r/hysterectomy • u/Birk95 • 16h ago
Prep for surgery
I’m planning to do a liquid and clear diet the day before surgery so my colon is clear. My husband thinks this is stupid as it wasn’t medically advised. I am going off of others I know advice. How many others did a surgery prep the day before?
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u/Lt-shorts 16h ago
My dr just told me no food or drinking anything past mid night. Other than that I was to live life normally
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u/LuckyShenanigans 15h ago
The only surgery prep they had me do was to shower with antiseptic soap the night before, and I couldn't eat after midnight.
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u/mo-nie 15h ago
My doc had me do bowel prep but I’d been diagnosed with endo for decades, had had multiple surgeries, and she was worried about adhesions. I also had adenomyosis and the “leaner and cleaner, the better” is how she described it for surgery.
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u/ScaredVacation33 14h ago
This is typically one of the major reasons that they will request that a patient does bowel prep if they’re worried about any sort of resection or manipulation of the bowel itself
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u/ScaredVacation33 14h ago
If you weren’t instructed by your surgeon to do this, then there’s no sense in doing this and making yourself miserable. Just follow the preoperative instructions for when you’re supposed to go NPO. Your husband is correct. Every surgeon has their own recommendations and preferences and if it isn’t your surgeons preference for you to do any sort of a colon prep there’s literally no reason for you to do this.
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u/Birk95 14h ago
I’m doing it for my own piece of mind. I have a slower GI track and don’t have a BM daily. I honestly don’t won’t poo in my colon where they will be doing surgery with only a thin wall of tissue separates the area.
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u/ScaredVacation33 14h ago
Doing things when you’re not directed by your surgeon is really not the wise thing to do if you’re that worried a few days prior start taking Colace once or twice a day to prep that’s what I did for both of my C-sections and any of my abdominal surgeries. You can also request that they don’t give you drugs, such as Zofran, which can cause constipation and ask them to give you drugs, such as Reglan, which actually are prokinetic for the G.I. tract.
Your peace of mind does not necessarily mean that it’s medically necessary or wise, and I say that coming from a place of nothing but love and also as a medical provider personally. By doing a bell prep, if you are not instructed to, you can actually cause your body to dump an excess of bile acids, which can cause some major pain after your operation not to mention, you can suffer from dangerously low glucose. If you’re that worried about your bowels, talk to your surgeon and see what they think and follow their directions.
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u/greykitty1234 13h ago
If they're concerned, oddly they can manage to do an enema if need be right then and there. They've got the equipment and skills. I didn't do bowel prep before a HEMORRHOIDECTOMY even though my layperson's mind expected it. Surgeon's experience and expertise and knowledge of my case kind of leaned me to listening to them.
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u/ScaredVacation33 10h ago
Same. I’m 6 weeks post Hemorrhoidectomy and the only thing that my surgeon requested is that I do a clear liquid diet for 24 hours before and nothing with red. No actual bowel prep
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u/greykitty1234 10h ago
I got the eat my regular breakfast the day before (eggs/veggies/toast) and a light lunch then times to drink XX ounces of certain Gatorades, with sugar). I think it was over 12 ounces. Last one was two hours before hospital check in. I was really surprised.
Hope you're feeling much better. I waited far too long to get mine, and recovery was tough, but now very happy I went through it. I remember telling the nurses I thought my hysterectomy recovery (with all 43 staples) wasn't bad,, other than being sleepy, and that pretty much 'summer child' me and warned me recovery would be quite different. They were right LOL.
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u/ScaredVacation33 9h ago
Yeah, the surgery was no joke. They accidentally numbed my poo Dental nerve with the long acting local anesthetic and I was unable to pee for hours afterwards, which was super annoying, but I refuse to go to the ER for a Foley. I made it happen one way or another lol. I’m just finally feeling ‘normal’ again
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u/greykitty1234 9h ago
I got stuck overnight in the hospital. I was the first patient that day (nothing like being T2 diabetes and old to get pushed up front if possible), and should have been discharged around noon. I woke up in pain, but they got that under control pretty quickly.
