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17 days post op. Anyone. Who had surgery please help

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 7/22/2016 12:21 PM (GMT 0)
OK so still have pain that runs from pelvic area up the front side to the hip bone? I went back in hospital they 1 week ago they done CT scan and said all was fine with a little inflamation at lower colon. My wbc was 17 and they kept me for 3 days gave me fluids and pain meds that did not do much. Now I'm home and only relief is ibuprofen and I told surgeon I'm not to take witcrihns and he said to take it 2 times a day right now to help inflamation from surgery sight? Is this normal this far out of surgery to still have this pain? It was small bowel resection
Posted 7/22/2016 12:50 PM (GMT 0)
Stop the ibuprofen! Your surgeon is an idiot. I would call your GI. Was your surgeon a regular surgeon or a colo-rectal specialist?
Posted 7/22/2016 1:44 PM (GMT 0)
Your surgeon is indeed an idiot - ibuprofen is more likely to worsen bowel inflammation than help it. Whatever the cause of your pain is, you should not be taking ibuprofen twice a day if you have Crohn's. See if your surgeon or GI will prescribe you tramadol or codeine instead if you need pain relief.

It's normal to have pain for weeks or even months after abdominal surgery, particularly if it was open rather laparoscopic (keyhole). I was still in bad pain two weeks after mine, but it was normal. I was having some low-grade fevers at the time, so my GI suspected a minute anastomotic leak and ordered a pelvic MRI scan which - Crohn's inflammation aside - was clear of any fistulas or leaks.

Chances are, your pain is normal but if you are still worried consider asking for a pelvic MRI.
Posted 7/23/2016 2:13 AM (GMT 0)
He is a colon rectal surgeon. It's just for a few days he said. What do you think
Posted 7/23/2016 2:18 AM (GMT 0)
Yes colon rectal specialist at Barnes Jewish hospital in St. Louis. Mo. The vicodin was not doing it for pain so he said I could take aleve for a few days and if pain is not less by next week early we will do more test. The CT scan shows all well. I just took last night and today and pain is so much better. I guess I should just try vicodin again in the morning? I don't want to mess this up
Posted 7/24/2016 2:55 AM (GMT 0)
I have been a patient on the Barnes Jewish colorectal floor 5 times. 3 of those 5 times they tried to give me Ibuprofen, I always refused. I trust my surgeon there very much but a lot of days post op I was seeing the surgical fellow on the floor and I think they were giving a lot of standard protocol. While I know they do a lot of Crohns and UC there, the majority of that floor is still other colon complications like cancer and diverticulitis. So I never trusted them on that whole post surgery inflammation bit. I always requested Vicodin and stuck with that. Then as things got better at home tried to use extra strength Tylenol.

I have not had a small bowel resection. Only colon resection and then the big take it all out surgery but both times I had different pains for at least a few weeks after surgery.
Posted 7/24/2016 3:02 AM (GMT 0)
However I do think I would maybe give my GI a call if the surgeon says everything from surgery looks ok. 17 WBC is high and if you don't have a sign of infection then it probably means your inflammation is high which is somewhat normal after surgery but 17 seems high. On my last surgery they wouldn't send me home until my WBC was close to 10.
Posted 7/24/2016 6:29 AM (GMT 0)
I'm to the point I wish they would open me back up and find the problem and fix it. I'm in worse pain then I have ever been.
Posted 7/24/2016 2:22 PM (GMT 0)
I wonder if you could have an abscess forming that was too small when they first did the CT. I know someone on the ostomy board that they didn't find the access on the first CT, it had to grow a little before they found it. That would also answer why you WBc is so high.

If the pain is worse something definitely isn't right. I was still using pain meds at 3 weeks but the pain was slowly improving not intensifying.
Posted 7/26/2016 8:30 PM (GMT 0)
OK my pain has been doing pretty good and then this morning I passed alot of gas and now I'm a little tender again? Wish the appetite would get better. I had a donut for breakfast and a sandwich for lunch.
Posted 7/27/2016 12:09 PM (GMT 0)
I'm the odd man out here..... but I do at times take ibuprofen to help with inflammation that is not Crohn's related. For never more than two days, more than that and I do pay for it. I realize it does not help with the inflammation from Crohn's, but it still helps with inflammation for other reasons. And surgical inflammation i would list in that category. I've used after surgeries and injuries. Again, just for two days to help with initial inflammation that is NON Crohn's related.
Posted 7/28/2016 3:15 AM (GMT 0)
So I'm 3 weeks po today and I just passed more gas then a hot air balloon has. Oh my guess this is still normal?
Posted 7/28/2016 3:42 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Barbz - Are you getting bloated and distended with your pain? Crampy? What does the pain feel like? It could be food having trouble passing through, which is pretty typical when you start eating again after surgery.

Pain in general is typical, but it should be treated appropriately. I know you said the vicodin wasn't working as well because you have somewhat of a tolerance to it. Would your surgeon prescribe percocet? My surgeon took very good care of me before and after surgery. I was meeting with her weekly both before and after and she was always tweaking my pain meds as needed. And while pain is expected after a surgery, it shouldn't be escalating or worse than the first few days.
Posted 7/28/2016 9:36 AM (GMT 0)
No pain is not that bad just dull ache. And I have been up moving more and doing more to. Along with just started.
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