I've been taken down.

Morning all!

Well, it's official, the month of July is over and with it my life as an ostomate :(

I had my takedown surgery yesterday morning. I finally got the first call! I've waited 3-4 hours for my surgeries in the past so it was nice to be first and get called on time for once.

The intake nurse tried once to get an IV in and failed, so she said she would let them do it in the OR and sent a note that I needed a needle smaller than 18 gauge. As per usual she also refused to believe I'm 26 until she checked the date of birth on my armband. Upon arrival in the OR, an enthusiastic anesthesiology nurse proceeded to stick me about 15 times, each more painful the last, NEVER successfully. I am usually very stoic but I was gasping and cringing the whole time. She kept saying "your veins are hiding!" and "you are really dehydrated!" and "but you're so young!"

OMG. Sidebar: THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PEOPLE WITH LOOP ILEOSTOMIES HAVE TO FAST FOR 36 HOURS. I considered violating the doctor's orders and eating soft solids yesterday, because it only takes overnight for me to be cleared out completely, but of course I just went with what they told me and my arms paid the price... They even tried to stick the inside of my wrist so now I look like an attempted suicide case... Anyway.

Needless to say, one of the surgeons saw what was going on and said "Can I try?" and successfully placed the IV on his first try.

After that I was out very quickly, and don't remember waking up until recovery. I couldn't open my eyes for a while so they brought my parents in and then told them to leave and go to lunch. I was so angry! I always get angry in recovery, usually over stupid stuff, but this time I was just really sad because I didn't get to see them for hours. I know, baby stuff.

Instead of having an epidural placed this time around I'm just on PCA IV dilaudid. It wasn't set up until after I came to in recovery and said "I'm in a lot of pain" -- I thought this was the least painful surgery! Well, no drugs takedown vs. epidural Step 2 are about even, so look at it that way. I had to press the button a LOT to catch up with the pain, but it became manageable after that.

After that I was taken to my room and pretty promptly starting falling asleep and waking up every hour or so. I've never been so tired after surgery, which I found funny because all of my other surgeries have ended in the evening. I pretty much slept, pressed the button, slept, had vitals taken, pressed the button, etc.

Did I mention I didn't have a catheter this time around? So few things are attached to me! I wasn't able to pee until just before the time limit (they said if I didn't pee in eight hours they would have to cath me anyway). It's still not easy (hey Alison) but it's doable.

The worst thing so far was, I think, actually just dilaudid withdrawal. After I fell asleep in the evening I started sleeping more deeply so I didn't push the button for several hours. When I woke up the pain in my abdomen was a little worse, but I had an absolutely RAGING migraine. I also got a little nauseated around this time, could be attributable to so much different stuff, but despite sleeping cuddled up with my puke basin I managed to keep everything down. My mom suggested that maybe I wasn't pressing the button enough (I thought the dilaudid was making me loopy and lightheaded so I resisted) but once I started doing that again the headache went away. Live and learn.

I've been up and walked about 5 laps around the ward so far. Compared to the previous surgeries walking is very easy. I am probably about as mobile as I was two weeks after Step 2 already.

Every once in a while I feeling a stinging/burning/itching feeling at the ostomy site that makes me want to "adjust my wafer" or scratch around the tape and then I realize there's nothing to adjust...

That's pretty much it so far. Still very tired. They say I can start trying some sips of water today, but I'm giving it a little more time. Maybe I'll start with ice chips. Nothing out of the j-pouch yet. PS, I still have my period but it is pretty light.

That dilaudid pump does keep you very sleepy. I used it pretty heavily for about 48 hours. You're lucky they didn't keep you cathed. I had to beg to get mine out! And i so know what you mean about reaching down for your bag - I still reach down to tuvk it into my underwear when I use the bathroom! Old habits, right? Sounds like you're doing great so far.

Now comes the suspenseful waiting for the first poo. It's exciting, for me it was like coming home after a year away. My j-pouch did a dramatic gush in the middle of the 2nd night, twice in fact, and I got up and cleaned myself and the bed. It happens that way with a lot of people and others just sit down on the toilet and have a lovely, controlled poop. My friends brought flowers with a card saying "Welcome back to the world of a**-shi*ters!

Congrats, pluot! I hear ya re. the IV madness... Had that experience both in my colectomy surgery and in my stay for the plastic surgeries on my re-opened incision and it's amazing how many nurses just don't have the touch, and you get one pro and they can do it n the first try ... I realize everyone needs practice but I hate to be a pin-cushion guinea pig. Good luck on the first asxpoop lol. I still have a phantom rectum (and no plans to do anything about it unless it gives me trouble), so I still get to squirt a bit of briwn mucus about once a week lol- but you will soon be back to the land of true pooping again and recovering much faster this time to boot, knock on wood.

Glad to hear things went well!

