HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

I'm new here and just had a re-section. Advice?

Support Forums
>
Crohn's Disease
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 11/22/2008 10:58 PM (GMT 0)
Hello!
I was diagnosed with CD in April 08. I'm 25, almost 26 years old. I had a re-section of my intestine laproscopically and with a 3 inch lateral incision around my belly button to remove the intestine. I had this done November 10, 08. I was finally starting to feel a little better towards the end of this week (Thursday, November 20). However, yesterday and today, I'm experiencing some severe gas and bloating, even up in my left shoulder it feels, which is weird to me. It hurts so bad it actually kind of hurts to breathe in deeply. I called the surgeon on call this morning and asked if this is normal, and he said "No, not really." Then he proceeded to ask me if my bowels were moving okay, and if I'm eating okay. The answer is really yes to both. Although I really don't have much urge to eat right now because of the bloating. So, my question is:What do you think? I had a salad for lunch on Friday, and my mom and I are thinking it's maybe the lettuce? I did go about 4 days without eating anything at all the week before, so maybe my body's not used to the fiber?? I'm at a loss here, and am not sure how to help this move out! I tried Gas-X, and so far I've not noticed much improvement! I'm really just ready to get better, as I have a 2 yo son, and I feel horrible for not being able to give him the attention he needs lately. Any advice is appreciated. eyes
Posted 11/23/2008 12:05 AM (GMT 0)
Welcome to Healing Well! I'm glad that your surgery went well and I hope your current problem is just a little hiccup in your recovery.

What did the on-call surgeon recommend? Did he tell you to go to the ER or get over the counter meds to help?

I kind of agree with your thinking about the salad. Lettuce plays havoc with my guts. Did they give you any kind of dietary schedule to follow after your surgery? Have you tried a heating pad for the discomfort? I also find when I have severe gas pains that lying on my stomach with a pillow or something under my stomach can help. It really helps if someone massages my lower back when I am in this position. Please don't do anything that makes your pain worse.

Hopefully, someone else will come along and have bettter gas reducing techniques for you to try.
Posted 11/23/2008 12:14 AM (GMT 0)
Oh dear the dreaded 10th November, also the date I had major surgery 4 years earlier, easy date to remember for me as its also my husbands birthday. I'm wondering if you shoulder pain is due to the CO2 gas they pump inside the abdomen to get a better view when doing laproscopic surgery. I had this done on at least 2 occasions and remember that kind of shoulder pain you describe vividly. So you have 2 issues going on that and the management of your Crohn's, diet wise.
Try keeping a journal of what foods you can digest better, were all different in what we can tollerate, but perhaps read up on some recommended books to give you an idea of safe foods.
Good luck and hope you feel better soon, it must be hard with a little one to care for as well.
Tess.
Posted 11/23/2008 12:25 AM (GMT 0)
Hello and welcome, I'm sorry to hear that you're beginning to get a few problems. First question, are you passing any gas and/or
bowel movements? If you are, I would suggest you stick to a very low residue diet for awhile, until this subsides. If you are not,
I would suggest you don't leave it too long before you see someone. While I know we all get bloated from time to time, it's not a good
sign if it's extensive, and pain, eating and drinking becomes a problem.
So, if you reach a point, where it becomes more unbearable, please go to the ER.
My heart goes out to you, it must be very difficult to care for your little 2 year old, when you're feeling so rough. Good luck hon...
Posted 11/23/2008 2:10 AM (GMT 0)
I wanted to comment that after my colon resection, about 9-10 weeks after, I had terrible gas. I used Ultra Gas-X, taking 3 capsules a day. Every time I tried to wean down the gas came back with a vengeance. I started taking a probiotic and after a few weeks, things got much better.

05/08 Colon Resection
07/08 bad gas
08/08 began Probiotic
09/08 early Sept was able to stop taking gas-x

Gemini kiwi explained about the shoulder pains, I had heard about that, too. My surgery was a wide-open abdominal so I wasn't pumped full of air and didn't have that problem. I think the bad gas after surgery is caused by the gut flora being out of balance and it is trying to get back in balance, but has a war going on in there. At least...that is what it felt like to me, with those booming bazooka farts and diarrhea explosions.
Heidi
Posted 11/23/2008 3:28 PM (GMT 0)
I think I accidentally posted this as a new thread....whoops!

