Congratulations, Optimist. I agree that prune juice and walking are excellent remedies. Bloating, gas, and the inability to have a BM were the worst parts of my hospitalization. I was nearly out of the hospital when one of the nurses finally told me that the doctor had authorized simethicone every six hours. It was never offered. My wife, who has been an R. N. for 40 years, says that's the problem with nursing today: the nurses are so busy sitting in front of a computer screen that they have much less patient contact than years ago and do much less visual assessment of a patient's needs. Not offering simethicone to a patient whose doctor has specifically authorized it, and who has been complaining of gas and bloating, is really inexcusable.
Don't walk yourself into the ground, but do as much as you can. It will definitely help get things moving. I think it's good for the pelvic floor muscles as well. I'm glad to hear the surgery went so well.