Hello Fellow Pouchers, I'm 3 days into recovery from hernia surgery and I'm sharing the experience and how I was able to navigate some of the unexpected post surgical realities. Is recovery painful for a few days, yes, of course it is and that's why we're given pain killers. It's also difficult to pee because you're just so swollen everywhere down there. The problem with pain killers is that they are constipating, so if you were taking something like Imodium so slow things down you should discontinue it completely at first. It's really difficult to bear down after surgery because you're putting pressure on the most painful part of your body. Additionally the postop pain kind of makes it difficult to mentally locate the part of your body that you normally pressure to relieve yourself. More than ever you want pancake batter poop and I made sure to carefully take Miralax and Metamucil to accomplish that consistency. I also used Fleet suppositories several times. Such fun, but all these things make a world of difference when trying to poop when you're so terribly sore. Finally, and almost more importantly I discovered that I could pass stool far more easily by squatting rather than sitting. Finally, in order to minimize the chance of ileus, the anesthesia was MAC, a minimal level of conscious sedation; I've zero memory of being aware of anything. (Note: yes, swollen testicles, men only, and a fever postoperatively are common).
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