Here it is as a response to my original:
Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. May I ask what is a low-residue diet? And the food journal is a wonderful idea. The doctor that I talked to Saturday morning just suggested I take the over-the-counter gas meds, since I was going to the bathroom and eating okay. I really didn't pass hardly any gas yesterday at all though. I'm really wondering if it wasn't that lettuce now, because I was fine up until Friday night, and I had that for lunch. I went to bed last night and was really pretty uncomfortable, just hoping that today I would feel better. I could feel gurgling all night, so I hoped something was happening. When I woke up this morning, the bloat feeling was farther down in my gut, instead of up under my ribs. So I"m assuming it's trying to move out. I also had quite a bit of D this morning, which made me feel a little better. The bloating feeling is definitely a little better today, but now the part inside which was operated on feels extremely sore and painful. And the upper left side chest pain/shoulder pain is still there. It's still worse when I breathe in deep, or lay on my left side. I suppose it could have been the CO2 they pumped in, but that was almost 2 weeks ago, and I'm just now feeling it?? For those of you that have had that pain before, what did you do and how long did it take to go away? Thanks so much for all the help!
Posted 11/23/2008 6:09 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Low residue is low roughage foods easy to chew and easy to digest. I was wandering why you told the surgeon you were eating when you weren't . I had resection in Jan. and have stayed on low residue diet ,I have not had any pain from the bowels since . I stay away from salads , popcorn, nuts seeds ,raw fruits except banana which is easy to chew.I cook my veggies really good to very soft. I also take a multi vitamin ,Vit D ,and calcium as well as B-12 shots. If after your bowels have moved your pain doesn't subside maybe go to emerg if you are worried. I think I would go in and get a check up .lol gail
Posted 11/24/2008 12:26 AM (GMT 0)
I never told the surgeon I wasn't eating. He asked if I was eating okay, and I said I was. I said last night that eating wasn't exactly the first thing I wanted to do because of the bloating, but I haven't had any problems eating as far as vomiting, etc. And I did say that after my bowels moved this morning I felt a little better. I had been told about staying away from nuts and seeds, and popcorn. What sorts of seeds? Just like seeds you would eat alone, or is that including even like seeds in tomatos?
Posted 11/24/2008 10:15 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Jessica I stay away from sesame seeds, tomato ,cucumber, fruit like strawberry ,raspberries.Any seeds and peppers are hard on me I stay away from them too. I think he might have meant are you eating on a regular meal plan or are you skipping meals. Sometimes it's hard to figure out what the DR. means.Hope you continue to improve.. lol gail
Posted 11/25/2008 12:03 AM (GMT 0)

gachrons said...
Hi Jessica I stay away from sesame seeds, tomato ,cucumber, fruit like strawberry ,raspberries.Any seeds and peppers are hard on me I stay away from them too. I think he might have meant are you eating on a regular meal plan or are you skipping meals. Sometimes it's hard to figure out what the DR. means.Hope you continue to improve.. lol gail

Hi Jessica,

Crohn's disease is not curable, but your goal from this point on is to slow down the progression of the disease and maybe even put it into remission. That is possible. It requires a combination of good diet and some medications.

Most important is to avoid foods that cause inflammation of the bowel. Just which foods cause inflammation? You'll find some differences of opinion here. I'll tell you what works for me. As a general rule, what causes diarrhea is also causing inflammation. And inflammation, over the long run, causes scar tissue to build up in your intestine, requiring another surgery. So you want to keep inflammation to an absolute minimum.

I find that I have to keep away from caffeine completely. That includes coffee, tea and cola. Hot peppers and alcohol are also bad. One other thing to avoid is milk unless it's lactose-free milk (it's really the lactose that sets off inflammation and diarrhea). Soy milk is fine (it's not really milk). These are life-long dietary restrictions.

Since you just recently had a bowel resection, you'll probably have diarrhea and gas for a few months, but it will gradually subside. As others have pointed out, foods with a lot of roughage tend to cause diarrhea, but after awhile you may find that you'll be able to eat those foods again - I don't think that they actually cause inflammation.