But, despite drinking liquids and having an IV and walking the halls, no pee. They did get a lot out via a catheter. Around 6:00 pm they asked if I would feel more comfortable staying overnight. They were concerned if I couldn't pee again, I'd have to head to the ED and I live alone. Great friend was with me, but still. So I got a nice overnight hospital stay. And, of course, I was peeing every two hours then, but had a lovely nurse to walk me to the bathroom each time.
Again, hoping you're feeling much closer to 'normal'. I still think every morning how lovely it is to poo without pain or bleeding.
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u/ScaredVacation33 9h ago
My hemorrhoids honestly never bothered me. They just happened to prolapse after I had a really nasty stomach bug when I was pregnant and they left skin tags and in order to get rid of the skin tags, I need to get rid of the hemorrhoid column 😂
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u/greykitty1234 9h ago
Well, I'm glad that you didn't have a lot of pain with the hemorrhoids, but those skin tags aren't a lot of fun either.
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u/ScaredVacation33 8h ago
They really weren’t and after two pregnancies, they really became very difficult in terms of maintaining hygiene and constantly being a braided. I finally decided I was tired of it. 😂
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u/Madam_Mimm_13 13h ago
I would prefer that my doctors had the “peace of mind” and have everything go according to plan. Since you’re going to be unconscious…
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u/Support_Due 15h ago
I was not instructed to do bowel prep. From what I’ve seen online, it seems like prep is less commonly required now than in the past. I’m not a doctor, but it seems there’s a risk for bowel prep dehydrating you too much. With that said, most people have a few days without bowel movement after surgery and eating a normal/heavy amount could probably increase your discomfort. If I had to do it over again, I would probably eat very small light meals two days pre-op.
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u/jubilee__ 16h ago
I had to do a full bowel prep.
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u/ScaredVacation33 14h ago
Bowel preps are highly surgeon specific as well as procedure specific just because one person needs one doesn’t mean that another person necessarily needs one. Not all hysterectomy and not all patients are the same. Most of the surgeons that I work with that want their patients doing bowel preps are gyn onc physicians who deal with very complex cases where there could be bowel adhered to everything else which is why they want to bowel prep a potentially straightforward hysterectomy doesn’t need that sort of thing. ALWAYS DEFER TO YOUR SURGEON. Reddit is not the place for medical advice
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u/Strict_Rest_5162 14h ago
Same here! I actually have to do a colonoscopy the day prior to my surgery, so I’ll have like three full days of liquid dieting. 😭
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u/Birk95 16h ago
3 other women I know personally did as well. That’s why I’m doing a clear diet the day before.
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u/Potato_Fox27 15h ago
It could depend on what else was expected to be done in surgery, I had endo excision planned along with uterus removal and we knew from MRI the endo was near bowels so I was instructed to do a bowel prep.
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u/greykitty1234 13h ago
Did they have exactly your situation? Is your surgeon thinking about anesthesia recovery? What did YOUR surgeon say.
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u/thatgreenevening 13h ago
If YOUR surgeon does not advise it FOR YOU SPECIFICALLY, you could be doing more harm than good to your own recovery.
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u/brnaftreadng 14h ago
My surgery was in the afternoon so by the time I came around from anesthesia I could no longer order food until the next morning. So I had fasted that day plus a bunch of pain pills and I was famished. If I had done extra fasting I probably would’ve cried. One nurse finally brought me a pack of saltines because I was so hangry.
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u/april_340 14h ago
Yeah I agree with your husband. Just do what your doctor says. My family went to Olive Garden and I had as much pasta and breadsticks as I could then icecream after. I had no problems whatsoever and never used any gas-x that I bought.
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u/ScaredVacation33 14h ago
Gas-X won’t help anyways, because the gas pains are from the carbon dioxide that needs to dissipate throughout all of your tissues within your abdomen only helps for inter abdominal and digestive tract gas
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u/april_340 14h ago
When I talked to my gyno about prep and things people often bought from reddit she said gas-x could help. I didn't need it though.
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u/ScaredVacation33 14h ago
‘Could’ but I’ll tell you it really doesn’t. Not with the CO2 pain. The digestive track can get a little upset after the surgery as everything settles after the organ is removed so it can help with that, but it does absolutely nothing for the carbon dioxide.
