Q regarding bowel prep for surgery...

[mcco5543]

So my question is? What are your methods for DIY bowel prep for surgery??

I am an L4/L5 para from Spina Bifida....
i may have to do bowel prep for surgery. (hopefully not, since I've never had to do it for this surgery (bladder stones) before, but it's a new surgeon. So will see...but I digress...

Anyway, I can't drink the magnesium Citrate or golytly because I instantly puke it up (sorry for being gross). This is not a theory or a fear. It's a proven reality. I am also supposed to do an ennema which will never happen because my rectal muscles are completely paralysed and I've been there and "tried that" many many times as a kid. Never was successful and was always a disaster.

Background info that may be pertinent: I currently manage my bowels by eating/not eating certain foods as well as a hot shower to relax my muscles and I manually stimulate to eliminate my bowels. I keep myself slightly constipated on purpose to avoid accidents. So I know there's fecal matter in there that can come out prior to surgery. And my own plan would be to eat the foods that I know make me "go like crazy" and then get on clears the day before surgery. That's the best this surgeon's gonna get from me unfortunately. I've tried all the other "bowel" programs and no other program has worked for me like the one I'm on. Still suggetsions and ideas are welcome. Also opinions on my method are also welcome. please help! Thank you!

 

[daisyduck123]

My DD has had several surgeries, & for the last couple, she has just fasted.

She decided to do this last fall while in the hospital (Children's Nat'l Medical Center). She had just finishing drinking all of that stuff for her surgery the next day & the surgeon called to our room, extremely ill, saying he had the flu & we would have to postpone her surgery by about five days.

DD was extremely upset of course, saying she was not going to go thru bowel prep all over again & that she would just NOT EAT until the next surgery. Everyone gave her the OK for that, and for her next couple of surgeries after that, she has done the same thing....just NOT EAT. It has worked well for her.

I'm wishing you well and throwing lots of your way.

Btw, my DD has always thrown up the Golightly as well. Yuck!

 

[honugirl]

Try miralax. It has no flavor and can be mixed into any sort of drink. I used gatorade and it was fine. I have a very sensitive gag reflex so anything weird makes me throw up.

 

[SueM in MN]

Try miralax. It has no flavor and can be mixed into any sort of drink. I used gatorade and it was fine. I have a very sensitive gag reflex so anything weird makes me throw up.

A lot of people find Miralax works great because it has no taste or texture.

(That GoLightly is really nasty stuff).

My DD has had several surgeries, & for the last couple, she has just fasted.

She decided to do this last fall while in the hospital (Children's Nat'l Medical Center). She had just finishing drinking all of that stuff for her surgery the next day & the surgeon called to our room, extremely ill, saying he had the flu & we would have to postpone her surgery by about five days.

DD was extremely upset of course, saying she was not going to go thru bowel prep all over again & that she would just NOT EAT until the next surgery. Everyone gave her the OK for that, and for her next couple of surgeries after that, she has done the same thing....just NOT EAT. It has worked well for her.

I'm wishing you well and throwing lots of your way.

Btw, my DD has always thrown up the Golightly as well. Yuck!

It's important that fasting is OK with the doctors, as daisyduck123 mentioned.
There may be reasons that fasting is not good for some people and it can really mess up the blood sugar.
An alternative to fasting (which you should also check with the doctors) would be a liquid diet for a few days between doing your regular bowel program and your surgery. That would 'clean things out' before starting the liquid diet and prevent most of the 'solid matter' from being produced in the first place.

 

[Ali]

I'm a damaged L-5 person myself, and constipation is my life. Prior to surgery I use magnesium citrate tablets, senna laxatives, and a liquid diet for 4 days prior to surgury. I have very slow transit time and I have to get empty several days prior to the event and then do liquids before and after because of the sedation's effects on bowel issues.

Miralax doesn't cause me to have a BM, it just is used in a maintenance program for me.

 

[rastika]

When my sister had her bowel surgery she attempted to drink the GoLightly stuff and couldn't keep it down. In the end the doc would not approve any other method other than GoLightly so they ended up running a thing tube through her nose into her stomach. Would this be a possibility for you or do you throw up once the contents hit your stomach regardless of how they got there?

Best of luck to you! Sending speedy healing energy your way.