Hi again Alpha! I’m glad you found my suggestions useful – I’ll try to answer your questions, but please remember that I’m going by my own experience, so please take my advice with a grain of salt!
I am thinking to take extra stool softner (docusate which worked well with me) 2 or 3 days before the surgery. So I never get constipated when I do the first BM after surgery and make it easier. Is this a good idea?Many boardies here have been on stool softeners (mostly Miralax) full-time, so I imagine that it would fine for you to start the stool softeners before the surgery, as long as they don’t give you diarrhea or stools that are too loose and watery. And it would be a good idea to start them a few days before surgery so that your system is used to them. That said, it’s a good idea to call your doctor and ask about that.
I am also thinking to use fleet enema, the day before surgery and in the morning of surgery. This is to lengthen the time go without BM after surgery as much as possible. I guess this will give more time to heal the wound. Right?Some folks here were given a fleet enema before their surgery, so that might be fine, although twice might be too much. Again, this is something you should clear with your surgeon. A fleet enema will likely only prevent a BM for one or two days (you probably don’t want to go without a BM much longer than that!), and that really isn’t enough time to affect healing, IMO. It will take your wounds weeks to months to heal. The LIS will only relax the sphincter muscle to eliminate the spasms that block the blood flow that prevents the healing of the fissure. An LIS, therefore, allows the fissure to heal naturally, without interference from a tight/spastic sphincter. The fissurectomy will be an open wound, so, again, things will take a while to heal. That’s why I don’t think that a few days BM-free will make that much of a difference. You may get an enema anyway – so you should double check with your doc. I think that the important thing is not preventing BMs, but rather keeping everything soft and coming out smoothly – here stool softeners are your best friends!
I am planning to get some vitamin-c supplements as my sister (a medical doctor) told me that vitamin-c promotes the healing of the cut.Many boardies take vitamin supplements, including vit c, e, a and zinc (I’m actually taking those myself). Zinc is supposed to be very good for wound healing too. Just a note of caution – too much vit c can cause diarrhea and too much zinc might cause constipation, so don’t overdose on those ones! I think the best dosage may be associated with age, gender and weight, etc. Perhaps your sis can advise you here too.
Am I going to be able to watch TV and concentrate on it from the day after the surgery??? I guess its not possible due to pain???The day after the surgery you are likely to be a bit dopey, especially if you are on painkillers. I had the tv on for company and for those times when I was conscious and needed some distraction. I was actually on painkillers for the first two days after my surgery, so I was sleeping quite a bit (which was lovely!). Since you are having a fissurectomy, I expect that you will be dopey from painkillers too for the first few days, but I don’t think the pain will be so bad that you won’t be able to watch some tv as a distraction. Try to sleep as much as you can.
BTW, stay on top of the pain – it is easier to prevent pain than it is to kill it once it sets in. So take the painkillers if you need them and dose up on stool softeners to prevent constipation. You may be able to replace the painkillers with OTC pain meds after a few days.
What did you guys do while you guys were in the bed while recovering? I got an ipad for this so that I can surf the net while I am in the bed.I wish I had an ipad! I’m soooo jealous!!! I have my little laptop and have learned how to type lying down. You will really appreciate that wonderful toy while you recover! I mostly watched tv and movies. I could read novels after the first few days, but my attention span was very short (still is a bit). Mostly I tried to sleep as much as possible (sleep is a wonderful healer too). After that I spent a lot of time on this forum (I still do!)
What dosage do you recommend with Ibuprofen or Tylenol????That’s a tough one. A lot depends on individual make-up. When things were really bad, I would take 2 Ibuprofen and a Robaxecet, which is a muscle relaxant. I love Robaxecet because it makes me drowsy and even puts me to sleep. I used it before and after my LIS because it would help minimize the spasms. For some people, the spasms stop immediately after the LIS, for others milder spasms linger a bit, which was the case for me – the muscle relaxant was a lifesaver. I usually only need one, sometimes two per day. BTW, Ibuprofen can thin the blood, so you might see more of it if you take that.
Oh, do I need that diaper for adult? I already bought some (18 diapers) but I am not sure if I should buy more. As I will be totally alone, I can't go out and drive to get more diapers. So I should prepare enough. Do I need diapers? If so how many???I really don’t think you need a diaper! Full fecal incontinence – actually pooping in the pants – is incredibly rare (there isn’t a single case of it that I’ve found on this forum, and I’ve read just about every post here!). I prefer not to have anything on my butt just now.
But now that you mention it, there is something I forgot to mention for your list, and that is pads and panty-liners – sorry! I know guys aren’t big on feminine hygiene products (actually, gals aren’t either!), but they might come in handy, especially later. I recommend "Always" pads because they come in different absorbencies, and even the high absorbency ones are thin and comfortable. "Always" also has good panty-liners, which are much thinner than pads.
I suggest these because you will likely be leaking some blood and fluid for the first week or so. That’s common - just keep an eye on it. As long as it doesn’t smell too strong and doesn’t look like pus, you’re ok. But don’t be shy about calling your surgeon’s office if you have any questions about discharge because an infection is a possible complication and if it happens, you want to be on top of that asap.
I am actually walking around with no pants or underwear right now
I put a clean sheet on the couch and put clean towels under my butt while I lie down and keep everything well ventilated :D
I have a stock-pile of clean sheets and towels so that I am using fresh ones every two days at least (I’m a bit compulsive about hygiene right now!)
OK, I can steal some of my son's baby wipes. There are plenty so he wouldn't notice. That's no problem.
Good job!
BTW, why you not recommend soap when cleaning? What's the best way to clean then????Soap is a bad idea because it will dry and irritate the tissue. Most doctors I know say not to use soap on the anus or vagina because the tissue is too delicate – and besides, there are natural secretions that keep those areas clean and we shouldn’t mess with that too much. I think the best way to clean is to run water over your butt and take wet, soft baby wipes and gently dab your butt clean. Some folks also soak in the tub for about 20 minutes after a BM. I prefer a shower after a BM to let any leftover ‘matter’ wash away. I actually take about 4 quick showers a day to clean up the post-surgery discharge too. (Oh yeah, I also sanitized the heck out of my bathroom before my surgery and stockpiled clean towels too)
Another thing. Miralax or Prune Juice? Which one should I use to prevent constipation for long term use? Any of these have any side effect? I googled about them and I did not find anything that suggests any bad side effect. But heard that prune juice has some very mild stimulative in it by nature. Are any of these OK to take for long period? like over an year?I think that is a personal choice. I could never get prune juice down (yuck!), so I don’t know much about it. Miralax seems to be the favourite here, but you should use whatever is best for you. The thing about Miralax is that it can take a few days to work, so you might want to overlap it as you taper off any other stool softener you are using. I think the advantage of Miralax and prune juice (over coalace, for example) is that they are both safe for long-term use. Many people here say their doctors say there is no problem using Miralax indefinitely; but if you want to go off it, taper off slowly.
Hmmm …. It think that’s about it. I hope this helps!