I'm a day late in my congratulations but, CONGRATULATIONS!! I'm so happy that your surgery is over and that everything seems to have gone well! I hope the rest of your recovery is smooth sailing! I guess I am the last of the January LIS-ers to get my surgery. As the day draws near I am getting more nervous but I also just want to get it over with. I hope in a few days to be able to post a surgery report as positive as yours!

hi scaredy_butt,
you are going to do great!
i can tell you that i wasn't really nervous how i thought i would be but it is very strange how even though you think you are not nervous, your body could still physically be storing anxiety up somewhere. you won't believe it when i tell you that the day before surgery, my entire back, mostly in the middle though, was in such pain that i was more concerned with my back pain! it was so harsh.
i did buy epsom salts in preparation for my soak baths post-surgery but i also indulged in a special chammomile-green tea epsom salt bath the night before and it really helped with my sore back.
i woke up with the back not too bad and after surgery, my sore back was gone! amazing how the body may absorb the anxiety or nervousness elsewhere.
i know i can't tell you not to be nervous but if your experience is anything like mine, you are in for a surprising experience in how everything was and has been so far so easy. i am still in shock if anything happened - of course, i know it did as i will write a follow-up next, but i feel today like i haven't had anything done - in a very positive way.
i am really in no pain.
okay, i hope you can take the next few days to just prepare your home, your bath, and your items so that you are all set at home.
i may have went overboard, but i bought a special accessory to my toilet: a TOTO washlet s300. i feel so much better having it. it was the first thing this morning that rinsed my anal area with soft, warm water and super gentle.
you'll do fine scaredy_butt!
happy

24 hours later update......
first of all, thank you to all for the get well and speedy recovery wishes. it was so comforting to read and be able to look back as i go thru recovery to help me feel cared for.
well it's been 24 hours or more like 26 hours later and all i can say is - did i really do this yesterday?
i left off yesterday having lunch of miso soup and white rice puree with some wakame. for dinner i had pureed butternut squash soup.
i have been taking the toradol 10 mg every six hours as it is for inflammation and is directed for 3 days.
as much as i have only had a very soft, minor discomfort - nothing compared to anything horrific from a bad BM day - i still decided to take the vicodin.
slept really well last night. i didn't feel anything unusual.
last night, the packing did come out and it was interesting to see what it looked like. the most important thing for me to see is how less bloody it was than what i thought it would be. i was impressed.
i am pretty sure my butt has also been painted up with podophyllin as there was that residual color on there too and only because after this morning, taking a physical tour of my anus with a finger-cotted finger, i could tell that the skin around the anus was unusually puffy, a response i remember from back in the early 90s when i got a podophyllin treatment for warts. so i couldn't tell really between all the puffiness and how much has been cut out due to some warts, it just seemed like it was a mysterious place that i have never been too. my ass was nothing like i had remembered. its contours and topography completely changed.
i did have some gas that did come out and it was not as if it was uncontrollable gas - it came out and it did not irritate whatsoever. i was like, nice.
i have had some gas throughout and it has been irritation-free.
i have had some coughing this morning too and that too was pain free.
i haven't had any discharges.
i haven't had any bleeding.
as i was saying, everything so far has been too pleasant to be true.
**
i took my toradol and vicodin this morning. got drowsy and a little sleepy.
i am able to sit down more comfortably than i though i would at this early stage of the recovery.
i made me some pureed oatmeal with prunes in 1/2 water and 1/2 soy milk. really pureed it down. no other added ingredients.
have been drinking water. i have to make sure i get 2 L a day at minimum.
**
just gave myself a 20 minute hot soak bath and i am in amazement that i can lay in the water on my butt and not feel anything.
i did dry off. applied my lidocaine 5% ointment and then dressed with gauze.
**
i am not even experiencing any pain where Laverne & Shirley was. i am like, is this real?
so i am optimistic at this point.....
and i really hope i can post a very positive first BM experience....that remains to be seen. all i know, is that i am not forcing anything out and just waiting for the right time.
my biggest debate right now is when i do have my first BM, do i sit on toilet or do i approach it with the squat?
if i do sit on my toilet, i am going to have the cleansing warm water feature on so that it can be soothing my butt as i poo and hope that will make things more comfortable.
**
overall, i just can't believe how incredible these first 26 hours have been. and i did confirm with the CRS if she did everything and she did.
i'll keep thinking positive about the first poo!
and see what i can puree for lunch today.
also, i am only using the docusate sodium (100 mg) x2 in the morning. i am not taking any other laxatives or softners. this may change but currently, that is all i am using to keep things soft. i am totally on a vegetarian/macrobiotic diet at this point.

Happy,
it's so good to see your doing well! You're rockin!!! I think you and I had very similar experiences so far. You may be surprised with the first bm. I cried and was in shock, I couldn't believe it felt better than the day before surgery. I feel like a fool now but I called family members and was like celebrating!

pss... there was no blood w/ my first bm. I had it once the first week and I remember that my bm was harder from the meds and taking colace which was worthless for me. I started the miralax soon after.\

Am reading your progress avidly,hope everything carries on well and that it really has been all worthwhile, I have added you to my prayers.

Hmmm - Squat on the floor ...or... use the luxurious warm water japanese toilet accessory?
... I think the latter sounds nicer!
How are you doing today?

hi bumbutt,
doing pretty good.
i walked my pug this morning. he is quite an energetic little boy! it was good to walk out in the cold but yet sunny busy neighborhood.
i stopped the vicodin yesterday during the evening.
still no first bm yet. i am okay with that.
i did notice last night, after my epsom salt latte soak bath time and when i was dried up, that i have more excisions in my anus than i thought. so it felt quite like a slice of swiss cheese with lots of holes or like a beat up busy street with lots of potholes! LOL!
even as shocking as that was to reconcile, i am in complete amazement that there is virtually no pain, just swelling and discomfort that feels like chappend lips or chapped baby's bottom. that's all.
i praised God this morning walking along the sidewalks and almost broke into tears thinking how amazing this has been and that i couldn't have done it without His amazing love and care for me.
this is a true blessing.

I am SHOCKED like you are that you are doing SO great, wow, what a wide variation in people who have LIS.
Right now, I am concerned Happy that without the pain, you will be trying to do too much in the first week or so. I say you lay around 24/7 for a few days and do not sit directly on your arse for as long as possible..
That's what I did, anyway...
KEEP IT UP!!

thanks mr Kim!
yes, i am trying to take it easy.
i am not playing Wii yet - well, i will this afternoon but it won't be Just Dance or Just Dance 2 yet. LOL!
so far, i am cooking for myself and preparing my soaking tubs. mostly lying on bed - but not on the bum, and trying to find interesting things to watch on netflix.
i just had to go out and get fresh air this morning and i felt pretty good. i gave my friend a break as i know she doesn't like to wake up early, especially to walk the dog. i love my morning walks with little pug.
she will still take the afternoon and night shift.
okay back to bed.....
no sign of a first BM yet! LOL! i wonder if i am puree-ing my food down too much that it will maybe take a bit longer to have that first BM. hmmmm.....