Dulcolax with first meal?

 Hey Gang,

I have a question a bout BMs. A few post-ops posted that they had wished they started taking Dulcolax or Miralax within days post-op to get their BMs, for lack of a better word, moving. I am now 2 days post-op and today I will try my first foods since surgery (a bit of yogurt, or eggs). I will be measuring out 1/4 c, but I will likely only have 1/2 of that. We'll see what the Maharani decrees at mealtime!

I was wondering if you guys who have been through this would recommend I take a Dulcolax with that first meal? Or should I wait a couple more days? Dr. says I could go either way, depends on how I feel. 

Thanks,
Somayeh

wow, a first 'meal' only 2 days after surgery!   I will be on liquids for 3 weeks.  I will definitely be taking the dulcolax immediately after I get home.  The pills are tiny.   I am having such a horrible time with constipation on my 2 week liquid pre-op and I am drinking lots of water.

 Im definitely one of the ones that wished I had started a stool softener prior to surgery...I was on liquids for 2 weeks, and still suffered horrible constipation, so I'm not sure the dulcolax has to be tied to a meal, but I definitely would take something!

I had about 1/6 c of yogurt for breakfast. It was yummy and very filling. It went down smoothly and filled me up quickly.  I wasn't quite brave enough to attempt the solid foods on offer this morning, although I'm cleared for that (already). I'm still swollen, so easy does it! I may mix 1/2 dulcolax pill in with my snack at noon (another 1/8-1/4 c yogurt, I expect). That's how I plan to take my prozac/thyroid, too. Eeeeeeasy does it!

Thanks for the suggestions =)

Somayeh

I  Will be 5 mo out in a few days.........Still take 2 stool softeners per day .....I eat over 30 grams of fiber per day ...............You would think this would take care of things!   NOPE

    I feel like I am giving Birth out of my Butt every time I go
                                             

And I thought my doc was quick on the trigger to let me eat solids at 2 weeks!  Fascinating how different they all are!

As others said, you don't have to be eating to take dulcolax.  I usually take it at bedtime, though I'm not sure why now that I say that. Hmmm.

Have you been constipated on your preop diet?  If you're already having difficulties then I'd certainly try stool softeners now.

 I have to admit that I am shocked that they would clear you for something like eggs at only 2 days post op.  For most of us it was 2 weeks clear liquids, 2 weeks full liquids, then puree's and soft foods like eggs.  

For me on the softener issue - liquids pretty much cleared me out.  I didn't have any isues with constpation until about 6 weeks out.  I usually will do a cap full of miralax in my 32 oz water bottle in the morning and one in the evening if I havent gone for a day.  That keeps it manageable for me.

 Yep, I was surprised myself, Rob! I was fully prepared for the 10 day clear/10 day full/10 day mushy transition and then I got my doctor's & NUT's mealplan sample a few hours before discharge from the hospital. I thought it might have been an error so I asked him about it point blank (it had 2-day old toasted WHOLE WHEAT bread as part of the week 1/2 diet (a small amount, but still)). 

I was worried about posting about being cleared because I didn't want to give other newbies misguiding information, or have them follow my doctor's orders for me for themselves.

Here's the jist of  what he said/cleared me for & how:
*yogurts and soft-boiled eggs slowly, which feels like full liquids going down more than solid food.
*Scrambled eggs, lean meat slices, cottage cheese, toast, soft and ripe fruits & veggies, etc (what I call the "solids"), he has me cleared for as long as they are PUREED and chewed 100x.

So far today, I've eaten about 1/3 cup of yogurt total (split into 2 sittings) and 3 (very small) bites of 1 pureed deli chicken slice (it's 5:30 pm here in Belgium). 

So, here's my (very long) disclaimer:

I'm not recommending it for anyone else - always, ALWAYS, stick to your dr's plan above the advice of anyone else!! Keep in mind that I had a ridiculously smooth recovery (thank God) so far. I have minimal pain (without any pain meds for the last 30 hours), and what pain I do have is gas related (walking a bit always helps) or incision sites stinging from now and then to remind me I've been cut a few times for the scopes.

Additionally, although I had/have a bmi of 40, I have very few comorbidities, no diabetes, no high blood pressure, etc, and am physically strong and fit, despite being morbidly obese (talk about words that are not supposede to go together!). I was able to start walking right away after coming out of recovery. I've also been diligent in encorporating a behavioral therapy paradigm into my WLS process pre & post-op, whi*****ludes body awareness and learning to recognize "fullness" early. I have been very aware of & responsive to my sleeve's mood swings and gurgles. My dr had all of these factors in mind when he cleared me to skip forward to the mushy/pureed phase 2 days out. If you're a pre-op thinking "Sweet, chicken & eggs 2 days out!", then you probably wouldn't be cleared for this eating plan for the first 2 weeks! =D

To my home-newbies, please, please, please always remember that your recovery is going to be unique to you! Do what your dr tells  ya, not what mine told me!

Somayeh

 I had a very smooth recovery and like most eggs sat in my stomach like a brick at 3 weeks out.  If I were you I would be very careful with eggs at 3 days out.

Hehe. I hear ya. I haven't tried them as yet. Honestly, eggs sometimes made me nauseous pre-op (it's a texture & smell thing), so I don't think I'll be trying them for a while. I don't really have much hunger, so other than starting my mornings out with some yogurt for energy, i'm not in a big hurry to try too many new things just yet.

Sometimes it's scary to be different, even if I'm following my doctors orders conservatively. Still, I know that the medical, nutritional and psychological professionals around me know me best, so I have to remind myself to trust in that.


Somayeh