1st CD Surgery --Recovery ?

Hi All!
I know I post rarely but I have such respect and love for this forum and the help/ support it brings...I even try to get all the GIs and Colo-rectal surgeons I meet to tell their pts. about it ...
My surgery is tentatively scheduled for 11/3 and I am of course scared to death but over Labor Day (and my bday) I spent six days in the hospital where my GI and my colo-rectal surgeon have no privileges and I had a team of GIs I didn't know and a general surgeon all trying to figure out if I had micro perforations or a complete blockage. It turned out to be neither thank the gods but has forced the surgery decision I had been avoiding all summer.
I am trying to get a feel for how long the recovery will be...It will hopefully be laproscopic incision at the belly button w/ TI ileocecal valve and again hopefully only a couple inches of my colon. I'm mostly worried about the first week home. My bf lives with me and is wonderful but how much help will I need? I am worried this surgery might be too much for him to handle... Should I try and get my sister to stay with me that week too or can I manage on my own if my bf goes to work? And how long do you guys think it will be till I can dance/ work out/ yoga again? And how quickly do you think I'll be able to go back to work? ...I'm a sleep tech 12hr shifts some lifting but the majority of the night I sit at a computer. The doctors have of course given me their impressions but I'm looking for the patients perspective. I'm 32 female about 126lbs and 5'1" and the whole not dancing thing tends to make me a bit crazy (unhappy) so just looking for an ideal rebound time and or surgery stories.
Thanks
pixi

Stocking up on "safe" food ahead of time definitely helps! I get the individual cups of mashed potatoes and mac & cheese that you just have to microwave. I also stock up on gatorade, juice and liquids to make sure I don't get dehydrated.

I am super stubborn, and live alone. After all of my surgeries I have come home alone. The most recent surgery in July, I had a friend come over a few times, and my sister and parents stopped by to help with things I couldn't do. I think if I had someone living with me, even if they weren't home all day, I'd be fine, but part of that is because I've had surgery and know myself well enough to know I like to be left alone to rest after surgery. I might mention that I write down on a pad of paper what time I take medicine so I don't double up on meds or take them too soon.

I also have returned to work as soon as 3 weeks after surgery (with limitations on not wearing lead aprons-I work in xray, and not lifting patients or other heavy things). I find that pushing myself to do little things soon after surgery, like making a meal or walking, helps me heal faster.

Each of us is different though. Some people like having people around when they don't feel well, to help them out. I'm just not like that...

Good luck with surgery! I hope it goes smoothly and leads to many many healthy years ahead!

P.S. The 2nd and 3rd days after surgery are the worst...after that you start seeing improvement from day to day! Do you know how long they expect to keep you in the hospital after your surgery if it's done laparoscopically? Hopefully a couple days to get you past the worst of it.

Maybe you could plan on your sis coming by during the day while your bf is at work...even if you don't need help, it's nice to have another person with you to keep you from feeling cooped up and lonely. I was glad for company because being alone in the house for more than a week makes me go crazy.

Monkiray surgeon says 4-5 day hospital stay for sure with a pain pump so I'll have the good stuff for the worst of it lol...they said they won't let me go home until I've proven I can handle a full liquid diet.

Miralax is a very gentle laxative, I think you should be okay to use that to get things moving. I always used stool softners as they just bring water to the stool and makes it softer and easier to pass (and they aren't laxatives). Another really gentle laxative is Senekot and its more natural.

Becky is right, most do fine home alone, while others want/need someone with them. I liked being alone too, I generally took the time to rest up and recover. Her suggestion about writing down when you took your meds is a good one. I had to do that too as I was on strong pain meds and sometimes you can forget what you took and when.

But don't push yourself to go back to work too soon. Allow yourself to rest up and recover. Your body has been thru a trauma and you need to allow it time to heal.

Hugs!

Thanks nawlinscate...
my recent hospital stay they did the same thing to me...no water no ice chips nothing for the first 4 days ...I was MISERABLE...I am not looking forward to that again ;(... A wedge may be a really good idea cuz right now my pain levels have me trying to make one out of pillows after surgery I imagine I'll really need it. And I've already started my post surgery library, the goal is to not read all the books before I actually have the surgery ;)..
thanks for the tips...take care

Nanners- thank you I just bought the Miralax so I'm working up the courage to actually drink it...wish me luck :)

I couldn't read in the hospital--or do much of anything--but I did read during my first few weeks at home. Both in bed and in the bathroom (sigh).