Exercise is important, even if it's just walking - you need to keep those abdominal muscles moving. It can take up to six months to recover fully from the surgery.

Drugs - there are many options. You'll want to start out with those that cause the fewest side effects. I take sulfasalazine (enteric coated - I can't tolerate the non-coated type). A probiotic is a good non-prescription supplement that restores your intestinal bacteria. Vitamin A (fish oil type, not beta-carotene) also reduces my diarrhea, but don't take more than one per day.

best regards,
Robert
Posted 11/25/2008 2:37 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Jessica, I also had a resection this year Feb'08. It definitely takes a long time to recover from this kind of surgery. I also followed a low residue diet after surgery and still do. I have just now, started to incorporate salad ( a little bit ) with my dinner and so far so good!
Posted 11/25/2008 2:50 AM (GMT 0)
I must have hit the enter buttom by mistake and didn't finish my first reply!! :(  (maybe it was the half a glass of wine I had with dinner!! haha!!)  I would definitely take it easy with your food choices and a food journal is a great idea. I also remember going in to see the surgeon for a follow up about 2 weeks later, and feeling quite uncomfortable. He said it was a bit of adhesion pain, (he explained it like lasagna noodles layered and stuck together ( like our bowels would look like inside folded upon one another and might stick a bit after surgery.) 

He said to take it really easy, follow a soft diet and it did go away eventually. But even now I think that scar tissue will always be a bit tender in that area.

Get as much rest as you can, I know how hard it can be with kids. If any pain feels worse, or you are really uncomfortable I would get checked out right away.

Take care and keep posting!

Shelley

Posted 11/26/2008 1:10 AM (GMT 0)
Hiya and welcome-

Haven't been able to have a "lettuce" salad since my last resection in Feb. 07. And I am totally a ceasar salad girl. Still, I have found that I can eat small amounts of it (like on sandwiches, tacos, BLTs). Not a whole salads worth of it but a bit here and there won't kill me. Plus, its a way besides my multivitamin where I can get a leafy green into my diet. I also can't eat green beans which were my favorite veggie. Get yourself a notebook for the new diet of what can and can't be eaten in your diet. Also, I'd recommend some Ensure. If I'd known after my first resection about how nice a drink of Ensure is when you really aren't hungry but SHOULD eat...well...you get the point. Its liquid and full of enough stuff and I honestly like the stuff. Also, you might try MUCH LATER ON, drinking some watered down Gatorade. I've felt it help with cramping and stuff before (usually due to electrolyte imbalance I suppose). But also, it just is sometimes a truly refreshing drink.
Posted 11/26/2008 2:48 AM (GMT 0)
No salad...lol
Posted Today 6:25 PM (GMT 0)

Hi!  I just had a resection on Nov.4.  Mine was a full open, as I have too many adhesions for lap.

I have just gotten to the point where I dare eat more than scrambled eggs or pasta.  IMO, for what it's worth, you have begun eating too many foods too quickly.  Your gut hasn't healed yet and it may be way too stressed.  I just started getting my appetite back in the past week or two.

In the hospital they tried to give me regular food.  My gut couldn't take it.  I filled up with gas, got heartburn, nausea, and it felt like therre was a rock in my belly.  I got home and it didn't stop.  My hubby looked it up online and found you should not try to eat much fat or sugar for 4-6 weeks.  It made sense.  I switched to scrambled eggs and it all stopped.  Then after a week or so I tried to eat a meal.  I ate a few pieces of Arby's roast beef & some KFC mashed potatoes & gravy.  I felt pain within a 1/2 hour of eating.  It ogt worse so I went to bed.  I wound up throwing up until 5 in the morning.

I wnet back to scrambled eggs, or pasta with mushroom soup in it.  I have only just begun to work my way up with foods, very slowly.  I don't allow myself to feel full; just satisfied.  I have had no further trouble.

Posted Today 7:05 PM (GMT 0)

Hello I just had a resection done Nov 3 08 laporoscopic. I have too have had Gas and bloating at times. But I was told to stay on a low fiber diet and Salad is A NO, NO. When it comes to eating you should take it slow at first. I will NEVER be able to taste a salad again at least if I wanna keep my Guts. HEhehE....

