Hi Susie,
I cant answer all the questions as I havent had botox! But I think maybe the nitro would lose some of, or most of itseffectiveness if used after the expiry date. I've been using it on and off for well over a year now. I find if I stop using it for a week or so, then start again, it works better.
With regards to the surgery, I had spinal surgery with artificial disc replacement in october and chose to have no medication except paracetamol in the hospital. Then I just ate fruit and drank loads of water while in there. And I was the only person on the ward able to have a number two after 2 days! It was a bit drastic, but I was soooo terrified of tearing the fissure even more! In my experience in the hospital, they just give out too many pain meds, then lactulose, and didnt even warn all the patients to drink lots of water with it and they all had bad stomach pains. The GA itself seems to cause constipation and I think morphine is given in theatre, which is another bad culprit! They didnt let me use the nitro before the op, or straight afterwards, I'm not sure why. Might be an idea to take vaseline in with you?
Good luck xx