Image courtesy of http://www.millersurgery.co.uk/procedures/bowel-surgery/
I mentioned in my post the other day about having to go on a special "Bowel Preparation" diet 3 days before my surgery but didn't go in to too much detail. I've been reading through the booklet the hospital gave me and it states that I may have been put on this diet because the surgery I'm having may involve my bowel. So now I don't know if there is something I haven't been told or if my bowels are just getting in the way!

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.