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Anyway, I thought I'd share with you exactly what this preparation entails...
The bowel preparation is known as a low residue diet, which means that the amount of fibre in your diet is very restricted. As mentioned previously, I also have to take two Senna 7.5mg laxatives twice a day.
Day1
3 days before my operation (Saturday) I will start the diet and I can only eat meals made up of these foods...
:: Meat: Lean meats, poultry, bacon, offal (Quorn, bean curd).
:: Fish: Fresh or frozen, tinned in brine.
:: Cheese: Any type.
:: Eggs: Boiled, poached, scrambled.
:: Milk allowance: 1/2 pint per day (full cream, skimmed, or semi-skimmed), lassi.
:: Fats: Butter, margarine - 1/2oz daily, low fat spread - 1oz daily. OR
:: Bread: White only, no more than 4 slices daily. OR
:: Chapati: Made with white flour (no.1) - not more than 4 daily.
:: Potatoes: Boiled or mashed. 4 large egg-sized per day. OR
:: Rice: White - 4 tablespoons daily.
:: Crackers: Plain, (not high fibre) e.g. cream crackers.
:: Biscuits: Rich tea, arrowroot.
:: Sweets: Boiled sweets, mints, jellies.
:: Sugar: Brown or white, honey, syrup, jelly type jam or marmalade (without fruit pieces) gur or jaggery.
:: Desserts: Jelly.
:: Beverages: Tea, coffee (milk from allowance), Lucozade, fizzy drinks, Ribena, OXO, Marmite, wine, beer.
:: Seasonings: Salt, ground pepper, vinegar.
Day 2
Two days before my operation (Sunday). I can only have 'free fluids', which means any fluids, but no food. If I am having tea or coffee, I can add milk. If I have soup, it must be clear soup without 'bits'.
Day 3
The day before my operation (Monday), I can only have 'clear fluids'. This means that I cannot have milk or any food. I must only drink fluids from the Beverages section of the list above.
To put it in simple terms, I'm not leaving the house, not straying far from a toilet and I'm going to have a miserable few days! But, hopefully, it'll give the Prof. more room to play around with inside my body.
S.
The bowel prep will be just in case they accidentally cut/nick your bowel. Better to be safe than sorry.
ReplyDeleteI've had two bowel preps. A couple of tips. . .
You will be sore after wiping so many times, so use wet-wipes for babies and then apply some Vaseline/cold cream to help sooth.
Make your bathroom as relaxing and pleasant as you can. You will be spending a lot of time in there! Burn incense sticks and have music playing, especially if there are other people in the house!
Remember to take in your own sanitary towels, as the ones the hospital provide are horrible.
I hope everything goes well for you, and that you will be pain free in a few weeks.