Home from surgery!

Glad to hear things went well for you. I don't have any post-op advice, sorry.

Thats great news Spooky, glad you are doing so well.
You are right about taking it easy and being patience after a major op - so take your own advise :).
After my resection I rested and did none physical things around the house such as filing, sorting photos, reading, puzzles and of course visiting HW. Good luck and hopefully this is the start of a long remission for you :)
Jo

Did you have your surgery done by laproscope. I am having a resection in the next couple weeks, but it is being done open surgery - any advice?? Thanks

I'm really glad to hear it went well :) I don't think I could do away with pain meds until I was completely better! You're a lot stronger than I am.
Please, keep us updated. I really am so happy to hear things went well. And who knew you'd get to stop taking humira? Quite a blessing :)

spookyhurst said...
I had my resection on Tuesday morning, and got home yesterday afternoon (Thursday). Can you believe that? The hospital stay was difficult due to my anxiety problems. I was about ready to crawl out of my skin at times, with the clock...ticking...away...ever...so...slowly. I was so happy when I was given the unexpected news that I could go home.

I'm avoiding pain meds for the most part (I'm tired of my eyes being so heavy). It's pretty livable though. There are 3 incisions, and one little place that really can't be counted because it's so small. Bruising has shown up on my gut as well. My insides seem to be working, although I of course get some pain where I was reconnected. I'm trying to get up and walk around as much as possible.

Last night, I had some nausea throughout the night. Hopefully that is nothing strange or unusual. I think I just need to learn to be patient, because a person doesn't heal from surgery overnight. Unfortunately, patience is not particularly a strong point of mine. Even though the doc said to eat what I want, I'm sticking to liquids with small amounts of super soft foods. I don't want to push things.

I'm very lucky to have my parents, because they are absolute saints. If I need something to eat or drink, they get it for me. They're taking care of my pets, my mom cleaned my bathroom and did all my laundry. I got a lot of cooking done (and froze) before surgery, so at least they don't have that burden.

So if anyone is facing surgery in the near future, I'd be happy to answer any of your questions. And if anyone has tips about not going stir crazy, I'd be happy to hear them as well !

EDIT: The surgeon said I could quit taking Humira too!

Where is your Crohn's?

The resection was by laproscopy. I have an incision over the top of the belly button (maybe a couple of inches) and 2 on the left side (each less then an inch), and a little spot on the right that look mores like a little puncture hole. The surgeon removed the ileocecal valve, appendix, and part of the cecum and terminal illeum (something like 6 - 8 inches in total). The surgeon said it looked pretty awful, and that some of the prep hadn't even moved through the stricture (I was having pains all night, so I knew it was backed up). He said the rest of the intestines looked good though.

I am taking pain meds, just not in the quantity prescribed. They said I could take 2 percocets every 6 hours. I take 1/2 a percocet 2 or 3 times a day. If I take anymore, I can't stay awake. Since I don't have to do anything except walk/sit up/sit down/lay down, the pain is pretty manageable. I usually take the med when I feel pain from food/drink passing through where the intestine was rejoined.

The surgeon said to stop the Humira, but to continue with Pentasa. When I see my GI, I'm going to push her to prescribe LDN for me too. I'll keep eating SCD as well. I'm not eating much at all right now, just drinking tea and apple cider, and eating jello, yogurt/honey, and chicken broth. I'm kind of scared to move beyond that right now. It's hard to tell what pain is from the incision, and what is gas pain, which makes it a bit hard me to gauge food intake.

Yeah Spooky, glad to hear you are home and on the road to recovery. I too worry about your doc telling you to stop your meds. I did not take meds after my first and ended up with another one only 3 years later. So as kandc88 says, Crohns does come back. Am glad to hear that you are at least going to use the Pentasa. I am maintained solely on Asacol, so hopefully that will be enough. Lets hope this surgery leads to a long long remission.

Big Hugs
Gail*Nanners*

kandc, I'm kind of afraid to eat right now, so raw foods aren't even on my radar. It will be so great to be able to eat a big salad someday though! Today I got up the nerve to eat some butternut squash pie filling (basically a pumpkin pie filling). I ran the squash through a food mill so that it was baby food consistency. That should sit okay. I just don't like the feeling a food passing past the resection area, but I better get used to it, or I'll lose all my hard gained weight (I was up to 105 at the time of surgery).

It's funny how much difference a day can make too. I can get in and out of bed pretty fairly easily now, and can even sleep on my side (I hate sleeping on my back). My mom gave me the idea of placing a rolled up towel where the side of my belly is on the bed, which gives it more support.