And yes, run over to Walmart or any other big box store that you can find, and get yourself an inexpensive wedge pillow or other bedrest pillow. It really really helps.

And I was thrilled when they told me that I could take warm baths (and I read in the tub, too). That feels SO good after surgery.

The worst part of surgery is the anticipation and dread beforehand. You'll feel much better afterwards.

Beforehand, think about things you would want to have at home if you couldn't go to the store for 4-6 weeks. You'll likely go to a store before that, but if you end up needing an open surgery or some other complication, you may not. And even if you can, you probably won't feel like it very much anyways.

So are there things that you buy that are heavier (for me this was stocking up on pet food, cases of water, and 50 lb bags of salt for the water softner.) Are there personal products/toiletries/etc that either you prefer to buy for yourself or that you don't think your boyfriend would be comfortable buying for you? And as others noted above, I didn't really feel like reading at the hospital. I took a couple of books thinking it would be a great time to catch up, but I was in much more of a mood just to watch TV or movies.

The hospital also provided me with a journal for writing down my instructions, questions for the doctor, what I ate, etc. I would highly recommend taking something like this because the doctors come when the doctors come. Often times, you're not prepared or asleep and on heavy pain medication, and it was great to have a question I thought of after they left last time to be written down next so I could retrieve it and ask it.

I underwent my first surgery in June of this year. It was laparoscopic, and included removal of my ileocecal valve. I have no other health issues beside the crohn's, and I did not have any problem during surgery or recovery.

Surgery was on Monday. Tuesday was the worst day for me pain-wise. The anesthesia from the day before had completely worn off. They got me out of bed for the first time to walk. I walked around the hospital floor 3 times that day, and also sat in the chair next to my bed a couple of times. They started me on a clear liquid diet.

By Wednesday I was on a full liquid diet, walked every 3-4 hours, and started passing gas. The doctors are very interested in listening to your stomach for bowel noises and want to know if you've been passing gas.

Thursday, I was eating low residue diet, continued frequent getting up and moving around.
I was released on Friday.
I quit taking prescription pain medicine on Sunday and switched to Tylenol.
I quit taking Tylenol the following weekend.

I have a desk job, and I had authorization to return to work from home before physically coming back into the office. So, 3.5 weeks after surgery, I worked from home for 3 days (started on a Wednesday.) The next week was a 4-day work week, and I worked 2 days at home and 2 in the office. The following week, 5 weeks after surgery, I went back to work full time. However, I did use the elevator instead of the stairs for a week or two. I usually take the stairs up to the 4th floor.

I checked with my doctor regarding physical activity restrictions. I could not drive while on pain meds or while having any pain. Some restrictions were lifted after 1 month, but most restrictions were not lifted until after 2 months. Still, I didn't feel like I could fully exert myself until a little after 3 months. And then I still didn't do that for long periods....it just that at that time, I could do things without feeling any sort of resistance in my stomach.

**edited on 5/7/12 to change "could drive" to "could not drive"

If you stay by yourself,make sure you are stocked up on "safe" food. I don't know how hard it will be for you to get around but after my surgery I had to have a physical therapist. I couldn't lift anything above twenty lbs. for a while. Best to you in your surgery. I think I was out of work for two months.

My surgery was on a Monday, I went home on Saturday. On the way home, I went grocery shopping. I didn't lift anything, I just walked around and told my son and husband what to get. My husband drove the store's electric shopping cart in case I got tired in the store. The weather was bad so we ended up going to stores or the mall almost every day so I could walk around. My husband would drive the cart until I needed a rest, then I'd drive it back to the drop-off area.

I didn't need any help at home but it was nice to have someone prepare my food for me.

The first surgeon I consulted told me I'd be out of work for 3 weeks. The surgeon I chose for my surgery told me I'd be out for 6 weeks and probably still be tired when I went back. She was right. I crashed on the couch as soon as I walked in the door for the first few weeks and my workday was only 7 hours. I was also still having some urgency with my bowel movements. Not urgent enough to cause an accident but I couldn't wait longer than the quick walk to the bathroom.

I was not allowed to lift more than 5 or 10 lbs for the first 6 weeks then all restrictions were lifted. I ended up with an abdominal hernia a few months after the resection and had another surgery 6 months after the resection. It was the most painful thing I had ever experienced and made me change my mind about what a "10" feels like. I ended up with complications from the hernia surgery and wasn't allowed to lift over 5 pounds for about 6 months.