new to this forum and very scared of surgery june 20th

anyone out there.............?? I really want to talk to you guys .. and hear some pointers.. or just to compair some stories.

i didnt have the same surgery, i have a perm ileo, but i was allowed to eat real food on day three also. It was ice chips the first day, until really late that night i got water.
THe next day was juice and jello, stuff like that
then a bland diet for a few days, then a low residue diet for six weeks after surgery.
I know it's so scary when you are getting ready for surgery, just keepign thinking of how much better you will feel when it is over! that helped me alot!
a few things you should take to the hospital are hand wipes, puzzle books, something like that, chapstick, lotion. Take your own soap and shampoo, i didnt' take a shower myself at the hosptial, i didnt' want to, but they let some people shower.

thank you so much for your reply. I am very nervous about this but i want it so bad also. That shows how bad i must feel to want someone to cut me open and take out my plumbing. I keep telling my self i know i cant feel any worse then i feel already............this is another stupid question. how soon did any of you get back into shape or get to ton up your belly again. or didnt you ever get to. for those how have sorta slimmer bellies did it like make your belly so it no longer looked slimmer. if that makes sence. did it like wreck the muscles in there to be cut wide open. I have lots of questions and hope to come on here again tonight but for now i have to get off and get my work done... please keep the tips coming.......... one more question. did any of you not have alot of support from your husband or wife. or just they are not the loving type so you feel like your going to be all alone or have to face this alone. I am worried about this also. Long story

UC= ulcerative colitis. It's the opposite problem of CI (colonic inertia or chronic constipation). UCers typically have chronic diarrhea amongst other symptoms. Surgery is painful, any abdominal surgery is painful but the hospital should be able to control your pain. You won't get food for some time and you won't be hungry. I think it was around day 5 when I had food but of course I think my surgery (jpouch) is more complicated than yours. Nevertheless you probably won't miss food. In fact you'll be lucky if you have an attention span of a gnat for several days. Zoning out the TV or listening to music was about the best I could do. I had to have potassium too and I hated it. Too me the potassium IV was far more painful than surgery! Every hospital is different in terms of internet and computer access. You can call your hospital in advance of your procedure and inquire as to what they offer.

Sue

my mother in law just asked me what types of food did you eat when you got home. was it soft foods or normal stuff.....................

so nice to meet someone going thru the same thing. I would love to chat with you in a different way then just on here. i have a msn account . which is [email protected] if you want to look me up. that would be great. How old are you. i am 37 . we sound like we have the SAME story......... where are you from. I am from michigan.... I would love to stay in contact with you. please look me up

oh i forgot to answer a few questions of yours, lol.
You will be loopy on the pain meds but you will probably be glad you are loopy, lol. I liked it anyway!
I didn't have to have the potassium that time, but i have had to have it before and i hated it! you shouldn't feel hungry, cause the fluids keep you full feeling.
As for toning your stomach up, once you have a major stomach surgery, or any time the stomach muscles are cut (like a c-section even) it makes it harder for the stomach to tone back up. You will have swelling for probaby two or three months, it shoudl go away though. I had a pretty slim stomach, but milkshakes have gotten rid of that for me! But i have been going to a gym for a few months and i am doing the ab machines and such and they are helping. I had started exercising and such about three months after surgery. Mainly i took so long because i was being lazy, lol.
i dont know what kind of camping you are talkign about, you may not feel like trekking ten miles through the woods up a mountain to a campsite, but i would think you would feel good enough to do camping like at a campground or soemthing.

Hello mommyphotographer,

I had a sub-total colectomy Sept. 5, 2007, and had it with an open incision. I was also nervous about the surgery before, having had about 3 months to think about it beforehand.
My surgery was not for CI, but because of pre-cancerous cell activity on the right side of my colon after about 28 years of Ulcerative Colitis. They took all my colon out from the abdominal cavity, leaving the rectum and a couple of inches of the bottom of the sigmoid colon, re-attaching the ileum to what was left.
My surgery was done at University Hospital in Denver and my surgeon was excellent. I did have some short-term complications, but am doing very well now. My intestines didn't "wake up" and start working for about 12 days after the surgery so I was in the hospital for 2 weeks, losing about 20 pounds. It's pretty unusual to take that long for the intestines to begin working again but it can happen. The surgeon had told me that I would probably go home 5-6 days post-op but it didn't work that way for me. My age might have been a factor, although I was in pretty good shape, running about 3 times a week for 2-3 miles each time. I was 53 when my surgery was done and I felt every bit of that while in the hospital. This is a major surgery and it will probably take about 6 weeks before you get close to having normal energy levels. I went back to work after 6 weeks, but would probably have done better waiting another couple of weeks before going back.
I ate a low-fiber/low-residue diet at first to help recovery and I still stick to it for the most part. The worst thing for me to eat has been cole slaw (raw cabbage), tossed salads, and spicy Chinese food. Oddly enough, I can tolerate Mexican food pretty well, but I avoid the really spicy stuff.
I have a pretty long vertical scar and mine is worse than some because about 2 inches of my incision pulled open 9 days post-op, when they tried to discharge me from the hospital. They took my staples out that day, putting steri-strips on the incision, and while waiting for a prescription at the hospital pharmacy I began throwing up. I was re-admitted to the hospital and ended up staying another 5 days.
All in all it was a good long-term outcome for me. They found a very small cancerous lesion in my colon after it was removed but it was so small and still contained in the inner lining of the colon so I didn't even have to go through chemo. I have about 4 bm's a day, on average, and can even go through most days without having one at work. I use a little dry toilet paper then flushable wet wipes to finish. I found that using dry TP only made me pretty raw.
I know I had complications that most people don't have and I'm not trying to scare your. I'm really doing very well now.
I wish you a speed recovery after your surgery and let me know if you have any more questions.

Since you are not having a jpouch and you didn't have UC this lady's condition shouldn't worry you.  What she has is called pouchitis and only occurs in jpouch patients (or k-pouch patients).  The severity of her pouchitis occurs in about 1-5% of pouch patients.  As for walking, you will be forced to get out of bed the day after surgery and encouraged to walk.  This will help get your bowels awakened and will aid in your recovery.

My surgery for a jpouch took 1.5 hours.

Sue

Hey there.....just saw your message. I had my surgery on jan 28 and also had my surgery in Michigan. I have not heard of Dr. Deen, but I am sure he is great. I had mine done at spectrum in grand rapids, mi with dr. dujovny. I had mine done lapriscopically. I was in the hospital for nine days. I was readmitted a month later for another 8 days i think. I had some complications after surgery.....but i would never change having the surgery. I am four and a half months post op and having some issues, but still feel like i have my life back. i was at my heaviest too and now i am back to normal. i dropped 22 lbs. hope your doing well

With jpouchers it seems everyone responds to foods differently.  My diet is about 90% fresh fruit and vegetables.  It was the same diet I had prior to surgery too.

Sue

Hi mommy and summer. I had my colostomy one year ago,due to diverticulosis and UC. I can't even remember a time I didn't have pain and chronic constipation and dehydration. I am so glad I got rid of the cursed sigmoid colon,and would do it again if I had to. I am 55 and suffered my whole life from gut problems. If you want to ask me any questions,no matter what they are ,PM me okay? I will try to answer them honestly and clearly. Scrappyjrt