Everyone is different but for me Fiber is BAD!

I'm surprised the Surgeon or Nurse didn't tell you about your diet after leaving the hospital. That's important. Anyway I hope you feel better...

Posted 12/1/2008 1:53 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you so much for all the replies. I couldn't believe that they didn't tell me what I should be eating either. I really had no idea what I was supposed to eat. I will definitely be avoiding the salad from now on. I've also been avoiding fresh fruits/veggies. Do you think seedless grapes are okay? I know fiber is important in a normal diet, but I'm guessing it's a person with CD's enemy? We don't need it to be healthy? I'm glad to know I'm not the only one still recovering 3 weeks later. Another post said something about immediate relief after their re-section. That sure isn't happening for me. Sometimes after I eat, I almost feel kind of swollen on the right side of my abdomen, and pretty sore. I'm guessing I just need to eat less. Those of you that avoid lactose, is that just milk, or do you eliminate cheeses as well? I would love to hear of an actual diet that someone is doing that actually works for them, to keep them in remission. Please post what you do, so I can get some ideas here. I'm going to do my best to avoid pop as well. Thanks again.
Posted 12/1/2008 5:51 AM (GMT 0)
Hi, I just had my resection done open on Nov. 5th. The resection in my opinion has helped me out a great bid and am looking forward to a long remission. First off as everyone has said no raw anything, especially fruits and veggies. My surgeon put me on a low-residue diet which included somethings like pancakes, waffles, and breads that are not made from whole grain. They have to be made from enriched flour so in other words plain white bread and rolls. Raw nuts does a number on my stomach, but however eating peanut butter does not, and is a very good thing to eat, try pb & J sandwiches for lunch. Grits is okay to eat, scrambled eggs, and meats that don't contain hard grissle like I guess certain arts of a chicken like the leg, who eats that anyway right. The only thing I mostly drink is sweet tea, fruit juices, and rarely a carbonated drink. Gatorade when the D gets out of hand which mine is currently is. Avoid beans and leafy green vegetables. Avoid milk and dairy products, which I tend to ignore because I'm addicted to milk and cereal, I only pour a little over my cereal if I have to have some. You can have cooked canned fruit though. I'm going through the same bout with a gargling sounds and gas in me, but I'm not passing any due to the D I guess. I tried to overdue it, was feeling a little too good and tried to eat anything I wanted, and caused the outraged D. My stools had formed completely at one point but having been constipated I had to take a dulcolax and that didn't help things, probably caused my D dilemma. Just stick to the low residue diet and things should balance out. Oh yeah the pain thing, I felt after a couple days of laying on my back that I developed some back pain, and when I breathed in there was like a tightening feeling like stitches under my rib cage. My docs gave me a breathe gauge thingy forgot what it was called, used it for about a week and a half and the ai eventually went away, nothin in my shoulder though. I hope this post helps.
Posted 12/1/2008 2:58 PM (GMT 0)

I just went through a resection (30 inches of small bowel removed) and it was done with a full abdominal opening (Nov 4th, 2008)....I was told they pretty much took the large and small out and went over everything visually inch by inch.  Everyone is different in their recovery and in their diets...sooooo....

It really boils down to what you can tolerate and some common sense.  Common sense should tell us to enjoy the foods we can but to ease in to them.  Just like the hospitals progression of diet...we also need to proceed with some caution.  I know for me I was of course nothing by mouth prior to the surgery and directly after...then liquids....then soft food....then low residue solids...and then when I was ready to go home after a week I was told to eat what ever I could tolerate...BUT....BIG BUT......hold off on the salads and raw veggies for a couple of weeks.  A little lettuce would not be bad, but my doc felt that a whole salad would irritate the interior suture site.  He also advised against green beans for a little while.

