Hi all,
Thought I would add an update now that it has been 3 weeks since my reversal. I wanted to be really up beat in this post but I just read about Vette Guy and that is so incredibly sad.
Now that it's been 3 weeks I am pleased to report that all systems are about 95% back to normal. I stopped needing any pain meds after 2 weeks. My bowels have settled into a routine of about 3-4 bms per day. I am not chained to the bathroom at all and can venture out to live my life pretty much the way I did 9 months ago when my saga started. I now have the confidence to re-introduce foods I gave up when I had my ileostomy. Note that I gave up foods I should never have avoided due to bad information upon discharge from the hospital last summer. Anyhow, I have so far tried asparagus, pickles, onions - no problems! Today I bought lettuce for the first time in so long; fingers crossed that it does not shoot through me. I've been keeping the staples in my daily routine: cherrios, yogurt, melba toast, soft cheese, turkey slices. Peanut butter is always a good insurance policy when I know I'll be away from a bathroom but I really don't worry about it anymore.
The swelling is going down but my clothes are still tight. I'll have to keep a close eye on the calories to make sure I'm not contributing to keeping the weight one. I'm going back to work full time tomorrow so I won't be grazing as much as when I was at home. The trick seems to be eating several small meals just like they tell you at the hospital. I messed up a bit in week 2 because I was just so hungry. I ate meals which were probably ok for normal people but too large for just being post-reversal. That caused extreme bloating followed by hours chained to the bathroom. I'm not sure how smart it was but I just stopped eating for 24 hours and then re-introduced foods very slowly. Since I did that, it's been a walk in the park. I'm grateful to have had the ileostomy in the sense that it allowed me to survive a massive infection, but I am equally grateful to be rid of the bag. The wound care is also going well; it looks like it will take another 3 weeks or so for it all to fill in. Then I will be cleared to hit the gym.
Life is getting back to normal in every way. My energy level is just great and I'm sleeping through the night!! Could never do that with the bag because I had huge output at night. So all in all I should say that it's incredible to be so fully recovered only 3 weeks post reversal. I see my surgeon in 2 weeks and I expect to be told I'm all "done" with this experience. But I will be taking in a short list of things which I want him to tell all new ileostomy patients in the very early days. Some are from my experience and some are from all the good advice on this forum. Don't laugh, but the #1 thing is that the green smelly goo which you get in the first 7-10 days is NOT permanent. No one told me that and it caused me to be brutally depressed in that first week. I had enough to deal with and did not need to the goo factor on top of it all.
Hugs to all and know that I am forever grateful for your help.
Connie