life changing

 I am 36 years old. My total abdominal colectomy was on October 20, 2008. I spent 11 days in the hospital with some complications. I was very happy to find this web site and all the women here have given me some peace of mind as I no longer feel alone. This surgery was a big deal. I did not understand the impact it was going to have on my life. I am home 2 days now. Pain Pain Pain ....thats all i can say right now. I admire the strengh alot of you are showing. Right now I feel very weak, useless, just not "me". I have "accidents" at nite which are completely humiliateing to me. I have been going thru this for a long time until I finally found a doctor who listened to me and after serveral E.R visits, a seigure, faiting, pain, constipation , bloating and trying every laxitive know to man and lets not forget even havin a doctor suggest I was haing psychological problems, finaly was diagnosed after the transit study. I have most of my pain in my back. I had the 3 insicions and a L shape incision. they seem to be healing well. I am going to the bathroom several times a day, untill yesterday. I finally had some solid food. Mac N Cheese and I havnt gone since and now im scared. I drink ensure everyday because i have lost so much weight. I was 147 and now im 117. My stomach used to get so bloated people would accuse me of being pregnant!!!. I just would like to say again. I apprieciate this web site as it has helped me tremendousely. Reading your testimonies and trials has helped me to understand whats happening to me....hugs to all.......I wish all of u who have had this surgery and those who are waitig to have it the best ...  Chronic Irish Mom

hi irishmom,

yeh the pain is so darn bad!!! you feel like you will never be better, never even close to be healthy. I had so many probs after my surgery it was literally like being in a nightmare. I was in hosp for a while too, far longer that hoped. NG tube etc...... but it does get easier. 2 weeks post op i was still in hosp so the fact you are even using the computer and having some energy although slight to do that is a great sign.

when first home i had a ton of pillows in bed to give me more support, and i deliberatly choose the room furthest away from the bathroom. that was my exercise and it was such a chore. Walking to and from the bathroom tired me out so much!!! but i looked at my progress in weeks, i didnt do days, as that would have depressed me more. At the beginning of the week i would say well i walked more this week, i was standing more this week, i have only been to the toilet this amount of tmes, etc.... and you start to notice improvements. I couldnt hold my children which broke my heart as well, but you do eventually get strentgh back. It took me longer than imagined to recover but thankfully i am well. i have the odd bad day, but hey it beats a bad day every day right??? and now i am pregnant, something i thought impossible after the op. I am a proper wife, mother and friend again. you will be too soon. i have faith in medical science, recover relaxing and hope. You are gonna be fine again, just takes time

thinking of you in your recovery amanda xx

I am so sorry for your pain.  But as the ladies have said...it Does get better!  One thing that I have a hard time with as well, is being patient with myself when I am post surgery.  I guess that's why they call us the "patient".. ..no irony here is there?  I was prescribed morphine when I came home but couldn't take them for very long as they made me feel weird, and they were causing my blood pressure to drop dramatically.  I switched to Tylenol extra strength and while it sure didn't take away the pain totally, it made me at least be more comfortable.  I am 6 weeks post surgery now,, and I have to tell you I still have pain in my incision site.  It hurts horribly if I sneeze or sometimes just when I have been on my feet for too long.  I try to hold my tummy if I feel a sneeze coming .  I wish you the best of luck, and remember to BE PATIENT WITH YOURSELF Ok?  Your body has been through alot and  needs time to heal.

PS:  I had a bowel resection and now have an ileostomy. 

Cheryl

the best thing I can say is DON'T PUSH YOURSELF! I didn't expect to do anything for four weeks after my surgery and I ended up taking it easy for seven!!! Make sure you stay ahead of the pain...I took the maximum allowed amount everyday for the first four weeks. (I even called my doc even for a refill)As my body started healing, I could push the length of time between meds, and finally I only needed to take them at night to keep the pain at bay.

Do you have a plastic backed mattress cover? I used those disposable things they put under your butt in the hospital incase I had an accident...that way you only have to wash up/change your clothes and go back to bed. Have your mom visit often so you can see your son, but if you try to do too much too soon, you may have a set back. As far as the laudry goes, I had my husband bring everything to the washer and I did take over from there, but I NEVER lifted the laundry basket...

As long as you are not still losing weight, don't worry too much yet, you just went through a lot. As your body heals and you can tolerate more, you will gain it back.

Post Edited (OHIO76) : 11/7/2008 6:20:20 AM (GMT-7)

hi again, i forgot to put some things in my last post, the tramadol i was given was for at home with plain paracetamol, i did try a lower dose of the tramadol but that still didnt work. I was offered nothng else. The docs are are real good.!! lol you see once discharged from hosp here you are in the care of your own gp. it can be a nightmare to get to see a doc. i was told too to never miss a dose of pills as your body needs to build up the pain relief pills in your system for them to work. the only thing i could take that didnt make me worse was paracetamol(tylenol). but i took them exactly 4 hours apart. resting was all i could realy manage. I remeber clearly feeling sorry for myself( which i know i was well entitled to do) i was lying down and my kitten knocked over a cup of tea and i had to get my husband to clean up. I hated having to rely on others. But at the end of the day my my health came before my pride etc for my home. even now after 16 months there are days where i still get tired easily and need help doing physical things but i can do a million things more than i could then. As everyone else has said you do need the rest. One of the best ways for healing. But you do also need some form of pain meds, regularly and on time. Everyone here knows exactly what you are going through and we know it is one of the most difficult times in your life. You could always look at it, that you are climbing a hill but you are only halfway there. Just that wee bit to go before the home stretch. The home stretch can take some time though but while you are doing that climb everyone are here for you, to vent moan at cry whatever you want. please take care of yourself, and soon you will be playing with your wee boy again. i know i am xxxx

I think chocolate has endorphins in it witch is a natural pain relievent.It also makes you happy so keep on sippen.

