TOTAL COLECTOMY PART 18

Hi everyone!!!

Lizzie, glad to hear that you are okay and doing great! I am sorry about the NG's, they are not fun at all. When I have my Subtotal, I am hoping that they just keep it in for a few days so I don't have to have it back in. It's nice to be able to "finally" poop. Geez...isn't it funny how we all basically couldn't go like a normal person and have found this site with people like us.....

Cathy- Do you think having Lupus will affect my recovery? I know I should ask my doc, but in your opinion what would you think?

Again can I get a list of questions to ask the surgeon on the 13th? What should I be asking? I have read these forums and find them helpful, but would need to go back and read through to get them all down. And YES I have lots!

Terri- I am glad that you went to the specialist and that it is all good. I have had that manomitry test done before and it isn't too bad. Let us know more when you can.

I will have to rememeber the gum thing...any suggestions on what is helpful to bring to the hospital?

ALL I CAN SAT IS THAT THIS RECOVERY IS NOT WHAT I EXPECTED.i HADA TEMP OF 104 YESTERDAT AITH A PULSE IN THE 160'S. tHEY DID  A BUNCH IF TESTS AND i STILL HAVE A ILEUS. tHEY HAVE STARTED ME  ON REGLAN. I HAVE WATERY DIARRHEW, BUT THAT IS IT. i HAD A TON OF TESTS AND IN ABOIUT A HALF AN HOUR THEY ARE GOING TO DOUBLE CHECCK THAT THERE IS NOT A LEAK AT THE SNASTAMOSIS. I JUST WANTO GO HOMW.....HOW LONG WERE MANY OF YOU IN FOR. i DO NOT HAVE PNEMONIA, BIT ATELECTASIS AND THAT IS WHTY iHAD A FEVER. hE SAID IT IS VERY COMMON. HOPE YOU ALL HAVE SOME ANSWERS.

SCARED AND DONE WITH THIS RECOVERY.

LIZZIE

lizzie i am praying for you

Lizzie,

Have them do a CT scan with contrast looking for a leak.  Is your WBC count elevated?  I had a leak that was missed (not recognized on the CT scan) and my white count didn't go up (oddly enough) but I was septic from a perforation at my anastamosis site.  Generally, atalectasis alone doesn't cause a fever, look for infection!

Felicia,

Lupus is not going to help, but the whole process is tough.  The fasting and bowel cleanse along with not eating for a few days is going to help the lupus.  The colon gets a little rest.  Stay on top of your symptoms so you can report them to your doctor just in case something is trying to flare up.  They also might want you to stay off some of your meds prior to surgery, so as not to mess up healing and clotting.

Hope this helps.

Cathy

Lizzie,

How are you today? How is your fever?


April,

How are you? Are you still green?

Amey

Everything is back to normal  just a lot of gas.  Thanks for asking, are doing well?

Lizzie

I wish I could the gas goes away but it doen't, for me at least, part of my life is gas and the odor OMG I keep air freasher close by when I go to the bathroom. Hope you are feeling better so, just remember you just go of the hospital and you new system needs to get use to things.  Good luck

 

Hi Lizzie,

I had my total abdominal colectomy September 5, 2007, and was in the hospital for 2 weeks afterward because of Ileus. On day 12 post op the surgeon removed the 4th NG tube and said that if I couldn't keep any food down and wasn't better by the next day that he had put on me on his OR schedule for day 14 post op and was going to a CT scan and barium enema study on day 13. I was fortunate enough that things started working that day and I was release from the hospital on day 14 post op and finally got to go home.

At 5 months after the surgery, I'm finally starting to feel "normal" as far as energy levels go. I know my bowel functions will never be considered normal, but it has gotten better over time. My surgery was for a different reason than most people on this thread as I had a finding of cancer in my colon. I was lucky in that they think they got all of the cancer and it did not appear to have spread.

I hope they find out what's keeping you from recovering and get the problem fixed and I wish you the best in your recovery.

Hi Everyone,

No one has been posting so I will take that as a sign that everyone is doing great.

