recommended...get some bathroom wipes (I got Cottenelle) and keep them warm! My bumb got very sore and the wipes helped, but when they were cold it was horrible! I slept just fine once the mag citrate wore off...just don't plan on any company or going anywhere once you start drinking! And make sure the bottles are cold! it tastes better that way, I do wish I would have had a straw!

Not everyone has to do bowl prep...wait to see what your doctor says!

I did the bowel prep prior to surgery and had sleep (well as much as I could due to my brain). The first round of laxatives should get things pretty cleared out. Good luck and don't worry about the prep.

My prep is the 4 Ducolax Tablets, @ 4 pm, and 238 grams of Miralax, mixed with 64oz Gatorade @ 6pm. I was supposed to have had my RALH on Oct 5, so on Oct 4, at 4pm I took the Ducolax, and then a couple of hours later I started drinking the Miralax, Gatorade mixture. My tummy was "cooking", I was running back and forth to the bathroom. (Oh, and the Miralax mix was supposed to have been finished by 9 pm.) I didn't even like Gatorade to begin with. About halfway through the Miralax mixture, I started getting severe nausea. My thought is I have to consume 15 days worth of laxative in 5 hours, is this human torture????????????? And yes, between my nerves and laxatives, I didn't get much sleep. After I got cancelled, (due to a temp), when I got home and ate something, the diarrhea kinda started up again, really didn't have a "normal" bowel movement for about 2 days.

Is the Mag citrate, any better of a prep than this??? My opinion was this was bad on my stomach.

I know this is what my Dr ordered, so I would not alter these instructions without consulting my physican. I am recheduled for my RALH on Nov.9, and I am soooooooo dreading doing the bowel prep AGAIN !!!!!!!!!!!

Does this seem like the correct amount of Miralax, (238 grams, is a 14 day supply.) Just curious about anyone elses dosage of Miralax.

Stacy

Those were the same instructions I received from my doctor. I thought he was crazy. My niece, who is a nurse, said the doctors in her office often order the same thing.

Anyway, I took 4 Dulcolax at noon, drank 238 grams of Miralax mixed in with 1 qt. of gatorade (I hate that drink in any flavor) at 4 p.m. and then at 9 p.m. had to also do a fleets enema. I also couldn't believe I was required to ingest 14 days worth of laxatives in a matter of minutes.

Dulcolax made my stomach feel achy, then the Miralax kicked in and made things happen. Not much left in there by the time the enema was administered. Of course, I ate very light the day before and was on liquids only the morning of the bowel prep.

I didn't lose any sleep because of this process. I was in bed sleeping by 10:00 p.m.