New member - Upcoming reversal

Hey calflag,
I have a permanent ileostomy no reversal for me so I can't help in the advice on recovery after that kind of surgery, but I'm pretty sure someone will be along soon to give you the advice on that. I just wanted to welcome you to the site and glad you found us. It is a very informative forum and wonderful support from some lovely people. Hope it all goes well for you and wishing u a very speedy recovery. Keep us updated on your progress, Take care.
Doreen

Thanks for the welcome Andorable and Ohio76. I have read all the posts now and know to expect the unexpected. I will definitely keep a food log. I am headed to the drug store to get some supplies. I can't wait to ask for "Monkey Butt." I am going to the Mayo Clinic in Arizona and would really appreciate hearing from anyone with experience there. I have had a preliminary procedure done there and I found the
Doctors and Nurses to be top notch. It's just hard to corner anyone there and ask them to sit down with me for an hour or so and explain my recovery, so thanks again to all of you. I will report back and contribute often to help support this forum.

hello and welcome!

I just wanted to let you know that uoaa.com (united ostomy associations of America) has a discussion board as well and they have a whole section devoted to takedowns and reversals that would have a wealth of info for you as well. I don't have any personal advice as I just had my colostomy created, but good luck with your surgery and I hope you have a speedy recovery!

I had my jpouch surgery last Wednesday.  Don't worry about the surgery, it's a breeze.  You wake up in very little pain that is easily managed with pain meds.  Your bowels won't wake up for a good 24 hours so enjoy the drugs during that time and walk around as much as possible.  When your bowels do wake up, start applying calmoseptine, a & d, desitin, etc right after each movement.  If you don't, you will develop a bad case of butt burn.  Speaking from experience.  I waited too long and it felt like razor blades coming out for 48 hours and I'm still very sore.  When you get home, get ready for constant urges to go to the bathroom and 10-15 trips a day.  Your rectum will get very sore from being out of use and from the acidic stool coming through.  You may gas based on what you eat.  Take it very very slow with foods.  I plan on staying low residue for at least 3 weeks. 

No one really told me how rough it was going to be when you get home from takedown.  I thought it would be manageable but its tough.  Just know that each day gets better and the end result is what you are after.  Good luck..

Now for Something Completely Different!

My first post was last month prior to my ileostomy reversal.  I am now home with a rather unique situation.  All this started Christmas day, 2008 when my colon suddenly mugged me.  I was rushed into emergency surgery where my colon, gall bladder and appendix were removed (I think they were having a 3 for 1 sale).  Another surgery was performed two weeks later.  I spent six weeks in the hospital and six more weeks in a skilled nursing facility.  I returned for two followup surgeries for abscesses.  Last month I went to the hospital for my much anticipated reversal surgery.

The surgery went well and it was thought I would be in the hospital for three to five days.  However, my stay was 13 days.  The "different" part for me was my system started back up 36 hours after the surgery then shut down again.  I had progressed to solid food and my system did not seem to like that.  I had a couple of rough days, but then my system started up again (a little).  Again, I was given clears and then progressed to solids again (much more carefully).  Guess what?  Yep, shut down.  I returned to NPO (nothing by mouth) and waited.  Finally, a little gas happened and clears were added followed by small amounts of soft foods.  Monday night I had a small movement and again about 4am Tuesday.  Tuesday morning I was released and went home.  I have been home for four days and have two to four little movements a day usually with some gas.  My surgeon told me she suspected my problem to be the large amounts of scar tissue left after my emergency surgeries.  I feel I am in the eye of the hurricane and when my system gets fired up I will go from saying "Go, go" to "Whoa, whoa!"  I'll keep you posted.  I really appreciate this site.  Also, I haven't read about anyone else having this problem (almost constipation) and would welcome any feedback.