I went to the new GI doctor yesterday. I told him about my stools being light yellow to dark green most of the time even if I do not eat anything this color. He said it was okay. Not to worry that this is normal since I only have a small intestine to work with. He said I should only be concerned if the stools are white and stay that color. I also informed him of the rectal pain I get. He said I should email my surgeon to see if he thought it was normal or if test should be run. I will send my surgeon an email tonight after work. I also told the GI doctor about my severe hair loss and my finger and toe nail problems. He said I could be low on vitamin B-12 so he did some blood test yesterday. Should know by next week.

Since my hair is falling out so severely, I cut it short, and I do mean short. Everyone at my job loves it.

Anyway, just thought I would let you know how things are going these days. On March 12 will be one year post op.

Hi Guys, sorry for the delay in posting. I was discharged with my ileus and the next day I got the flu. I have had fevers and upper respiratory congestion, and vomiting for almost 10 days now. Yesterday I went back to the doctor and they finally put me on a steroid inhaler and antibiotic. They drew labs becuase he said I looked pale. My counts were "ok" with an elevated white count hence the infection. I think my ileus is resolving. Thins are starting to work a little more normal. I still have so much pain and tenderness in my abdomen.

Is it norma to be so swollen? How long did this last for you guys. I am carrying probably 5 lbs of fluid just in my abdomen, but the doctors say its normal??? I have lost about 12 lbs, this sickness did the trick and after not eatinf for so long I get full really quickly. I have absolutely NO ENERGY. I cannot sleep because I cough, coughing hurts my abdomen, I am just a mess!!!!! Didi thie recovery leave any of you depressed? I feel like I am down and blue and I just want to feel like me again!

Hope you all are well

Lizzie

LIZZIE - My heart goes out to you!!!  You have surely suffered A LOT!!!  As far as being swolen, yes, I suffered with this for weeks, probably in the ballpark of 12 weeks.  Please keep in mind that the surgery was HUGE and I can only imagine all the moving around they did during surgery.  I believe that things are trying to find their "new home" due to the amount of colon removed.  Because I had a total hysterectomy four year ago, then having five and a half feet of colon removed - I felt sort of hollowed inside.

As far as the depression - I've suffered with depression for years and can tell you that after surgery my depression got worse, not to mention my sleep pattern changed dramatically.  In fact, a year post-op I was still having trouble with it and was only sleeping three to four hours a night.  I'm now a year and three months post-op and I still don't sleep thru the night, although it's better, I find myself up after five or six hours of sleep.

All this stuff in my opinion is causing you to have NO ENERGY - it did that to me.  Also, I think the surgery really affects our immune system and we end up catching any and everything going around.

Things will get better.  You've been thru A LOT!!!  Don't be too hard on yourself and remind yourself that this was a HUGE surgery and a real blow to your body.

RESA & IRISH - I'm sorryto hear about your problems, but thrilled you're seeking medical attention and they seem to have answers to some of your problems. 

It's been awhile since I've posted and have really missed chatting with you both.

Robin

Thanks for the reply. I've been coming and reading...just didn't have much to say. How are you doing?

Mom2sophia

What time is your surgery scheduled for? I'm not a good one to ask because they made me be on a liquid diet three days before surgery. I was still pooping when we arrived at the hospital. LOL

Hi Everyone,

I went to another doctor on Friday night. He took a lot of blood test and all turned out normal. So I guess my next step is the Dermatologists for my hair and nail problem. I also emailed my surgeon and he wants the GI doctor to do a sigmoidoscopy for the rectum pain I am having. He also wants me to take fiber tablets to thicken up my stools as he doesn't want me to have mushy to watery stool and he also wants me to take Imodium to stop my in the middle of the night BMs. If my sig turns out okay and my rectum pain continues he wants me to make an appointment with him. He doesn't think it is scar tissue at this time. I really do not want to take anything to thicken my stools. I need to push as it is with them being watery to mushy. If they are any thicker I know I will really need to push. Anyway, I just thought I would give you an update on how things are going.

Stuck42Long - hi. Haven't seen you post for awhile. I hope all is going okay for you.

I hope everyone else is doing fine.

You answered your own question. LOL  They had me on a three-day because of the CI...wanted to make sure all was clear before the surgery.