Hi all,
I just thought it would be a good idea to share with you my plan for LIS. I seem to have had a relatively pain free experience, and my excellent surgeon notwithstanding, I think there are a few things I did that really helped me through the surgery and the past week. I hope I don't jinx myself by writing this.
1) got acupunture 2 days before the surgery. This always helps to relax me and my TCM dr specifically did a CR surgery prep session.
2) i ate only soft foods the 2 days before and nothing after 6 in the evening the night before. I actually made tons of chicken soup. I had beans for lunch 2 days before, an apple for breakfast the day before, a bowl of soup for lunch the day before and broth for dinner. that way i completely cleaned myself out so that I wouldn;t get constipated by any meds administered during or immediately after the surgery.
3) the day of the surgery, i made sure the nurses dosed me with painkillers before leaving the hospital. when home i made sure to take a vicoden every four hours so i would not be in pain and tense up or swell up. i took a magnesium supplement with every other one of these and I took two stool softeners that day.
4) the first thing I ate post-op was tea, followed by a baked apple. For dinner i had a bowl of that chicken soup and a macaroon. I also had herbal teas all day, like chamomile. also, I rested all day and took an espom salt bath in the evening.
5) the following day, I ate more soup and apples, but I added things like yogurt and other soft foods. I took a vicoden immediately upon waking. I think this helped the first bm not hurt. I forgot to take pain meds for most of the day because I didn't really hurt. I did start to get sore towards bed and took 3 ibuoprofen.

6) 2 days post-op i went back to eating normal foods. I took 3 ibuprofen in the morning a couple during the day and a couple at night.
I think the painkiller in the mornings before bm are key. The third day I went immediately after taking them so they hadn't kicked in and the bm was a bit less comfortable.
I hope this helps someone. (and I hope I haven't jinxed myself)

Thanks for all the suggestions!  I am so glad that you found a routine.  I know once you open your mouth there is this feeling that it will be jinxed but eveything you are doing makes sense and helps to minimize pain which is so helpful in healing surgically.

Chris,
I am glad things are going well for you. I beleive that you really prepared your body for the shock of LIS and it paid off. Good luck with the haeling process. I want you to be pain free.
Patty

I'm glad too that things are going so well for you and you're healing.
I hope everything continues to improve and you get back to normal very soon!

i'm so happy for you chris! good luck w/ continued healing :)