Day Before Diet ?

I have asked my Dr. about day before preps (those enema's I keep seeing on this site had me running scared!) and my Doc. is not requiring anything of me the day before other than not eating or drinking after midnight. I am having an abdominal SAH early on the morning of July 19th

Do you ladies have suggestings on what I should eat (or not eat) the day before? Should I keep it light and fiber filled?

Hiya nutbar!!

My DR required that I drink 2 bottles of Magnesium Citrate - 1 two days before with a soft diet and 1 the day before with a clear liquid diet. Personally, I would keep it as light as possible if not all liquid. The more still in your system, the more that is in your bowels. The more in your bowels the bigger the chance that if your bowels get nicked there could be complications. I'm not saying that to scare you. But with any hyst there is that chance. If you have concerns or questions ask your DR. I'm sure you've heard the saying, "there's no such thing as a stupid questioin." That holds true especially with surgery, regardless of what type of surgery it is. Best wishes and prayers for an uneventful surgery!

I will tell you what I did. My surgery was on a Monday. Saturday I ate normal, but took 2 Tablespoons of Milk of Magnesia at bedtime (the minimum dose). Sunday, I took Gas X after breakfast, lunch, dinner and bedtime. I ate light for the whole day, but lunch was heavier than dinner. I drank a lot of water that day also (easier for them to find a vein for the IV). In fact, I had a large glass of water just as midnight was turning. Monday came and I asked the Dr. about Gas X, he laughed..... Day 2 in the hospital I started taking it at breakfast, lunch dinner and bedtime, and I was not bothered with gas in the hospital. I didn't eat on Monday, Morphine made me nausiated. Tuesdays lunch was sent back also, but I ate the dinner on Tuesday. Milk of Magnesia is gentle, and I figured I didn't want anything getting firmer than I wanted for the first time going after surgery. I was fine. In the hospital, while on morphine (only day one and morning of day 2) they gave me stool softeners. When I started pain meds by mouth, they stopped giving me it, don't know why, they still should have. Good luck, after seeing all the sisters doing bowel prep, I kind of got nervous about going after surgery. I brought peppermint tea bags with me to the hospital also, settled my tummy others have said to have it for gas.

Hugs,
Kathleen

AHHH YES! The GasX and stool softeners.... I should have remembered that. I didn't have anyone that told me about that stuff before hand and believe me I wish I would have! Sounds like Kathleen had the right idea! I ended up being in pain because the pain meds constipated me. Then one of the sisters told me to try a stool softener and finally by day 5 I was able to have a BM. I would definetly recommend using Kathleen's method, I truly wish I had known about it!

Thanks cncwillborn, it worked for me. I took 1 Tablespoon of Milk of Magnesia after surgery, at bedtime, if I felt like the "next bm" would require pushing", I only had to use that the first week I was home, since then, drinking 2 to 3 tea bags of green tea, every morning, keeps me going with little effort. Plus it is a good source of antioxidants and from what I hear on commercials, weight loss. It used to wake me up prior to surgery....I wish the energy would come back!

Not all drs require bowel prep before surgery - and if yours doesn't want you to take anything, then don't.
If you think he forgot to tell you then call back and double check, but don't take any meds very close to surgery without checking with your dr.

Light meals are a very good idea - and lots of liquids are good for you too.

best wishes to you!

My Dr told me to just eat normal, so that is what I did. After 8 pm I could only have water, and after midnight, nothing, but went in at 5:30 am. No other prep of any kind. I had no problems. OH - she did tell me to drink as much water as possible the day before to help with hydration during surgery.

,
Kay

Thanks all for the advice. I did specifically ask my Doc., but I will err on the side of caution and make sure my Breakfast / Lunch the day before are fiber filled and I have a light, fiber filled dinner. I do plan on drinking lots of water and gatorade to make sure they can find my veins in the morning. Guess I will do some pigging out on Sat/Sunday just for fun! This site has been invaluable to me and I thank you all for being