Diamond 
dont worry 'let every one pamper you'dont wory about work'your healing has begun 'a new chapter .
wishing yo a speedy recovery'you know what to do 
heres to great healing 
health and happiness
m

Hey Diamond,
It's good to hear that everything went so well with the procedure and from everything I've read on this, fingers crossed it is your very last surgery!! LIFT is often done as a two part surgery (the first bit of which involves, putting in a seton to widen the fistula tract) - You've been through this part, so just hoping your healing is a successful one now! LOL - I did smile at the thought of you curled up like a sullen angry little person on your bed!
The LIFT technique is one of the more modern & recommended surgeries because there doesn't appear to be much risk at all of incontinence and the success rate is also really high for complete recovery. YAY!..........
I've not been there myself with LIFT but as with any surgery, I'm guessing things will be a little uncomfortable for the first couple of weeks, so I totally agree that you should just put yourself first and take off all the time you need to to get through the initial recovery. Stay on top of the pain meds & rest up big time! I love your attitude! Too right, we should all put ourselves first! so we can lead a better quality of life.
I'll be really interested to hear all about your recovery process & keeping my fingers crossed that everything goes to plan! :) 

Thanks for your message ETO! I did look funny all sullen in the bed LOL ..I scared my husband...he showed up and thought I was mad at him! I'm home now... not feeling much pain at all.. but I did take some percocet today. No BM today but I didn't want to force it. And I wasn't comfy in the hospital. Drinking lots of water and apple juice today so hope to have one tomorrow morning. Nurse visits start tomorrow. Seems like my wound is about 2 inches long and over an inch deep.. that doesn't seem as bad as how they described it. The nurse will do more accurate measurements tomorrow. Have to book a follow up with my doc in 2 weeks. Will keep you all posted.. I'm really hoping that this is the end of this awful situation but lets see :)

My fingers and toes are crossed that this really is the last hurdle for you Diamond!!
OMB xx

Thank you OMB!

Diamond
I am so glad ur back n in ur comfort place home :) take it slow work can wait and yes we need all the rest especially with placewe have our surgery :(
Take rest drink lots of water n if poss good stool softener.
Kathy

Thanks Kathy ...really appreciate the support.
My nurse just left... the packing change was definitely painful but other than that it's a little scary how I don't have any major pain. I even managed to pull out the old packing this morning. I feel like I can go out and about but I know I shouldn't so I'm forcing myself to take it easy. No BM yet :( that has me worried...so I took a cocktail of stool softeners and laxatives and prune juice. I prob overdid it ...the nurse said I don't need to worry just yet as it hasn't been 3 days yet. I also forgot that I've barely eaten so there may be nothing in my system to come out? Just had my husband make me an omelette ..I never crave eggs but I did today for some reason! I plan to maintain a diet super high in protein to ensure I can heal properly.

Just an update ..managed a BM.. I think the cocktail of stimulants worked! But the packing got soiled so had to pull it all out. I had forgotten how hard it is to keep the area clean those first few days post surgery! Soaked a couple of times and showered off a few times. My nurse said it's okay to be without packing for a max of 24 hours... so I assume I'll be okay until tomorrow morning when the nurse comes back. I don't want to attempt to pack it myself! It's apparently a huge gaping wound.. about 6cm long and 3.5cm deep. Anyway sorry for too much info.. but I do feel that the first BM post surgery is a milestone :) LOL

Diamond
I am glad ur doing good with packing and ur first BM yes stool softener n prune juice helped me a lot. I never had packing so hope it's only for few days. Take rest and drink lof water
Kathy

Unfortunately I do think the packing will be in for at least a month - based on my previous experiences.
I think my body is finally settling down in terms of BMs, etc. I had to drink prune juice every day... and then I realized.. why am I changing my usual routine?!- I usually have a smoothie in the morning and I haven't since my surgery. I almost always use a banana in it and I thought bananas are constipating. So I did some research and apparently they're not - only unripe bananas will constipate you. So I start my day with my usual smoothie again - 1 cup almond milk, 1 banana, half cup frozen mango and 1 tsp chia seeds. I usually have a almost perfect BM an hour later. So if anyone else is going through this issue - might be worth a try. I was also avoiding supplements since some of them (such a zinc) can have constipating effects. Turns out that Vit C is a mild laxative.. so I take one pill with my smoothie. My BM is a lot smoother than with prune juice.. I found that it was more explosive with prune juice.. which leads to other issues. I'm still taking stool softeners once a day. I'm down to one percocet pill just prior to my nurse visit.. but other than that I am trying to keep pressure off the wound (sitting and laying down in weird positions).
Anyway, its been 1 week today and I feel much better although my pain appears to be escalating. The nurse had mentioned it may be due to the fact that all my nerve endings were gone with the incision and now everything is coming back. I will be seeing my doc on Monday for a follow up. Turns out my wound is pretty sloughly so I will be asking the doc about dressing recommendations. In the past my nurses have used betadine (aka iodine) and mesalt - turns out betadine is a no-no for this sensitive area even though it will clean up the wound. Mesalt is just a stronger option to saline soaked packing strips - it can sting a little as the salt is technically inside the gauze.
Anyway, hope youre all healing well!