Surgical recovery - how long?? Is this normal??

hi Kerro and welcome!

you're right, this site is great!

so sorry about what your mom is going through. did she have all of her large intestine removed? are her chest infection and UTI cleared now? the vomiting issue is common. it's called an ileus. after intestinal surgeries the whole digestive system is like paralized and can't digest anything, even it's own bile, so an ng tube is fef needed to drain the bile from the stomach till the system wakes up. an ileus normally lasts for 5 days. sometimes it can last more, esp if there are other complications involved, such as lung infection and UTI that require antibiotics, cuz antibiotics can also slow down the system. so as pain meds. so maybe her bowels waking up is slower b/c of that. it's important to walk as much as possible - it helps the system wake up.

but.... the twisting of the bowel should be watched after, cuz maybe it's not an ileus, but the twisting causing an obstruction. complications can certainly occur with this kind of surgery. after all, it is a big surgery. many ppl have problems with dairy after a surgery like this one (i'm one). i couldn't eat dairy for about year and half after the colectomy, but now i can and have no problems.

about the twisting, are they planning on another ct some time soon? they must make sure the swisting is really resolved. very important to keep an eye on that.

i don't know if i helped much. i hope things start to improve soon! all my best to your mom and you! pls keep us posted.

Hi 2b Colonfree and Andorable - thank you so much for replying, and for your information. I can't tell you how helpful it is - thank you! I'm also really sorry to hear you've both had less than dreamy healings, but glad you are ok now. :)

The other question I should have asked was - did you get depressed when you had to go through all this? My poor Mum is normally quite chipper, but now getting a bit down, quite understandably, really. The **** surgeon told us everything would be "fine" in "a couple of weeks" - never even hinted this might happen. Poor Mum is now thinking she shouldn't have bothered with the surgery - but with bowel cancer, well, the options are limited. Was there anything that helped you feel brighter during your extended stays in hospital?

Thanks again so much for your replies. :)

As 2b said, it's totally normal to be depressed. It's a major change and after getting bad news like complications, its hard to deal with and you just keep expecting more negative. My advice it just to stay positive around her and hopefully she has visitors and things to do to keep her mind of of it.
When I had my surgery it went well, but after I started having complication after complication and it got frustrating. First, I wasn't allowed to eat or drink whatsoever I think it was until I had a lot of output or something. So after a few days they let me eat ice chips. When they finally let me eat something I ended up throwing it up because my intestine wasn't working yet(ileus). They then told me I couldn't eat anymore and continued to wake me up every few hours and poke and prod me with things. I even had to go get xrays at like 2am. They then proceeded to stick a tube in my stoma. Then I started getting pain in my kidney area and I hadn't pee for a long time. I complained to the nurse about it and they said there was nothing wrong. Luckily a new nurse came in and I complained again because of the pain was so bad I was tossing and turning. She got a ultrasound right away and turns out the catheter was in wrong and my urine was backed up. I also had a lot of pain where my rectum was and I couldn't sit at all and it turns out that there was infection built up there and it split open.. I am still dealing with that wound today and can't work or sit or do much of anthing. ANd that was a year ago.
Long story short, I understand where she is coming from. The Dr that came in every day to bring me the news of what was going to happen I started to get less and less excited to see what he had to say because it would always be bad.. I thought I would be out in a week. I was in there for 4 weeks!!!

Oh my goodness Brian, you certainly have been through a lot! Fingers crossed things start getting better for you soon.

Thank you and 2b ColonFree for your responses. I would love it if my mother would talk to someone, but she thinks "depression" is a made up illness and "talking" a load of hocus pocus - despite a number of people in our family (including me) having depression/anxiety. I'm tempted to ring the social worker at the hospital - even if he's not a mental health professional, he might be able to drop in and see how she's really going.

Brian - I was interested in what you said about your rectum. Mum has had similar symptoms - especially the pain, and a foul smelling bloody-discharge that apparently the doctor thinks is ok. She has had some signs of infection, although she's so full of drugs that I'm not sure they really know what is going on.

They had to put another catheter in the other day - she had terrible pain and, like you Brian, didn't get listened to until the urine was all backed up. Silly idiots took it out too early so it's had to back in again. Grrr.

Good news is they're going to scan her again tomorrow so hopefully that will lead somewhere. She's now entering week 4 and definitely not a happy camper!  She apparently has one of the best colorectal surgeons in our city, and is in one of the best hospitals - heaven knows where she'd be if she wasn't getting such "good" medical care!!!!!

 

So sorry your mom is going through so much. It is common to have complications, but do keep in mind that people with complications are over represented on this or any forum, as a lot of other people heal up quickly and go on their way. The surgery is definitely harder the older you are and the less healthy you are going into it....

I don't think anyone mentioned meds for depression, but that might make sense, and maybe could be framed in terms that your mom would accept -- e.g. the surgery can disrupt your brain chemistry and these meds can restore it.... not the same as saying you are ill because you are sad about something etc....

Very frustrating to have the inattentive care.

Hope things improve soon.

oh the poor thing..... it does sound crazy! how aweful being w/o food for more than 3 weeks now :( how much longer is longer?? does he have some limit of how much longer to still wait? have they started TPN yet??? i would think there's something that serious that would prevent them from doing any surgery that strongly. i mean it's like they're avoiding surgery almost at any price. sure it's best if it's resolves on it's own, but a 3-4 weeks' blockage??? def crazy!

sorry i don't know much about the bladder. is she able to get up and move around a bit? to just do some little walks during the day? i really hope things start to be sorted out asap!! hope the social worker gets back to you soon. waiting for your update. (((hugs)))

Kerro,

As you have seen, there can be several post surgical complications with a colectomy. Nothing that your mum has experienced is out of the ordinary. An ileus can be quite stubborn but now that she seems to be passing gas, she is probably on the mend. Your mum will get better but it will take time. It seems she has turned a corner so hopefully she will be started on food soon.

Hang in there.

Sue