Good evening ladies, I went to the pain mamnagment meeting and the doc upped my meds just for now, she is very understanding. I actually feel good today, emptyied the dishwasher...wow!! the accomplishment. lol..well I guess its better than nothin...i read some of your stories and so many of u have had it worse then me with other medical conditions to deal with as well. That started to get me thinking. I should be more gratefull instead of such a bummer. My son (hopefuly) will be making his way back home from my moms next week sometime...I know my mom must be exhausted. my son is 2 and he is something, let me tell ya...she wont admit it, but i know she is tired. she doesnt want me to worry. Ya, I dont know whats up with the hot chocolate thing but it helps alot. the docs sayS, I have to excuse my verbage, pass gas, but this doesnt happen very Often and i know its a huge sorce of my pain. never thought gas could and can be so painful. I take my hat off to you ladies and know, in your heart if nothing else, you have done alot to help a single mom who prior to this site felt very alone, almost depressed. How are you cecilia? Ironically my fianc'e has chrons. I know alot about that. I know around the change of seasons and the time change he gets whats called a flare up? how r u? mom9mom! you are in my toughts and prayers and you have been through alot. it made me feel bad reading what u have been through and here i am complaining. I think there is a reason I found this web site and a reason we are able to comunicate to each other. all of u have been a great inspiration and i think of this when my pain waves come. Hey! guess what ? I ate a ham sandwhich yesterday. I am having potaotoes augruatin today. yummy...nite to all hugs to all...irish mom   by the way I slept 12 hours today...gggeeeezzzzz

Good evening ladies. My son was born is August as well. so our sons are extremely close in age. how long ago did u have your surgery? I had a total colectomy so they took all my large intestines. What do you find is easier to eat? well I guess that depends on how long ago you had the surgery, but if you can remember how long did it take before you could drink milk? They sayI cant have raw vegies or fruit for 6 weeks. I have 1 more week and then I can drive again. And yes, definitly an inspiration to have my little guy home.  Im glad you were able to get some rest xx..rest is good. I slept alot again today but I figure i had better before he littlr guy gets back. still makes me feel a bit lazy. nite to al and lots of hugs irish mom

hey irishmom, well my surgery was june 29th '07, i wasnt well until summer this year. Sad thing is i wasnt told to stay away from certain types of food etc...... that is why my recovery was long. They dont give you much after care here. i basically went straight back to normal eating, if only i had known what i was doing. it was only after reading the posts on here that i knew i had to change my eating. Thankfully my 12month appt with the surgeon was coming up, takes months anyway to get appt. I told them i thought food was a huge problem so he sent me to a dietician, got put on low residue and within weeks i was better. But then i was also put on pain meds. Yep 12months of pain before any pain relief, our nhs is fab. i was told best not to eat raw veg and fruit ever. only raw fruit is grapes and melon. everything else canned or very well cooked to the point of being mush.before the dietician i was on anti depressants. i was then put on strong doses of anti inflamotories, pump inhibitor, and another anti depressant for the pain at bed time. Within 2 and a half months i came off all pills myself and started to introduce foods again. Some still dont agree with me. but it is trial and error. i was also told never ever have coconut or pineapple. i was also told i had adhesions which would have been adding to the pain. Now the pain is gone, if i dont eat regularly i swell, and get sore, travelling also scuppers me a wee bit. but it is a better life than what i had, i found that having very wet oats before bed kept me regualr in the bathroom too, now im noticing that most cereals before bed are good for me. I probably have an intolerance to milk but it actually stops me becoming constipated. i defo can not eat stalks of brocoli, only florets, and home made soup which i love i have had to reduce the amount of lentils i put in, that constipates me too. Since the diet, i have tried raw fruit, well some, not all, some ok. b ut i dont eat lots of it, i would give milk a try just now. Even just wee bits in tea and coffee see how you go. the only way you will know is if you try it. but be prepared that your body might not like it. how many bms do you have in a day.at the start i was about 18. not very good for the poor bum, but wonderful when you could only go every 3 weeks. months after i was lucky to go once a day. now that i have sorted out my diet i average 2-3, which is just perfect. i had the same op as you. never thought the pain would be so bad. worse then anything i had experienced. But i finally climbed that mountain, and what a great view i got. i look back and think that those 2 and a half hellish weeks post op was worth it, then being rushed back in again with an obstruction, you think they would have realised then it was food based eh. how long is it since you got the op????? make sure it is 6 weeks post before doing the milk thing, you need your body to adjust.

no more rest for me lol. back to the full blown madness ha ha ha just take it as easy as you can when your little boy is back. amanda xx

p.s if you would like to email my adress is [email protected]

take care