Liz, be sure to start using something for butt burn now, before you get it. Man, is it painful! And a piece of my bidet broke during installation, so we're waiting for a replacement part. I also ordered some sitz bath solution to try. Using calmoseptine, Vaseline, diaper rash cream, and hemorrhoid wipes, along with water squirt bottles and wiping with baby wipes. But it's still pretty rough. I finally added a Lomitil last night, and that actually seemed to help since it made things more solid. Fingers crossed that makes a big difference - I can't even sit at the kitchen table without a cushion right now!

Oh geez, you guys are really putting the fear of God in me!

So last night the surgeons rounded on me around dinner time and asked if I had had a BM yet, which I hadn't. Then I fell asleep for a nap... when I woke up I felt a pressure in my pouch, so I went the bathroom and urinated/had a BM. It looked just like the early ostomy output from surgeries 1 and 2, green bile with some flakey solid pieces. Like Alison said in her thread it just slipped out like mucus.

After that my guts seemed to "come alive!" a lot more. I think I ended up having about five BMs throughout the night. The main one was that I started feeling gas rumbling through my whole system, a LOT of it, and it was hard to hold it in. I guess in the old days I would have farted but I have NO idea how to do that anymore! So I went to the bathroom and sat on the toilet and waited... and after a little while a HUGE amount of gas came out. I was able to coax more out by kind of rocking back and forth. The other BMs thus far have just been stuff that comes out when I pee. I'm still on IV hydration so I pee a lot!

As far as butt burn goes, I have been cleaning thoroughly with a sensitive skin baby wipe after each BM and then letting it air dry... Should I start applying Calmoseptine as well? I think I read that you can't apply Calmoseptine unless the skin is dry because it can cause a fungal infection? How can I gently dry the area without wiping it with TP/etc? Sure I'm overthinking this...

Regarding food, I'm going to design my own soft diet... My hospital doesn't have any intermediate "full liquids" stage like a lot of others seem to, they are going to transition me directly from broth to grilled chicken, fish, etc. I found that really hard on my system after Step 2 so I'm bringing my own broth, greek yogurt, and apple sauce, and they will also serve mashed potatoes, cream of wheat, etc.

I know I'm being TOTALLY obnoxious when I say this but they took the bandage off my ostomy wound (it is stapled) today and the bag looked a LOT better than this frankenstein wound. I know everything is really swollen and fresh now so it will get better.

I didn't mean to scare you about the food thing. They just don't seem to have a clue about what they think you can tolerate after this procedure. They were like, "Oh you can eat anything now." Well, yeah but not three days after surgery! It does take a little time. I think three weeks after I was eating a cheeseburger and fries and all was good in the world again. :) Smart move on having your own food there. If I would have known better, I would have done the same thing.

Thanks guys, I was just teasing a little bit, no worries ... I don't understand why I wouldn't get butt burn now though, since my BMs so far have been pure bile/liquid. Wouldn't it be easier on my butt when they firm up? No?

Thanks NSG! My surgeon said he thought it would be 4-5 days and it looks like four days is going to be right. I am still having clear liquids today, so if everything goes OK when I try solids tomorrow I will probably be allowed to go home the day after that. I had a blockage the night I went home after Step 2 (after begging to be sent home) so I'm not in a big rush :)

Liz, it sounds like things are going quite well for you, and I couldn't be happier to hear the positive reports! All of you folks who go through 3 surgeries to get to the Jpouch must be super tough people and I have all the respect in the world for what you must be going through! One surgery was enough for me, and I'm super bummed that my surgeon is now suggesting I'll have to get another at some point to remove the anal stump and get the "barbie butt"....I mean, is that REALLY necessary? Heck, at that point I might as well just get the darn Jpouch!

Sorry, I digress :P I hope you continue to do well and that you ease back into normal eating with no problems at all! Take care!

I didn't get bb from the bile at all ... not until I got home. Consistency seems to be what causes it most, at least it seems that way. That and going frequently ...

Hi Liz!!!

Good to hear that things are going smoothly except that IV needle poking part. ouch :[

I really wish you the best and recover all the way, fully! And return to doing things you love like lifting when the time is right ;]

Oh and I will send you some of my invisible energy to heal faster! You should have received it by now, hope I didn't send it to the wrong person xP

Thanks everybody :)

The surgeons told me I could go home last night but since I hadn't yet had a full day of solid foods (and I always get nervous at home at night) I opted to stay and am leaving this morning. I am having a BM roughly every 2-3 hours. It is hard to describe the sensation -- it's never urgent per se, but I can sense myself "holding" it pretty much all the time which is uncomfortable. It takes a few minutes of sitting on the toilet each time to release all the liquid and gas. Oh, yeah, it is still about 95% liquid. I have very little appetite so I'm sure that isn't helping, but I am sticking to thickeners like cottage cheese and yogurt, crackers, bread, eggs, mashed potato, etc and no juice. I don't have much abdominal pain except for the incision, I guess I can attribute that to eating little thus far.

So that's where I am. I'm excited to go home to my bed and my bidet and easier access to good foods (and tv!). I feel like I can't ever relax right now and it's making me miss my stoma a lot, but I know this period is temporary.