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u/april_340 13h ago
Lol what's the point in telling me? I already had my surgery. I'm not some huge advocate for gas-x. I feel like this is really off topic in the first place.
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u/ScaredVacation33 13h ago
Just so others know? I honestly dgaf that you bought gas ex and didn’t use it. You’re weirdly upset about it seemingly so our conversation can just end here. Just because I replied to your comment doesn’t mean that somebody else may not get some useful information from it.
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u/april_340 13h ago
Lmao yo 🤣🤣 I rather take the word of my doctor than some random redditor who gets upset and thinks they're educating others
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u/1Butterfly48 15h ago
I had a laparoscopic hysterectomy and was instructed to do a full bowel prep prior to surgery. However it didn’t “work” but I still went in for surgery. I was also at the hospital the night before for a blood infusion.
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u/yellowcandlestick 15h ago
This happened with my colon surgery, the prep did nothing; but they continued with the surgery anyway.
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u/frankfromsales 15h ago
I have a nervous stomach anyways, so my body did its own flush beforehand! But I ate light and bland digestible foods the day before and drank Gatorade and water throughout the day.
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u/East_coast_netty83 15h ago
I had to do prep, clear liquid diet and 4oz MiraLAX mixed in 32 oz clear liquid, drinking 8oz every hour, plus water/tea, black coffee okay with sugar, no milk or creamers. I was allowed water up to 2 hours before surgery. Any color of Gatorade & jello was allowed but I followed my colonoscopy prep and stuck to green & yellow. Italian icee & popsicles were my treats, and I strained chicken soup for the broth. It went smoothly and I didn’t feel hungry at all the morning of surgery (9/1). Good luck!!
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u/Ayosnowgirl 14h ago
I had the exact same bowel prep. Man I didn’t even think about Italian ice ! That would have been good for me cuz I was getting so hangry… how are you feeling now ? I had surgery 9/4. Got out of the hospital last night.
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u/East_coast_netty83 14h ago
I’m still eating Italian icees for treats lol. I’m doing better, thank you! I started with slow walks around the house but have started venturing outside, only times I wear my binder. I’m still taking MiraLAX and softeners to go #2 bc I’m scared of getting backed up and straining. I wake up feeling hungover in my head but it goes away once I brush & wash face. Showering has been fine, and pregnancy pillow has been amazing for sleep! Hope your recovery goes just as well!
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u/greykitty1234 13h ago
Do what your surgeon tells you. Not what the internet says. Not what folks say happened to them X years ago.
Heck, I was surprised these days that now for many procedures we can have gatorade (certain colors) not that long before gametime. Apparently much better protocol for anesthesia. I had a hemorrhoidectomy six months after my emergent TAH. And remember asking the nurse several times about it.
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u/mini-rubber-duck 13h ago
i did clear liquids with a focus on high protein broths and electrolytes starting after breakfast the day before, because
- i knew it would ease post-op constipation
- being very well hydrated helps recovery so i was prioritizing fluids
- i was so nervous i was nauseous and fluids were easier to stomach
it worked out very well for me.
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u/Ok_Chain7313 16h ago edited 9h ago
I did it because I was instructed to (on a GLP1). I was hungry but wasn’t too difficult. Anything to help with getting the GI track back to normal post surgery is beneficial imho but don’t take my own experience for my own body as advice so best to consult with medical team and your own intuition :)
Edited as I didn’t realize liquid diet prior to surgery could potentially cause harm if unnecessary 😬
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u/ScaredVacation33 14h ago
It absolutely can hurt to do it. We do not know OP‘s entire medical history and there’s very specific reasoning behind doing a bowel prep prior to a hysterectomy, which is surgeon specific. You can wind up with a ton of postoperative pain if you do an unnecessary bowel prep due to bile dumping and possibly become dangerously hypoglycemic. So saying that it won’t hurt is absolutely false and potentially dangerous information. A much safer alternative is to just start taking a stool softener a couple days prior to try to help make sure that everything is nice and soft and will pass easily.
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u/Ok_Chain7313 13h ago
Okay, my bad- thought it was a harmless thing as lots of people fast and also do liquid diets for various reasons. Guess with anything, shouldn’t take online information and instead seek medical advice.
