Ok so had my op Wednesday were my intestine had to be taken to one side while lymph removed and then replaced and stitched up pubic bone to sternum, was told to only eat carbs , white bread , bland food and no veg or fruit for 2 weeks, know i'm scared as i having been to open my bowels since so had orange juice today! I normally eat loads of fruit and veg! Anyway should i be worried? Any ideas what might help? Ive walked lots today but its exhausting x
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Are you allowed to eat prunes. Senna tablets are quite good its not easy but hopefully you've been through the worst ask your team they can give you something they will do the trick. Your wise getting it sorted asap . Good luck sending love ,& hugs. SheilaFxxx
Hi, if you feel like you need to go but are constipated, I wonder if a glycerine suppository would be a good idea as it helps it come out but doesn't affect your digestive system.
Good luck, I know it's a tough time. And please don't lift anything, or over exert your stomach muscles. I gave myself a little hernia by not being careful.
I was sent home from hospital with a very large bottle of lactulose to take. My bowels were slow to ‘wake up’ after my surgery and I was told they don’t like being moved. I wasn’t given any dietary advice but ate light food such as eggs and soup. Try and have a nap mid afternoon. Walking is good but you also need additional rest to allow your body to recover.
It’s so difficult - the ‘opening of the bowels’ moment after surgery. Everything gets moved around inside during the op. Takes a few weeks to settle. It took a week or so to anything like normality, and your op was bigger than mine. Mine was belly button to pubic area. Mint tea was my go-to. I drank loads of it. However if you’re on a bland diet, it sounds as if you’re needing a gentle laxative. Ask them for advice, and good luck with your appointment. Don’t overdo things early on. You will get tired easily. An afternoon nap was essential to me. Later, when given the go ahead from my team I did lots of swimming. Early morning sessions in lanes in my local pool. Not yet though! Be gentle with yourself. It’ll come together slowly xx
Stick to what they say. I was told the same and managed to go eventually. They advise a low fibre diet. Ovacome have a good booklet on blocked bowel or problems in the area. You can either download it or send off for it. I found it very useful as I also have a lot of bowel damage. Avoid seeds, nuts, brown bread & brown rice. That sort of thing.
Good luck with it. It will turn out okay. Just give it a chance.
I didn't pass stool for nearly 3 weeks after my debulking op, when they had to remove a few centimetres of bowel and stitch the ends back together. They gave me Movicol every day, but I wasnt allowed to eat anything for 5 days, fluids only, then what I call the 'white diet' - things like white pasta, white bread, white rice, scrambled egg (no milk, just the eggs) all low or no fibre, and no fruit or veg for a week or so. After that, I slowly returned to my normal diet including fibre, fruit and veg. I strongly suggest you stick to what they said because bowels don't like being moved around manually and it takes a while for it to recover and work normally again. I'd recommend Laxido or Movicol to keep things moving, they do not irritate the bowel like senna does.
As an expert on bowel blockages due to adhesions after surgery and a colostomy I was advised on a low residue diet which is essentially all beige food.After being used to loads of fruit and veg I was reluctant but it has helped with the addition of laxido and moving around after eating.During lockdowns I developed the habit of walking round the block after dinner and have stuck with it,only 15 minutes but it seems to help.Good luck.Viv
I had major debulk with 1/2 m of small bowel removed. I didn’t stick to the beige diet…my sister would bring in vegetable broth and some cut up fruit. Even an oat latte. I was in for 5 days before being released and I had managed to poo! It did take several weeks to get properly regular though and I used prunes in that time. Best of luck with your recovery.
I got a diet booklet called low fibre diet - I’m sure if you Google Taif some charts will come up - cauliflower and broccoli florets on the can eat list but no stalks/stems, speghetti hoops, tinned fruit , fruit with no skins on or no pips, nesquik. The tinned pears have been nice with either ice cream or yoghurt. White toast with chocolate spread. This is the type of diet I have been told to follow post op and I also have senna and laxido.
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