Try not to worry too much, I think I ripped a few stitches on day 2, the pain was excruciating and there was blood but I got through it, I felt like you wondering if it was all worth it.
You'll be surprised how easy that first BM comes out, maybe the valium is constipating you a bit, I would try and get off that as soon as possible due to dependency issues.
Best of luck

Calm,
I hope you feel better soon!
Steve,
I asked my friend Dwight to start praying for your butt to feel better!!

Thanks cheryl, I really appreciate it, and tell Dwight I said thanks too

Be careful with all those pain pills, especially Percocets. Make sure you are taking Miralax with them too. You can give yourself an ileus by taking too many, where your intestines aren't moving anything. Don't take them unless you have to. Try to take Ibuprofen instead or if you are taking percocets, vicodin is less constipating. You could call and get a script for that instead if you still haven't gone. I tried to not take as much during the day, but took percocets at night to stay asleep and not wake up with any pain...Even a couple percocets would seriously slow me down.
Also if the pain is bad, soak in the bath. I seriously spent like an hour and a half in the bath the other night. It helps to keep that area as clean as possible. If you are having discharge, that can be really irritating to your skin and may be making the pain a lot worse too.
I am at a week a half post op and things have already improved a lot since the first few days, so hang in there.

Hey Call,
I hope you feel better soon. I know w/ your procedure that the pain meds probably aren't an option. You most likely couldn't make it without them. I agree with Elizabeth 100% about the vicodin and miralax. Are you already taking the miralax?
Gosh, I hope you feel better soon. I'm sure not having a normal bm isn't helping. I felt pressure and once I was able to have a good bm and continue it got better.
Don't be discouraged in these early days. Take care.

pss...call,
we are here to support you through the bad and post all the negative you need...The positive days are coming!

Thanks everyone. I am currently taking metamucil and senakot twice daily, as well as eating my fruit and veggies and drinking plenty of water. So, I'm fairly certain I'm doing what I need to do.
I am having very small amounts of very soft BM, almost liquid, and it's usually accompanying flatulence, which scares me because it sometimes can feel so explosive. I'm sure all of the stitches and any swelling is making it tough. I did have a quick 'feel' down there, and man-o-man, I have a LOT of stitches. :-( It's kind of scary. I'm afraid for what it's going to be like to push a full BM past that. Yikes.
Hopefully I'll have a BM tonight or tomorrow. Otherwise, I'll have to drink magnesium citrate to force it. Not cool.
As for needing the pain pills, I pretty much need them due to pain, and I'm not one to ever take pain pills. Supposedly, the medicine in the pain pump works hand-and-hand with the percoset, so I was advised to stay on it. There is a HUGE difference between when I do and don't take it. I did however cut out the vallium, since I didn't really feel it necessary right now. We'll see if I need to calm down later, then I might take it again.
Also, I had my husband take a look and he said there is a small amount of bruising where I assume the LIS incision was made. Does anyone know if this too is normal?
Thanks again for all the support. I never thought I'd actually be excited for the day that I could report passing stool...

Hey call,
I imagine your rear feels pretty rough. Your procedure was a lot more than just LIS-for sure. As for the bruising, it's definitely normal. I looked at my butt just by accident drying w/ a towel 3 weeks after lis and my arse cheeks were bruised so bad that I could see it in the mirror, no where near my lis incision or tag removal.
I had a really good experience with my surgery and had that kind of bruising. I normally bruise pretty easy anyway. But yeah I'd say It's normal. I've read of many who had the bruising after surgery.
Is senakot a stool softener or a laxative?

I'd like to add, the valium is good for muscle spasms that can continue to happen with this kind of surgery when a lot of work is done down there. I was actually prescribed it after I had my surgery because I continued to have some spasms for a short time. It did calm my nerves also.

Thanks for the info on the bruising, Dawn. I was pretty sure it would be normal, but it always helps to know from experience.
As for the senakot, it's a laxative that was on my post-op instruction sheet. I've pretty much been following it to a T. From what it says, I'm assuming that having difficulty passing that first BM is quite common. If by tomorrow I have not passed one, I will start by taking milk of magnesia the following day. And if that doesn't work, I move on to the magnesium citrate.
To be honest, I have't been eating much at all, and what I have eaten wouldn't really qualify as bulky in any way. I started with soup on the first day, and moved to crackers, fruits, boiled chicken and rice, and veggies. Hopefully I'm worrying about nothing.
As for the spasms, I have had some, but nothing too bad yet. I usually only get them when I tense up thinking (read: worrying) about when that first BM will come. I feel like such an emotional mess right now.
The good news is that my pain is completely bearable, especially when the pain meds are in me. I feel totally 'normal', with the exception of some slight discomfort when I try to sit. However, for the most part I stay standing or laying down.
Well, thank you again for everything. This site and the wonderful people on it are a God-send. I really and truly appreciate everyone's help. In fact, is there anywhere that I can at least donate to the site? I feel like it's the least I can do.