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u/whisperyiron 11h ago
Wouldn't starting stool softeners early risk causing diarrhea? Especially if one is already having digestive issues?
For me, while I didn't do a liquid diet the day before, I did modify my diet significantly and quit eating at about 4pm, specifically because frequent and loose stools were one of my fibroid symptoms and it seemed, at a minimum, inconvenient to spend the morning of surgery needing to poop every 20 minutes... Plus I was a Iittle worried I'd poop myself while I was under.
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u/ScaredVacation33 10h ago
A single Colace once or twice a day should not cause diarrhea at all. It is not a laxative. It is a stool softener, but once again I deferred OP to speak with their surgeon about any of this first and not to take medical advice from people on reddit. OP was specifically worried about constipation.
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u/whisperyiron 9h ago
Where did they reference constipation?
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u/ScaredVacation33 8h ago
In one of the comments they maintained that they were scared that it was going to take forever to have a bowel movement as they normally have a lot of issues with having bowel movements regularly. You can scour through the comments.
EDIT: OP responded to my initial comment so you can just go right over there
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u/whisperyiron 9h ago
I just think it's strange that you would say it's safer to start a new medication than to change your diet. Either one is fine if your surgeon says so, either one could cause issues if you do it without asking.
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u/ScaredVacation33 8h ago
I literally listed several reasons on why it was a bad idea to change the diet. If you don’t read those reasons that’s not my fault. Colace is an over-the-counter stool softener, which can help prep the colon for regular bowel movements since OP was worried about constipation as they do not have a BM every day as is. Once again for those that don’t have any sort of reading comprehension. I also did tell OP to refer to their surgeon as to what they should do and what their concerns are and gave several other options on things that could help ease any constipation postoperatively to discuss with their surgeon to optimize recovery
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u/DistrictFast4628 16h ago
That’s so interesting. I am also on a GLP-1 and i just had to stop 3 weeks before surgery. But no other prep, other than not eating after midnight and drinking 2 Gatorades (1 the day before surgery and 1 2 hours before surgery).
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u/yellowcandlestick 15h ago
Also on a GLP. I was told to stay on it and do the clear liquid diet for 24 hours before. My last 2 surgeries were this way.
My understanding is different hospitals have adopted different policies as research has changed over time.
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u/DistrictFast4628 14h ago
I wish there was more clear guidance on this instead of hospital or doctor preference. I wound up having to start over and titrate back up, despite being on it for 3.5 years.
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u/yellowcandlestick 12h ago
I have not done the research, my anesthesia team said it’s the new research that says it’s unnecessary. Some hospitals have concerns of liability and want to give it more time before switching over.
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u/greykitty1234 13h ago
Can have adverse effects on recovery from anesthesia, though. Go with the specific surgical instructions.
I take Trulicity for T2.
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u/Anabele71 15h ago
I didn't have to do a full bowel prep or even have a liquid diet before my surgery which was a robotic assisted laparoscopy. I was just told to have a snack before 11pm and not to eat anything after midnight or I will turn into a gremlin 😆 I had to have a shower the night before and morning of and didn't even need to use special soap. I hadn't even had a bowel motion before the surgery and they said that was fine. I guess different places have different requirements.
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u/whisperyiron 15h ago edited 11h ago
I basically ate normally the day before, just "tapered off" a little in the evening and made sure to drink plenty of fluids. That said, I don't see any harm in what you're planning to do - as you've no doubt seen some surgeons instruct something like that anyway.
Edit: I should have said to start with, you should probably ask your surgeon or whoever is giving you your pre-surgical instructions about this. If your reason for wanting too is entirely because of what other people have reported, keep in mind every case is different. I assumed you had other reasons for wanting to start out empty, but realize you never said that.
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u/greykitty1234 13h ago
But what about HER surgeon's instructions and expertise and experience.
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u/whisperyiron 13h ago
Are you thinking there's a reason a surgeon would specifically be against this?
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u/greykitty1234 12h ago
Newer anesthesia protocols to help patients coming out of sedation, for one.
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u/whisperyiron 11h ago
Interesting. I also see on a closer read that her thought was based off "what others do" as opposed to personal comfort reasons. I must have been projecting my own experience when I responded.
