1st Surgery

Hi Jade I had resection in Jan. I am hoping that you like me will feel better when you have had it done. I had a epidermal in when they put me to sleep and had very little pain only one tylenol after they removed that after day 3 and that didn't hurt. It may take a few days to pass air after that a person can eat . I did have a nasal tube which caused me to have a itchy nose because they tapped it in place. I was up and walking soon after surgery and got some rest. Walking is good once you start it. Ensure helped me get some strength back and loved the boost ,I liked going to the kitchenette for snacks. I had a Aunt who visited and that was great support and helped me get threw it as I was a couple of hours from home. My teen came up to and it is great to get some family help. 22 staples and did get infected after surgery but cleared up good with antibotics and yes the incision closed up nicely too. I say that because I am prone to fistula"s .lol gail

I didn't have the nasal tube. My surgery was mostly laproscopic except they had to make a larger incision to get the "guts" out. The first time you stand up is weird. My nurse advised me to give myself a shot of morphine before I got up, it helped a lot with the fear. I was afraid to stand up because I thought it would hurt but it wasn't bad at all. My stomach felt like I had done about 500 sit ups the day before. Sore but not bad.

Mandy's suggestion about the pillow is great, you can get a small travel pillow for this purpose. This pillow will come in handy when you wear your seatbelt on the way home from the hospital.

I brought some "pillow spray" because I can't stand the hospital smells. A drop of essential oil on a cotton ball will also help if you don't like the smells.

Hospitals seem to come alive at night after visiting hours. It's easy to start sleeping days and staying up at night because of the activity and noise. I recommend some ear plugs or an MP3 player with ear buds.

Everyone is concerned about your intestines waking up but they give you morphine which slows you down. I stopped the morhine as soon as I could so things would get moving again. I don't recommend stopping it if you are in pain, but if your pain is mild talk to your doctor. I found that I was in a lot more pain when I went home than when I was in the hospital. I was overdoing it.

If you have to climb stairs at home, find some in the hospital before you are released. Make sure you can climb steps before you go home.

The thing that surprised me the most was how tired I was when I got home. I needed an afternoon nap for about 6 weeks after my surgery.

I hope this helps!

Dagger

Having grownups asking about my farts and later, my poop was a little weird.

Hi Jade,
You have already been given great advice. Just wanted to add that the pillow on the tummy to get out of bed is a must, and walking as soon as you can is also a must. Dont be afraid to use the painkillers as often as they are offered, as this helped to speed up my recovery and get me home quicker. Good luck and keep us posted. Joanne

Thanks for the advice everyone!

The surgeon already advised this would not be done laproscopically and I would have a pain pump.he also said he'd have me out of bed the next day doing laps! I sooo don't like the sound of this....

Ditto all the above, but like Nanners says walking is going to be your best friend when it comes to getting things moving....

I wish you the best of luck!!!

Hi Relax and don't worry , the days go by pretty fast. I did alot of reading when I was in .You"ll do great. lol gail

I had a resection in 2006. To be perfectly honest...it was tough. Mine was lap. so your experience will be different. Why can't you do it laporoscopically? That seems to be easier if it is possible. I know sometimes it is not. I was in the hospital for 5 days. A little longer that usual but I did have some complications. I did walk the next day. It was scary but you'll get through. As you get up, you do feel like your tummy weighs a ton. You'll feel like you won't be able to do it. I felt like I was being taking to the edge of my ability, but then all of a sudden I was up. For some reason I began throwing up on my second day. I could not stop. I threw up so much that my tounge, throat and roof of my mouth was stripped of their first layer. My potassium became very low. My veins could not handle the postassium, so my first meal was three bananas that they made me eat extremely rapidly. Just take things easy. Don't be afraid to push yourself a little, but definitely don't overdo it. Listen to your body. Keep all the good and bad stuff people here are telling you, and believe you are going to be healed. I'll keep you in my prayers.

I've been diagnosed with a fistula adjoining my colon and bladder. Is a large incision the only way to repair this or is there doctors that can do this with the scope?