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Extreme pain after ileo reversal.

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Posted 11/19/2011 2:35 AM (GMT 0)
Hey. I've had my ileo reversed for 9 days now and taking Tylenol 3 for the pain killers. Mine was not a jpouch reversal. The temp ileo was to allow the rest of my colon to heal up after some of it was removed. My problem now is I'm having an excessive amount of pain I'm assuming where I was connected and I don't know why. I'm getting very frustrated because I was not anticipating this much pain afterwards and no one explained this to me. It didn't happen when I was in the hospital for 5 days but the first night I got home. I really need to understand what is going on because as of this moment I'm hating the reversal and want so badly to rewind time and not even get it. It hurts so bad :(. Does anyone have any experience with this? Or know why I feel like this? Anything would help. Thank you.
Posted 11/19/2011 1:01 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Newone.. sorry to hear you're in so much pain. Where exactly is the pain? is it around the incision or inside? It may just be that you need to increase your pain meds... 9 days is early days. I was still popping codeine for 2 weeks after my ileo reversal.

Are you feeling more anxious at home? I think you should see your surgeon especially if you're having any other symptoms. Do you have a temperature and are your bowels working?

Keep us posted
Sarah
Posted 11/19/2011 4:18 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Newone...

Sarah is right, it is still very early for you. I had my surgery about 2 weeks ago and was in the hospital for 7 days. By day 9 I was also taking tylenol - but I still have breakthrough pains every so often. I also had BIG fears of coming home which made my pains even more noticeable. Last night for example I was in quite a bit of pain and could not sleep so I had to increase my dose of pain meds. Maybe you can try taking a prescription pain pill every so often and see if that helps? It is frustrating that they don't really explain to you how much pain there is, but try not to worry your body is still healing. Never be afraid to call your doctor - there's always someone there who can talk with you about your concerns. Keep us updated!
Posted 11/19/2011 7:53 PM (GMT 0)
Hey guys. I see my doctor on tuesday. A friend of mine told me that sometimes with ileo reversal there can develop a lot of scar tissue where the 2 peices are sewn together and can cause narrowing in the intestines which can lead to partial/full blockages. I havent eaten too much but i ate some eggs and chicken peices. Chewed really well cuz its just habit now after the ileo. The pain is on my right side just above my pelvis. its a sharp stabbing pain inside. Sometimes if i push on it the pain goes away but i never experienced that at all in the hospital. I dont know if my bowels are working tbh. Im passing gas somewhat but i havent had a bowel movement for 2 days now. I took a tablespoon of Milk of Magnesia about 3 hours and still nothing. I know tylenol with codene can make you constpated. but in all honesty... i would rather have to go to the bathroom 40 times a day then not know whats going on. I wish it was tuesday today. because im freaking out. and want it to stop. I realise 9 days isnt too long but the pain meds dont even seem to make the crampy stabbing pain go away. Thank you guys for your responses. my area where my stoma opening is stapled shut and it doesnt hurt too bad. just that stabbing pain. Im worried my bowels are broken :(
Posted 11/20/2011 1:54 AM (GMT 0)
Newone - glad you're seeing the doctor, they will be able to reassure you and you'll feel lots better. After my surgery I passed some gas and had some movement, but then it stopped and I didn't go to the bathroom for about 7 days. The painkillers and trauma from surgery made everything in there fall asleep. I've been told it's very normal...and now things are starting to work. I know exactly what you mean I'd rather go tons than not go! Don't worry, it will come, it just sounds like your body is taking its time sorting things out.
Posted 11/20/2011 5:10 AM (GMT 0)
Alibee. Really? 7 days? Wow. We're You eating and such? And did you have pain like I was talking about? Omg that actualy really reassuring. Your surgery you had 2 weeks ago was a reversal too? Sorry I don't want to assume? I was always told that if you are constipated your tummy gets hard. And so far it really isn't bad. It's just crampy and the sharp pains are killing me. I have the urges to go to the bathroom and a little bit comes out sometimes but I don't want to sit there and push cuz that might be a little hurtful. But I really don't eat much cuz I get that pain. What kind of things did you eat when you first got home? I'm at a loss for what I can have. My mom keeps making all this yummy stuff like roast beef tonight. The other night she ordered Chinese and I just want to cry cuz I want to eat it all lol. I love this site. It's so helpful and the ppl here are amazing. I would love to hear from you again. Because reading what you just posted really put a smile on my face. I have ppl pushing me to take more milk of magnesia and the 15ml I took had no results so I really don't want to take more. Thank you so much for your replies!!!
Posted 11/20/2011 2:39 PM (GMT 0)
Newone - while I didn't have an ileo but a temp colostomy, 12 years ago, I was a mess after takedown as well. I had pain, extreme nausea, dry heaves, etc. I went back to eating food too quickly, we had neighbors dropping off such delicious meals so my insides were really pushed to the limit. My surgeon said I went back to solids too quickly and I was put on a liquid diet for 3 days to give my insides a chance to calm down. Once I did return to eating, it was in small portions. Eventually I figured out I needed a low residue diet and had been back on a high fiber diet (fresh summer fruit and produce, whole wheat bagels, etc.). High fiber just made everything worse for me. But if you are straining to go and only a small bit comes out, I would imagine a low residue diet would make things worse for you (I would have 3 bm's during one meal, that is how many times I was going after my takedown).

