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Surgery September 22

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Posted 8/21/2008 7:40 PM (GMT 0)
Hi everyone; I'm new to this board and I have a question.  First I have to say that I will not be having an ostomy, so I don't know if I belong here.  I'm sorry if I'm in the wrong place.  I'm having surgery in September for chronic constipation and they are going to remove my entire colon.  I've already had 18 inches of my colon removed last year during a rectal prolapse repair, and now they are going to take out the rest. 

The plan is to remove the entire large intestine and then connect the small intestine directly to my rectum.  Has anyone had this surgery?  What can I expect?  How will it differ in pain and recovery from the resection I had previously? Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much for all your help!

Posted 8/21/2008 11:38 PM (GMT 0)
hello there and welcome! your not in the wrong place, there are a lot of us that have had this surgery. If you look under the TOTAL COLECTOMY sections you will find a ton of information and it will answer a lot of your questions. I too, had a total colectomy for colonic inertia Jan 28 of this year. I will not lie....it was a very long recovery!!!!! I was out of work for over three months, but I also had a lot of complications. I am doing much better now. I just started biofeedback therapy becuase I have muscle dysynergy and I take milk of mag once a day. I do not regret my surgery. It was the best thing I could do. After eight years of suffering I am finally happy. Although I take m of m once a day I do not consider the surgery a failure. It works well. I go about 4-6 times with it and I am working on not having to use it at all with the muscle therapy. Hope this finds you some help.

lizzie

Posted 8/24/2008 10:47 AM (GMT 0)

i wish you good luck in your future surgery - keep us posted on how it goes.  i am hoping for the same surgery by the end of the year - things take a lot longer in the UK.

My constipation become 100% worse after a sigmoid resection for a slight twist of bowel which no one can understand why.  all the best . x

Posted 8/24/2008 12:29 PM (GMT 0)
I had your same surgery on June 10th. I had suffered from 20 years of my bowels not working due to chronic constipation. For me the surgery was a god send. It is not a simple recovery but you will be so glad you did this after three months. I have never had a resection so it is hard for me to compare the two but I can tell you how my surgery went.
I had the surgery and my bowels started working after 2 hours. This part of my body has not worked for a long time so it was a surprise. In the hospital I was given pain pump and I felt uncomfortable but no pain. I was also given medication for pain at home. The pain for me was not much worse then the pain I had before I went in.
The recovery time varies from weeks to three months. I became tired very easy for the first 6 weeks so if you need something done do it before surgery. I was told not to drive or lift more then 5 pounds for the first couple of weeks. If you need supply's get them before hand. The bowels will pass more loose stools and often at first and will slowly taper off after weeks.
My hospital stay was three days but most stay longer.
Posted 8/24/2008 2:57 PM (GMT 0)
mcmom,

I'm seeing my surgeon on Tuesday to decide when to have this surgery myself.  I assume yours was done lap. as opposed to open?

Just curious, with your chronic constipation for so many years, did you take laxatives?  I've been taking senna every few days for over 30 years, and I'm wondering if that may affect my outcome?  I have alot of questions for the dr. on Tuesday! I've been working with him for several months, with testing, etc. and even tried biofeedback for 3 months, so no avail.

I'm so glad you're doing well. How many bm's do you usually have a day, and do you have complete control?  I'm just worried about working afterwards!

Thanks so much,

Janie

Posted 8/25/2008 1:21 AM (GMT 0)
My surgery was done Lap and the scars are very small there are 4 that are from one inch to a half inch long. Above the belly button I have a scar about 2" long. Not to noticeable.

I had tried laxatives but I could take many for weeks with no relief. The only thing that seem to work for me was 2 quart enemas. I would have to do this daily and I might get results in 5-7 days. I had to do this for 15 years before I found help.

In your final question about B.M.'s there were about 12-15 a day in the beginning. It has slowed down to 8 a day and I have complete control over my body.
Posted 8/25/2008 2:47 AM (GMT 0)
Hi,
I have just had a total colectomy on aug. 7th of this year. I had it because of slow transit constipation due to a dead non functioning colon. are you getting it open or laprascopic. I had my done laprascopic, so I was in the hospital for only 4 days. I was in surgery for 3-4 hours, and I was on a morphine drip for a couple of days. The first day in the hospital, I was not allowed to eat or drink anything. On the second day til about my last day I was on a clear liquid diet. After leaving the hospital I was on a low-residue diet. I was on that for a couple of weeks, and i just returned to a regular diet. With me, everytime I eat I always have to go to the bathroom and move bowels. My bowels are very watery stool and I always have to use cream for my rectum. I am still new at this, so I am trying to figure out alot of things like how to control it and stuff. you also said you had a rectal prolapse surgery. I also had that as well back in Dec. 2006. Well, I hope everything goes well, and ggod luck. You will do well.
Posted 8/25/2008 2:52 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you so much for your repies, it means a lot to me.  I am a little confuse, however.  My surgeon has said that if I'm very "aggressive" I can expect to be back at work in 3 weeks.  Does this seem realistic to you?  She said I will be in the hospital for more or less 5 days - I don't know if the 3 weeks counts those five days or not but even so...that sounds pretty fast after reading what you've posted.  Also, I'm really starting to worry because everything I've read about what it should be like after surgery is different from what those of you who have had it are experiencing.  For exampe, I've read I will have approx. 4-5 bm's a day and then it will get better from there.  It sounds like it's much, much more and I can only hope it gets to 4-5 a day at full recover.  I am trying to keep in mind that everyone is different.  Does my surgeon's outlook seem unusually optomistic to you?
Posted 8/26/2008 12:14 PM (GMT 0)
There are a few here that have it made it back to work in three weeks but there are many if they can afford to they stayed out of work up to six weeks to give the body a chance to heal. I was told not to drive for six weeks. I would trust what your doctor tells you but be prepared if you need longer. I only wish I knew what you being aggressive means in doctor speak? Do you work in an office or physical demanding job?
Posted 8/26/2008 3:01 PM (GMT 0)
I work in an office and spend approximately 85% of my time behind a desk. I have a long commute to work which I am lucky enough to be able to carpool with my husband who works in a nearby office. Because my last surgery (the resection) also entailed a rectal prolapse repair where they did some stapling (not quite sure of what) and also an appendix removal (just because it was there); I'm having a hard time mentally comparing the last procedure with the coming one. The last one was absolutely miserable! But, then again, I'm miserable now...
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