ILEOCOLECTOMY/RESECTION

 I'm scheduled once agin Tuesday to have my first surgery for crohn's. After backing out of my first surgery which was supposed to be yesterday, I can honestly say i am still a little nervous about the procedure. I am schedule to hace and ileocolectomy and resection. that is the removal of the last part of my small intestine with the beggining of my large and the appendis goes too. Then the two ends will be reattached. Has anyone had a surgery similiar to this one, and if so give me some positive info about the prep, surgery, after pain, meds, and hospital stay. My doc said most people who have this done are out of the hospital in 5 days give or take. My surgery is supposed to be traditional which is open. He insured that he would make the incision small as possible for my size. Where eactly will the incision be because I see most people have there's down the middle. But my problem is in the lower right corner of my belly below my belly button. I can actually feel when its inflammed the part from beginning to end, but this is just the large I'm feeling. It's seems to be about 3 to 4 inches the inflammation ends right below my last/bottom rib. But yeah I would be greatly appreciative of some positive info, I have heard alot of you on this forum say that the surgery is not that bad and it relieves a whole lot of pain. I hope that this is true.

stephx--the best thing you can do before surgery is to stay calm...I always do breathing exercises from the moment I wake up that day until they put me out...that's my way to deal with it:)  Definately WALK, then WALK some more!!! 

Does your doc do laproscopic surgeries?  My first surgery was 20 years ago (for what you are having) so I wasn't able to have mine done lapro, but I would definately push for it if I was you, even if it meant finding another surgeon.  It cuts down on scaring and your recovery is MUCH faster/easier.

I'll be thinking of you!

I had an ileocecectomy about 2 1/2 years ago. The pain afterwards was not bad at all. I had a pain pump and used it for about 2 days. I really mean it when I say the pain was mild most of the time. The first time you stand up is weird and it was rather painful. You quickly learn how to get out of bed so it hurts less. Bring a small pillow to place under the seatbelt for the car ride home.

My surgery was considered laproscopic but I have a 2 1/2 inch incision under my belly button because they have to take the pieces out. My problem was also on my right side but the incision was in the middle. It healed beautifully, you have to look to see the scar, it's my nicest one by far.

Preps are preps, most people hate them, me included. It helps keep your mind off the surgery for a while. It's basically the same prep they use for colonoscopies.

The surgery itself is pretty easy, they let you sleep through it. LOL.

They'll probably give you this breathing device. You inhale/exhale and keep a ball up. This helps you take deep breaths so your lungs stay clear. Make sure to use it. My next door neighbor didn't and she started to have lung problems. It's easy so don't stress about it. I watched a lot of TV so I just used it everytime the commercials started.

Having adults constantly asking if you've farted yet takes some getting used to. Let them know when you do. They keep you until you have a BM. Ask the nurses if they need to see it so you don't flush it away. My surgery was Monday morning and I had my first BM early Friday evening. I stayed until Saturday morning.

You may have an IV most of the time you are there. You can't really wear regular shirts or jammies with an IV so I wore the lovely hospital gowns for most of my stay. You can wear a second one backwards like a bathrobe so you don't moon the nurses when you go for your walks. I wore loose sweat pants after the catheter was removed. I kept the waist band folded down below my belly.

Don't be afraid to ask questions about ANYTHING that concerns you, ask for anything you may need. Take control of your stay or have an advocate speak for you. My first roommate was a deaf woman with alzheimer's, she screamed and yelled for hours. I kept insisting they change my room, they said they couldn't. So about 12 hours after my surgery when I could finally stand up, I demanded they remove the catheter and IV because I was leaving. She was removed to a private room within an hour.

My surgery wasn't due to Crohn's so I can't say it helped. It really took about 6 months before my bowels settled down to normal, the first 6 weeks were the worst. All the worrying beforehand wasn't worth it.

I hope this helps!

The other thing I would suggest is to bring your own pillow. Have someone bring it for you after the surgery, with your own pillowcases, something bright or floral, just not white, so it stands out against the hospital ones. It is nice to have your own pillow and several changes of cases so they smell like home, instead of the hospital. Plus if you are in bed a lot, you will want to have a fresh pillow case at least once a day. I'm sure your Mom would be happy to do this for you! Its what Moms are for.

Steph, following your surgery, you will feel a little dopey, but that will be a welcome feeling. Please don't expect too much from yourself.
You will be on fluid only for a few days, to allow everything to settle. Then they will slowly introduce you back to food. You may not move
your bowel for awhile, what they will want you to do is pass gas. This is very important, so I would suggest, that a soon as you're able,
start walking, it only takes a little effort, but it really helps to get things moving, and the sooner you do that, the sooner you get out.

Please remember don't be afraid to ask for pain meds, don't suffer in silence...

I take my own pillow to the hospital every time, lots of people do this, and it should help you sleep better.

Lastly, I'm so pleased you mad a decision, you will get through this. AND please remember we're always here if you need us, and most of us have
been right where you are now. It's very normal to be apprehensive, just let the nursing staff know this in pre op, they will perhaps give you something
to keep you calm...