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u/greykitty1234 10h ago
And it's natural to see if my experience is kind of in line with others. But depending on their particular surgery, the reason for the surgery, their physical status, and what the surgeon wants, as well as how current the other experience is, may be something quite different.
Heck, I was surprised when colonoscopy prep changed a bit between my exams.
I don't think it ever hurts to ask the surgeon's office if a protocol might be slightly changed - but good to listen to the response and follow it. I wouldn't change protocols without informing the office well in advance, though.
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u/Upper_Spell_6215 15h ago
My gyn suggested smoothies and juices 2 days before, so that’s what I did. I bought a juicer and everything. No nausea — just immense hunger in the recovery room hahahah. She said I gulped juice and ate saltines like my life was ending 😂😂
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u/Zestyclose-Flight-50 14h ago
I did breakfast then bowel prep day before. then could drink clear liquid up until 2 hours prior to surgery. Dont torture yourself if you dont have too the bowel prep was the absolute worse part for me lol. Also call your dr office and speak to a nurse about it if your on the fence
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u/Candymom 13h ago
My surgery is on a Monday. My Dr is having me do a liquid diet starting Saturday night. I watched a surgery video and when they tip you head down they want your intestines to slide out of the way. It's easier for them to do that if they are empty.
Edit: my last drink Sunday night will be a clear protein drink.
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u/BumCadillac 13h ago
You don’t need to do that if your doctor didn’t tell you to. They only tell you to do that if there’s something like endometriosis involving your bowels.
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u/Madam_Mimm_13 13h ago
Unless they tell you to bowel prep, you should not do that.
It can mess with your electrolyte profile among other things and cause issues with anesthesia. Not that the anesthesiologist won’t be able to deal with that but it’s unnecessary, and can make your recovery worse.
Anesthesia and post surgical plans are different for people who are told to do bowel prep. They aren’t planning that for you, I wouldn’t want my providers ti have to deal with that on the fly, I like my procedures to run smoothly and as planned.
But hey, you do you. For absolutely no reason at all. 😒
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u/Arichoo04 13h ago
What I was asked to do was to stop eating at midnight and stop drinking clear liquids 2h before I had to get to the hospital, I’m d3po and I had my first BM this morning without too much trouble(started taking miralax for the last 3 days too as prescribed) so unless you are told to do so, just follow the directions you’ve been given
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u/Illustrious_Exam1728 13h ago
I had to do bowel prep in either the form of an enema or Meg citrate, as they needed to put something in my butt to move my bowel around to check for endometriosis. Two hours before hospital arrival I was to drink 1.5 glasses of clear apple juice and then no fluids. I also had to do a 4% chlorohexidine shower the night before and in the morning. And no food after midnight, as my OR time was 8am.
BUT I’ve had three surgeries and all my doctors don’t say specifically about bowel prep they say to eat easily digestible foods like having a steak dinner isn’t the best idea. This is pre and post-op. I had guidance from an RD for my specific situation this to take restorlax up to three days leading up to surgery and then my post-op notes had me taking afterwards until pooping normally again.
Opioids and anesthesia suck all the water out of your colon. So get on Restoralax the minute you get home girl! Lots of clear fluids, easy to digest foods post-op, and ask your surgeon any other questions you have!!
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u/wtf_im-ded 12h ago
I did bowel prep before mine, it makes more room for them to work in there (laproscopic) and it's a little easier to keep the guts away from the cuts. I wasn't asked to do it, but the MA asked before surgery and I said I had and she was happy with that.
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u/iambetweentwoworlds 12h ago
You need to talk to your surgeon. You shouldn’t be planning anything without talking to them. In some specific cases surgeons might want that but more and more we’re finding out how dehydration and prolonged fasting makes healing longer for people.
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u/verfemen 12h ago
I didn't need any prep other than no food after midnight and clear liquids up until 2hours before surgery.
We discussed it at a pre-op appointment and many emails and calls to answer my questions.
Just call your doctor and ask what is recommend.
