We are doing this study to see if using an over the counter mild laxative, SennaS, there is a difference in time required to have a bowel movement in women who are having surgery for prolapse (when your uterus and/or vagina drop after childbirth or with age) and/or incontinence (when you leak urine or stool without your control) as compared to a sugar pill or placebo.
Right now, doctors use mild laxatives and stool softeners to help you have a bowel movement earlier and with less pain after surgery. Sometimes if the stool softener or mild laxatives do not work, you may need to use stronger laxatives or enemas. We want to see if specifically using SennaS is better for having a bowel movement soon after surgery and with less pain. SennaS is FDA approved for constipation. It has a stool softener and a mild laxative and has been shown to be safe and effective for treating constipation.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Enrollment
72
Senna+Docusate: dose will be 8.6 mg senna concentrate with 50 mg docusate. The participants will take the medication as follows: 1. Drink 4-6 glasses of fluid a day for the first two weeks after surgery 2. Take 2 SennaS tabs at bedtime the first night home from the hospital 3. If no bowel movement that next morning, take 2 tabs after breakfast. 4. If no bowel movement by evening, take 3 tabs at bedtime 5. If no bowel movement that next morning, take 3 tabs after breakfast 6. Once you do have a bowel movement, use the regimen described in the step two steps prior to the last one you used as your daily regimen. So, if you had a BM the morning after 3 tabs at bedtime, use steps 2 \& 3 (2 tabs at night and in the morning) until the first-postoperative visit.
Placebo pill: The participants will use the placebo pills in the following manner: 1. Drink 4-6 glasses of fluid a day for the first two weeks after surgery 2. Take 2 SennaS tabs at bedtime the first night home from the hospital 3. If no bowel movement that next morning, take 2 tabs after breakfast. 4. If no bowel movement by evening, take 3 tabs at bedtime 5. If no bowel movement that next morning, take 3 tabs after breakfast 6. Once you do have a bowel movement, use the regimen described in the step two steps prior to the last one you used as your daily regimen. So, if you had a BM the morning after 3 tabs at bedtime, use steps 2 \& 3 (2 tabs at night and in the morning) until the first-postoperative visit.
Hartford Hospital
Hartford, Connecticut, United States
1. Time to first bowel movement after surgery. 2. Need for magnesium citrate or enemas in the immediate post-operative period.
Time frame: 7 weeks post-operatively
Straining and pain with bowel movements in the immediate post-operative period
Time frame: First post-operative week
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