I wih you all the best.... God Bless

I think a Nintendo DS and magazines are perfect. Magazines are great when you are a little dopey because short articles are easier to read than a book. You will be verrrry dopey the first day and slowly improve. I'm a TV addict, I taped my favorite shows in case I couldn't watch them. I was glad I did because I can't remember a thing I watched the first two days.

An MP3 player with headphones or earbuds that you can sleep with is great. Hospitals come to life at night and get much noisier when you try to sleep. My doc warned me about how quickly you can get into the habit of staying up all night and sleeping all day. If I hadn't listened to low music all night, I wouldn't have slept. The outside noises distracted me.

I don't like hospital smells. I found something called Linen spray, you can spray it on your pillow and sheets so they smell like whatever scent you choose. I chose lavender because it's supposed to be relaxing and it was.

It's normal to be nervous. Don't be afraid of the pain, they're pretty good at controlling it while you are in the hospital. Watch out when you get home though. You'll be more active and it is so easy to overdo it. A little pain is normal, you need to move around and walk to heal and stay healthy. If the pain increases, stop and rest. Follow any restrictions carefully. When they say don't lift more than 20 lbs - they mean it.

Don't bring too much, especially the first day. You can always have someone bring what you need later. The problem with "stuff" is that you have to deal with it. You have to put it somewhere and be able to get it and watch it so no one steals it.

Make sure you put your DS away as soon as you get a little sleepy. It's easy to fall asleep then knock it off the bed.

Hi I did find books and magazines very good for passing the time.I also had a small TV .I did find the time passed fairly quickly though. On about day 3 I was walking quite a bit. My biggest problem was scents in the hospital as I have asthma.I also found once I got drinking ensure and boost really helped get pass the weak feeling for me I hadn't eaten much for weeks prior to surgery. I remember a patient that had a machine they turned on at night and I couldn't sleep so I was laying there wishing someone would turn off the motorcycle I thought there was one in the parking lot outside. The thing I really liked was the people I met were so nice. I got to talk to quite a few people. lol gail

Stephx you really need to stop and take a deep breath and relax. You will be okay, infact I am pretty sure once you have recovered you will laugh at how much you freaked out beforehand. When you check in on Tuesday and the anthesiologist comes to see you ask him/her for something to calm you down. They generally give you something and the next thing you know the surgery is over.

I did get an infection in my wound after both my resections. I did not do a prep beforehand, and I believe that was the cause of my infection. So do the prep, I think you can avoid the infection by doing that one simple thing.

Good luck,
Gail *Nanners*

What should I be ating before this surgery, my doctor really didn't give me a diet. He just gave me a prep to do the day before. Also I was thinking about going to the state fair saturday, my surgery is tuesday is this a good idea.

Hey steph...i had the same surgery in july, i was not allowed to eat sunday or monday, had to take a prep on monday, surgery was on tuesday (laporscopic). my doctor told me i would be in the hospital 3-5 days or until i passed gas or had a bm. Well i passed gas that thursday and i was sent home...not bad at all huh. the worst part of it all was the prep, then the soreness and gas pains after it...that lasted about 1 week, i had 2 little incisions and 1 bigger one cause he had to remove the appendix and cecum.  But it really wasnt as bad as i thought it was gonna be...

good luck with everything

I had no special diet before the surgery, just the bowel prep. I had to stop most of my vitamins and supplements about 10 days before the surgery.

The fair would be a lot of fun and keep your mind off the surgery for a while. Just be careful. Bring a small bottle of hand sanitizer and use it often. Keep your hands away from your face and move away from anyone coughing or sneezing. You don't want to catch a cold. It's not really dangerous, it's just that sneezing after surgery is not fun at all. If you get sick easily, you might want to skip it.

You can't do much to stop infection, especially internally. Make sure you do a thorough bowel prep, drink a lot of fluids, and try to relax... I know the relaxing part is difficult, try going for a walk or get lost in a book or video game to take your mind off everything.

I love the idea of "sneak attack" surgery. I hate the waiting and it doesn't get easier the more surgeries I have.

Keep chatting on the forum if it helps. Why, specifically, are you depressed? Were you depressed before or is it because of the surgery?

Any surgery that happens to you or a loved one is major surgery. My son had an ingrown toenail surgically removed and it made me nuts for a while. It is normal to be worried and even scared.

You said you backed out of surgery before. Don't do it again! You'll have to go through all of this again and it won't get easier. Tuesday will be here so soon, then the worst will be over. You can do it.

i think the feelings your hafing are normal,i think before nething i had done i was anixous,even when the dentist told me i had to get my tooth pulled out at hospital i started balling (the dentist thort i was mental),its ok to be scared and cry,just because its not heart surgery doesnt mean its not scary,i was proud of never hafing to go to hospital before this i never even broke a bone,i never thort it wld happen to me,my brother had brain surgery and i felt silly being scared of having a resection but you cant stop how you feel,