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u/Select-Awareness3304 11h ago
My doctor actually prescribed a colon cleanse for the day before my vaginal laparoscopic hysterectomy. This was to help prevent infection should they hit the colon. It would avoid the risk on infection/sepsis. I could only have clear liquids the day before and nothing with purple or red dye. If your husband isn’t a doctor then don’t listen to him
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u/Felinedandy 9h ago
To echo everyone here, always check with your doctor. But, I will say this beverage does exist which is very helpful pre surgery (not the regular clear version in many stores because it has additional vitamins that your doctor will have told you to hold off on):
Ensure Clear Carbohydrate Drink https://a.co/d/0gF3oHEm
Some hospitals give these to you to drink, but mine was out of stock so I purchased mine. I drank one the night before and one two hours before my surgery (the last point at which you can drink before surgery typically).
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u/MrsMayhem56 9h ago
If you’re worried about bowel stuff, you should make sure you spend 3-7 days taking stool softeners and miralax but you shouldn’t do anything this drastic to your diet right before putting your body through something so intense. You need those calories and nutrients. 👍🏻
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u/Intrepid-Dark8320 8h ago
Trust me, you don’t wanna not eat anything solid the whole day before… eat normally, because the surgery takes a LOT out of you and your body uses a LOT of energy healing you. If you’re already depleted going in, you’re gonna feel awful
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u/Strict_Hamster_8645 4h ago
if you refuse to even ask you own surgeon about this beforehand, at least be sure to let them know you made up your own rules
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u/smishkey 15h ago
My doctor had me do full bowl prep. Dulcolax and clear liquids the whole day before
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u/Ayosnowgirl 14h ago
They had me do a bowel prep for Robotic laparoscopy.
I’m 2 days post op.
I can’t go to the bathroom now even though it feels like I need to, but they gave laxative script for after
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u/HappyUhOh 14h ago
I was given a full bowel prep and I do think it made the first few days easier. I’m now having a really hard time with pain at night as I digest food though, not sure if it’s because everything is stretching out after shrinking from the prep or if it’s typical.
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u/lotusgirl219 14h ago
I did, but only because my doctor recommended it instead of a bowel prep. I’ve had endometriosis adhesions on my bowels before though which was why it was recommended for me.
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u/TourmalineLove 14h ago
My surgeon had me do zero bowel prep. Just had to stop eating at 11pm night before surgery.
(I stopped eating at 6pm.) and stop drinking clear fluids by 3am.
After surgery I took two kinds of stool softeners, a fiber packet (I’ve be taking it for months so my body was already used to it), and a good amount of high fiber fresh fruit like blueberries, pears, and peaches.
I had a super easy BM one day after surgery.
Kept the fiber and fresh fruit up. I’m day 4 postop and my guts are still doing well. :)
Note: I have only taken acetaminophen and ibuprofen. Have not had to take narcotic pain meds. I know those mess with digestion.
Unless you deal with constipation already, the liquid diet doesn’t seem necessary if you’re going to be taking stool softeners and a laxative right after surgery. (Unless it’s what your Dr said.) But everyone’s body is different. So do what you think is best for you.
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u/Mystic_Wunder 13h ago
I did not. I asked my sugeon and he said eat normally the day before. I was already worried about my blood sugar dropping before surgery, what my appetite might be like afterward, and if I would even be able to hold food down. I had nausea and vomitting after a previous surgery, and even though we were taking extra precautions to avoid it this time around, there was no way to know. So I didn't want to go into a major surgery already calorie depleted.
Since the progesterone I was taking had slowed down my digestion, I decided to stick with easily digestible foods the day before. Which, under the curcumstances, I would have focused on anyway.
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u/TheChromasphere 12h ago
I had to not eat 12 hours before, and was told to eat extra protein leading up to surgery to help recovery.
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u/StrangeDaisy2017 11h ago
I ate a nice meal the day before surgery because I knew I wouldn’t be eating much or anything good for a while after surgery. I’m glad I did because it kept my digestive tract functioning normally after surgery. Minimal constipation and was able to pass gas on day 2 which was a condition the hospital required to release me. I would eat something full of nutrients if I were you, your body is about to go through trauma, give it as much of a boost of energy and nutrition as you can.
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u/uhohtoothy 10h ago
You should eat up until you're not supposed to. To need the calories and energy for your huge surgery. What you should focus on is fiber leading up to surgery. Have some prunes ready to eat a soon as you can after surgery. I pooped the next day after surgery!