Otherwise...sushi....cereals....fish, chicken, beef, pork.....anything in small amounts at first to see how my body reacted.  Since I got home I have used lettuce, tomato and onions on my liverwurst sandwiches.  I had green beans at Thanksgiving (but they were cooked in the southern tradition and were very soft)  I eat greens (collard or turnip) and spinach at leats 4 times a week.  I have enjoyed shrimp and crab cakes, bronzed grouper, corn and okra, eggnog, nuts, strawberries and raspberries, pocorn, cucumbers and just about everything else you can think of....the only things that I really have stopped that I used to eat prior to my obstruction and resulting surgery is fried foods and alcohol.  (I did have one small drink at thanksgiving without a problem)  Everything though has been done in moderation and with the approval of my gastro and surgeon.

I notice and mull over every little burp, poot, and pain but so far nothing has been out of the ordinary and nothing worth worring about.    My pipes to seem to be working better now than at anytime in the last 5 years.  No big D (not even directly after the surgery) and everything seems to be formed and solid for the first time in a very long time.  I still have some pain but that is in the large colon and I was told that there was limited activity there but it was not so bad as to reguire a surgical resolution.

It does sound like you ate a little too much salad to soon out of surgery. 

I have posted this before...but a good meal to have to keep things calm or to calm them down, as well as helping to replace flora is to eat some Congee (Rice porridge)  easy to digest, comforting and full of nutrition. 

Last thing....I now make sure that I have bowl of cooked oatmeal at least four mornings a week.  I believe the concentration of healthy fiber and bulk has been good for my system.

Posted 12/1/2008 5:14 PM (GMT 0)
I know the shoulder pain you are talking about very well.  I don't remember exactly, but I know it lasted at least a couple of weeks.  I had a CT a couple of weeks after surgery because the disease had come back and they told me that they could still see an air bubble from the CO2 that I was filled with for surgery.  I'm sorry you have that pain.  It's a really annoying pain and all you can do is wait it out.
Posted 12/2/2008 1:19 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Just wandering how you are doing now if there are any improvements. lol gail
Posted 12/2/2008 2:30 AM (GMT 0)
Yum, peanut butter and jelly sounds good! I really think I could do most of this okay, but cheese would be really hard for me to give up! I love it. I really don't eat fried foods that often, but does anyone ever indulge once in a blue moon? I like chinese food every now and then, maybe once every 4 months. Is pizza considered a "bad" food?
And update on how I've been feeling: The CO2 pain is mostly gone, although I can still feel it occasionally when I breathe in deep. I've still been pretty bloated, but now that I know what I should/shouldn't be eating, hopefully that'll get better. I just can't believe the doctors/nurses didn't give me any guidelines to go by. I'm excited because I can start picking up my son again towards the end of this week. Although I think I've lost all the muscle I have, so he's going to feel like a big lug to me! Hopefully I can build them back up though. I would love to start going back to my exercise class again, but I'm not sure when I'll be ready to do that. It's called Zumba, and it's pretty intense. But it's the only exercise that motivates me to continue to work out and that I love.
Posted 12/2/2008 4:30 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Jessica, hope you are getting better. My dr does not allow me to have anything w/seeds of any kind and no nuts, but I can have peanut butter. Did you try grapes, I couldn't handle them because of the skin which is the case with alot of fruits so I peel my fruit. Stick with the low residue and soft diet for awhile, its going to take awhile for your innards to calm down.lol. I noticed you hope to stop some of your meds. I hope your dr intends on keeping you on maintenance meds. While you may think things are ok inside, the cd works very quietly until you end up in a flare. My resection was back in 02 and I am on Entocort, Lialda and Imuran.

Walking will help you get the gas moving too. Hugs, Susie
Posted 12/2/2008 5:07 PM (GMT 0)
Yes Jessica, Straydog is correct you should always stay on some type of maintainence med. While you go about enjoying your life, Crohns is always in there doing its damage. By maintaining a good Crohns diet and taking maintainence meds, I think you can help yourself lead a healthier more flare free life. Good luck!
Posted 12/3/2008 12:55 AM (GMT 0)
Haven't tried the grapes yet. I don't know if I could tell how it affects me anyhow, just because this bloating isn't going away. I'm pretty much pain free now though, thank goodness. And yes, I plan on staying on the Lialda and folic acid. Although, I'm hoping to get pregnant again next summer sometime. I'm not sure if the Lialda is safe during pregnancy or not. This is why I decided to go ahead and have the surgery around 8 months prior to getting pregnant, hoping I would be much better by then.
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply