My husband started using Colace before surgery to see how it will effect his guts and stayed on it after surgery (never stopped taking it) for a week or two just to be on a safe side.

I would just like to say that his bowel movements are always regular (at least twice a day, morning and night) because we eat a lot of veggies and fruits. He was not advised to go low on fiber at any point. I do not see how it can help since there would be nothing worse than getting constipated before surgery or even worse first day after : (.

You really have to make sure to keep your BMs soft and regular since any straining post op can effect your belly muscles (read formation of hernia) or your anastomosis ( the place where urethra is re-attached) . For that reason my husband was prescribed to have Miralax on hand in case that he does not have BM in the first 3 days. He panicked second day and used it and it was an overkill for him 😵‍💫 but he was happy to have that hurdle behind and not worry about it.

During his recovery he took only one pain pill because he did not need more but if you happen to be in pain and take those "real" pain killers make sure to take extra Colace and extra fiber since those meds are VERY constipating .