Hang in there, you are still newly post-op. It takes a while for your insides to heal and get used to working the way they did before your ileo.
Posted 11/20/2011 3:52 PM (GMT 0)
Ty Marsky for your reply. I appreciate any feedback regarding this issue as I have no one to talk to and love everyone on this site. I really haven't been eating too much. One meal a day at most and I'm afraid to eat anything that would remotely hurt my tummy. I eat soups and I tried some chicken one day but thats when the pain got really bad. So I told myself that chicken noodle soup was going to be my BFF for awhile. As much as I want to eat all this extremely yummy stuff and just pig out I know my body has been thru a lot this last year with 2 surgeries so I just really try to refrain. I've gotten grumpy and threw mini temper tantrums (I'm 28 lol how embarrassing) at the fact that I hate being sore and I want to fast forward to a time when I feel great but one day at a time seems to be working ok. I just don't want to not go to the bathroom for awhile (today will be the 4th day) but still eat a little bit. I don't want to explode lol. Tuesday to see my surgeon cannot come fast enough. The staples in my insision are starting to drive me crazy! I wanna soak in a hot bath already! :)
Posted 11/20/2011 4:45 PM (GMT 0)
Newone - Anytime! Everyone here was so helpful to me, I'm SO glad to be of help to someone else! To answer your questions, I didn't have a reversal, I just had a total colectomy w/ileorectal anastomosis, so it was done all at once. In the hospital they told me that you should only worry if you have not been going, you have nausea, and your stomach gets hard...because that can mean you have constipation or an obstruction. For me, things were just SOOO slow, so my belly was still soft, maybe a bit bloated, but still soft.

I was so worried about not going to the bathroom that I barely ate in the hospital. I think in one week all I ate was ice chips and 4 saltine crackers. They sent me home even though I was not going which really freaked me out, but my doctor was very stern with me and told me that she wasn't worried that I wasn't going, because I wasn't eating anything. So she told me I had to eat. Everything I had read was saying if you aren't going, you shouldn't eat...but my surgeon and everyone else kept telling me to eat. So I took it very slow, first day home I only ate half a yogurt, (went to the bathroom the next day!) then some crackers, then an egg...and I am still taking it slow. They told me to eat light/low residue foods. It's hard because my appetite is mostly back and I want to eat everything!

My bowel movements are also little, as in a little comes out at a time...I think mostly because I can't "push" because I'm still sore and afraid to hurt something, so I just have to sit there and let whatever comes out, come out. So that is annoying.

I was also frustrated to be home and see everyone going about their usual routines, while I am still walking around so slowly and spending most of the day watching tv...but you just have to let your body heal. I am already surprised at how much better I feel just 2 weeks after surgery. Taking a shower is exhausting to me, and I still can't sleep very well. I'm still eating pretty tiny meals. I think everything you are feeling is completely normal.
Posted 11/20/2011 9:38 PM (GMT 0)
Newone, you are most welcome, like Alibee, I always wanted to help others after endured and survived my rectal cancer/resection/temp ostomy. This entire bowel issues area was so new to me, I was of the camp that could eat anything I had wanted and then have one bm per day. Now my life is so far from that former life, it's almost a blur. I well remember those early post-op days, they can be very brutal and it's best to take things slow with returning to food. With Thanksgiving coming up, be careful that day, I would strongly recommend against consuming a normal/regular sized TH meal. And don't listen to others if they think they know best, only you know best (and your doctor). I would just sweetly smile at them thanking them for their helpful advice, but if it's not good for you, then ignore it. This is YOUR body we are talking about. Back when I was pigging out on meals my neighbors were dropping off, even my husband was saying - I don't know if you should have this. But after you haven't eaten for a long, long time while in the hospital food tastes so good so you can easily throw caution to the wind. My best advice is listen to your intuition, if something appeals to you but you think you'd better wait a few weeks to eat it (eggnog might be one example), then enjoy it later. Not now.

