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Info About Resection Please!

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Posted 1/13/2008 5:09 PM (GMT 0)
I'm having a colonoscopy done on Tuesday January 22nd. I am terrified becuase they told me that they may have do do resection surgery?!? I've never had surgery in my life and I keep hearing things like they will give you an epidural or they will put in a cathater (<-- spelled right?) because I may not be able to pee on my own. I just want the surgery...no epidural no cathater. I want this to be as less invasive as possible. How is the pain after the surgery? I would like it people who have had the resection surgery to walk me through the entire process...from the moment you get to the hospital to the moment you leave. Please give me all the details! I like to have all the facts!
Posted 1/13/2008 5:24 PM (GMT 0)

MyLife2

 

Here's some info that can be found on this board.

 

Look up these posts for the info you are requesting.

 Terminal Ileum Resection  Seeking Freedom Pg4

 

need advice about how to prepare for bowel resection??

Smile 1967 Pg4

 

Surgery DONE!  Want Relief Pg1

 

I'm sure this will answer some of your questions. Good Luck.

Posted 1/13/2008 6:18 PM (GMT 0)
Very good references Sukay.  I am sure it will be very helpful. Thanks
Kitt

Posted 1/13/2008 7:19 PM (GMT 0)
Sorry to hear you might have to have a bowel resection. I had my first this past July and am feeling wonderful now. Although the surgery was rough, it was TOTALLY worth it in the end. The links that were posted should give you some pretty good experiences to reference. Although a bowel resection is very invasive, the more you are prepared the better you will be able to deal with things. You are probably looking at atleast a 3-5 day minimum hospital stay depending on the type of incision they use. I was in there for 8 days - my surgery was scheduled for laparoscopically, but once they got in there it was worse then expected and they opened me all the way up. A catheter isnt optional as far as I know. The day of the surgery and probably the following day you won't be moving around too much (although they might try to get you up and walking at least once) so you will definitely need the cath. As for the epidural, it wasn't even offered to me. I wish it would have been though because the IV and oral pain meds weren't really doing the job that I wish they would have. Good luck with your research and remember all experinces are different! Take care !

Posted 1/13/2008 7:46 PM (GMT 0)
As posted above, I don't believe a catheter is optional. You will be getting a lot of fluid by IV and that means it needs to come out of you and you can't get up to go to the bathroom, you will be grateful you have the catheter. I actually have requested that they leave it in until the NG tube comes out because I don't want to have to call the nurse each time I have to go to the bathroom.

The Nasal/Gastric tube (NG) - you may have one when you wake up from surgery. Every surgery, patient and surgeon is different. I had one for 2 of my 3 resections but not the last one, and I had the same surgeon in the same hospital all 3 times. So nothing is set in stone. The NG tube sucks the stomach acids out so that they don't travel through you and disturb the area that was just operated on. Without the NG tube some patients get quesy and end up vomiting. Which you don't want to do. It is hooked up to the wall. Everytime you need to leave the immediate area, it needs to be disconnected.

I have never had an epidural for a resection. So it may just be something new (I've gone 10 years) or it may be particular to some hospitals.

I would recommend doing some searches through the posts and gathering some information. But, keep in mind that we are all unique and our surgeons are all different. So this will give you a jumping off point to start making your list of questions. I'm sure that if you are scheduled for surgery, the hospital will have someone who can talk you through every phase of THEIR operating procedure. Each hospital is so different, that we can all go step by step with you of our experience, but it may not be anything like what you will encounter. We can give you some general idea of what will happen, but if you want to know exactly, you need to speak with someone from the hospital.
Posted 1/20/2008 3:22 AM (GMT 0)
I just had a colon resection on december 27th. I was scared to death as I only had one days notice.  They admitted me on the 26th and told me that day I would have surgery the next day.  They went through my belly button and I had one other incision about three inches on my right side.  They did give me an epidural and I was kind of freaked out when they told me they were going to do that but it was ok.  The third day after surgery they took it out and at first your legs are kind of numb but then I was up and going to the bathroom.  They put a catheter in me also during surgery and I didn't even realize I had it in until about 4 am that night.  I was actually glad I had it cause then you don't have to get up and down and go to the bathroom.  It wasn't uncomfortable like I thought it would be.  It's a little uncomfortable when they take it out but nothing bad at all.  The only problem I had was four days after the surgery they had to go back in and do a second emergency surgery because a staple on the inside of me had come loose from the first surgery and was causing an infection.  So when they went in the second time they cut me from the belly button down.  They didn't give me an epidural the second time.  I was in the hospital a total of two weeks.  They waited until my bowels started moving before I could have anything to eat or drink.  I did get nauseas a few times but only threw up once while there and it was just a tiny bit.  I got to eat and drink the last two days I was there and they made sure I got up and walked around and stuff.  Once I got home which was just last Wednesday, I threw up the first day and the smell of food made me nauseas but after two days of being at home my appetite was back.  The only other trouble I have had is my sleep schedule is all messed up and I have been having trouble sleeping but it is slowly getting better.  I haven't went back to work yet and I go to the doctor on Tuesday to find out when.  So far it's been ok and I am anxious to see how long I go without pain and it coming back.  But the epidural and catheter are nothing to worry about.

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