I admit, getting of Humira makes me a little nervous. However, I've read that in healing, Humira causes a lot of scar tissue to grow. That alone makes me not want to take it while the incision sites are healing. Also, I've been on it for over a year, so it's debatable whether or not it's still even doing anything for me. It seems like most people are lucky if they get just a year out of the biomeds. If I can get on LDN, that will make me feel a lot better about being without Humira. I gave my GI the info about the studies done on it at my last appointment. I should call her Monday to see if she is willing to write a script.

Sure thing! I was very nervous too, and it helped to hear everyone's experiences.

The day before surgery, I had the pre-op. It was kind of a pre-check in. They asked a bunch of questions about health history, and would have done blood work and an EKG if I hadn't had them done just the previous week. Basically they just want to make sure you're healthy enough for a successful surgery.

I did the Dulcolax and Miralax prep, which was pretty easy. A lot less gross liquid then the other preps I've done.

The day of surgery, I had to arrive a couple hours early. When I got called back, they made me do a pregnancy test first. After that, I got into a gown (a heated gown, it was hooked to a warm air blower). I also had to wear some tight stockings that went all the way up my legs, as well as those little compression bags on my legs (they keep you from getting blood clots). They hooked up the heart leads, and started an IV. They had me sign some stuff, and let me ask questions. Then I just laid there until the surgeon arrived. Right before they wheeled me back, the anesthesiologist injected my IV with something to relax me. After that, I don't remember much more. I know they put the mask on me, and I didn't like it (it felt like I couldn't breathe). They said to relax, and wham I was out.

During surgery, they put an IV line in an (I think) aeorta on my arm to monitor my blood directly. This was pulled by the time I woke up, and I had a big bandage in it's place. They also put an IV line in my neck. Surprisingly, this didn't bother me at all when I was awake (they rarely used it though). I usually forgot it was even there. They put in a urinary catheter, which was still there when I woke up. They put in an NG tube. They were suppose to pull it before I woke up, but didn't until I was in recovery. I vaguely remember it being there, and vaguely remember no problem when they pulled it. In recovery, I don't think I ever opened my eyes. I could hear what was going on around me, but felt disconnected from it. The anesthesiologist said she would give me pain and nausea meds prior to my waking up, and they worked pretty well.

Once they wheeled me to my room, I was given morphine for pain every 6 hours, and something that kept the stomach juices from just sitting in my stomach (reglan, I think). I also got IV antibiotics. For the first day, they monitored my blood pressure continuously. I was allowed ice chips, and small sips of liquid. I only sat up on the edge of the bed once that day. It hurt plenty, so I didn't try again. They had a little thing I had to breathe into every hour to keep my lungs clear, and they also ask that you cough once an hour.

The next morning (Day 2), they took out the urinary catheter and unhooked the blood pressure cuff. Every time I had to go to the bathroom, they had to unhook the compression bags on my legs. They also had me do a round of walking around each time (walking was easier then getting in/out of bed). I eventually found a technique to getting in and out of bed. I could get up by myself pretty well, but laying back down I needed some help. I was allowed meds by mouth, and I could drink some. That night, the nurse said that if I walked around the nurse's station 3 times, I could sleep without the compression bags on. Hurray!

The next day (Day 3), I didn't have the compression bags put back on. The surgeon came in and said that if I could tolerate regular food and pass gas, I could go home. Success on both accounts! They pulled the IV's from my hand and neck, and I finally got those long stockings off. I couldn't believe that I was home just a day and a half after surgery! The only med prescribed was Percocet. First order of business, a shower! I just have to be careful not to let the water go full blast on my stomach.

Today was 4 days after surgery. The pain was much improved this morning. I can get in and out of bed pretty dang easy now. I can sleep on my side fairly comfortably. The nasal drainage I'd had since surgery is about gone. My stomach has got a real yellow tinge from bruising. All in all, I'm doing well. It's hard to believe how fast one starts to recover.

We'll be rooting for you Solanges! It is nervewracking, but once you're through it, you'll feel so dang relieved. If you have questions about anything I didn't address, just ask.

EDIT: Once other thing, the pain wasn't horrible from the get go. So long as you're just laying there, it's no biggie at all. It's just for the brief time of getting up and laying down that it hurts. Walking doesn't hurt too much. So don't worry that you're going to be in constant pain. I didn't even get as much morphine as I could have asked for.

No problem! A lot of people here helped ease my fears too. Hopefully, you'll never have to worry about surgery though.

My dad was telling me about his resection 30 years ago. It was the freakin' dark ages compared to today! Plus, the crazy man refused pain meds .

One other thing. My roommate was an old lady who had a double mastectomy. She was released within 24 hours of surgery! It's crazy how fast they shove you out the door these days (not that I'm complaining, as I was more than happy to leave).

Very happy to hear that you are doing well.  Also want to say thank you so much for sharing this....I was recently told I may require surgery as well and reading your posts helped to alleviate a lot of anxiety I have about what to expect!

 

Spooky I am so glad everything went well and thanks for posting this.