I will say there is one thing you can do to speed things along and it sounds crazy but walking is what all the medical experts recommend. I would just walk thru our first floor rooms, Living Room, foyer, Dining Room, then into the kitchen and back thru again, 10 times at a time. Then I'd walk around our house outside (this must have looked silly to neighbors, but who cares). Eventually I walked around an elementary our street backs up to after school hours. One PTA mom I knew at the time said - what the heck are you doing? It was drizzling. I laughed and said - oh this, I want my strength back (but I didn't say I want to regulate my bowels too). Over time we bought a treadmill so I could stop it if I needed a bathroom run. I learned the hard way how beneficial putting one foot in front of the other is after having had major surgery.

Keep us posted on your progress.
Posted 11/23/2011 2:59 AM (GMT 0)
Hey guys. I wanna thank you first of all for the kind words and how mu ch you have helped me out through this. I saw my doctor today and he said the pain on my stoma side that im feeling is completely normal. Because my colon hadnt been used in awhile it became very narrow so essentially he connected a very narrow (like the size of a finger) peice of colon to the other peice so the pain that i feel is just food pushing through. He said it will stretch out in time but dang its so annoying. Im so ready for this pain to be done. But he did give me different pain pills Traumacet instead of the Tylenol 3's as they can constipate you. and the ideal is that i want my bowels to be awake and functioning so the narrowness will go away. And i talked with him a little bit about the not going to the bathroom much but he wasnt too worried about it. Its been a little better lately now that ive been eating a little more (go figure) lol. All in all it was a good visit and other then t he annoying pain i get things havent been too horrible the last couple days. Although i forgot to ask him when im allowed to have a bath. Grrr lol. Im really greatful for this site as i really have no one else to talk to about these issues. I wish i just automatically knew everything haha. You guys are great :D
Posted 11/23/2011 1:00 PM (GMT 0)
Since your colon has become narrowed, if he suggests a stool softener (which by the way I would not consider a low residue diet in your case, quite the opposite), I finally tried Colace, 50 mg (pediatric dose), I take two a day, at breakfast and one at dinner. It doesn't act like a laxative although the box states it's a stool softener laxative, it's just very, very mild. My GYN said I had scar tissue by my left ovary near where my temp ostomy was located and he didn't want me to have a blockage, I laughed at the time because I never have trouble going. But the Colace combined with the Nature's Way probiotic seem to level things out inside for me, calm my noisy gut and the stool is easy to pass.

You find the Colace 50 mg at Walgreens, or you can ask your pharmacist to order it (elsewhere I can only find 100 mg, which is too strong for me).

I am glad you received some answers from your doctor!
Posted 11/24/2011 3:58 AM (GMT 0)
He didnt actually suggest a stool softener :( Nor did he say anything about a blockage which i didnt ask about and im kicking myself. He told me to stay away from complex carbs and stingy veggies. Last night for dinner i had rice because im dumb and dont know what complex carbs are. i found out last night that rice is one lol. The tramacet works great but this morning i woke up and had the worst stomach pain ever! not the side pain that i was talking about but the feeling you get after you eat bad food and you feel dizzy and nauseous. Omg it was scary. I didnt really go to the bathroom much. And today i didnt eat anything cuz my tummy was all hurtie. For dinner i had 1 and a half porkchops that my mom made and im so scared that the same thing is going to happen again. Im worried for a blockage tbh and im angry i didnt ask about that when i was there. Hopefully it all works itself out. Incase you guys havent figured it out.. im VERY paranoid. lol I worry about every little thing. You gu ys are amazing. I see my doctor again on the 12th so ill be asking him about blockages and stuff. hopefully by then though it wont hurt as bad eating. i think its getting a little better.
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