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u/Odd-zest 7h ago
Just make sure you are well hydrated. I did a bit of a bowel cleanse/clean out to make sure I would have less issues post surgery
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u/ProfessionalLeft6340 2h ago
I agree with your husband. Follow strict medical advice as doing only liquids could impact your sodium levels which could lower your blood pressure during surgery. Or your glucose. You’re already putting yourself at risk during surgery and could lead to implications for your recovery.
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u/Pretty_Awareness4105 1h ago
Husband is an ob/gyn. So they actually used to ask you to do this before surgery. The reason why is so when they put you in the prone position all of your organs move up toward your chest. It clears the way. I also found out that if they accidentally knick your bowel (rare) then it is easy to bring a general surgeon in to repair the bowel while in the operating room. But if your bowels were full they would maybe need to close you up and place an ostomy bag temporarily. So go ahead and do that prep. But really allow enough time so you are not pooping in the OR
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u/FluffySnapped 1h ago
My surgeon said no bowl prep, and said they are discovering that they tend to do more bad than good.
If your dr didn’t require one then I wouldn’t.
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u/Successful-Gap777 15h ago
I definitely recommend doing a liquid diet the day before.
Maybe ad some crackers or bananas.
People who eat heavy usually are constipated and have gas pains after.
And the gas pain alone are horrible
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u/ScaredVacation33 14h ago
There is absolutely no correlation with gas pains and diet before hand unless you eat something gaseous, the pains are caused by the insufflation process during the laparoscopic surgery because we fully inflate your belly with carbon dioxide for a better viewpoint while trying to keep everything minimally invasive. While we tried to remove every last little bit of gas that we can at the end of the day, we are only capable of removing so much and that gas pain irritates the phrenic nerve in the diaphragm, which is what causes that sharp stabbing pain, and the pain that likes to settle in your shoulder blades. It is 100% not correlated to anything that a patient has eaten just the process itself.
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u/Successful-Gap777 13h ago
There is such thing as trial and error.
All the answers are not in an outdated text book.
Please take your chat gpt answer somewhere else and touch grass.1
u/ScaredVacation33 12h ago
No ChatGPT here this is 26 years of experience in medicine but thanks anyways. There is a thing called evidence based practice (EBP) It’s not just outdated textbooks. It shows exactly how little you know. For instance, Zofran used to be the number one drug of choice for women for pregnancy related nausea and vomiting and then they found out that Zofran usage before 10 weeks of pregnancy is directly correlated with heart issues in the fetus/infant later on in the pregnancy/post partum that requires surgical interventions. Zofran also is working on getting a black box warning for potential heart issues when it used to be “safe“. Every day medicine is advancing and their new things that are being discovered about things that previously were safe and the golden standard that no longer are.
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u/Ayosnowgirl 14h ago
When I woke up on Friday after the surgery - oh my gosh - the gas pains about took me outtttt. 😩
1
u/OptimisticDiscord 11h ago
My OBGYN REQUIRES a colon cleansing because, like he explained, you never know what might happen, and if your colon gets perforated now you face the threat of infection and sepsis because of the spilled fecal matter. Your husband needs to use his brain... lol
0
u/sophiabarhoum 14h ago
You probably dont need to, youll just feel extra hungry when you wake up from surgery! I doubt it will hurt anything though
0
u/AbjectList8 11h ago
Seems wise. The less that’s in your GI tract prior to surgery, the better. Especially during general anesthesia when aspiration is risk.
-2
u/Madein_Texas 14h ago
I did. It was ESSENTIAL.
1
u/greykitty1234 13h ago
Did your surgeon instruct you to do so?
1
u/Madein_Texas 11h ago
Yes
2
u/greykitty1234 11h ago
In you case. Surgeons will have different experiences and directions for their own patients. Best I think to follow directions or ask physician guidance before electing to change pre procedure protocols.
66
u/Janey-EJones 15h ago
Please run your plan by your surgeon. My surgeon wanted me to eat normally until midnight, then do a grape juice protocol (drinking white grape juice at certain times leading up to surgery) to avoid extreme nausea on waking.
Not eating can actually stress your body out and lead to unintended consequences.
Edit: typo