Hello old friends and welcome to those who recently joined! Today is the 2 week anniversary of my subtotal colectomy and I feel great! Other than some horrifying experiences at the hospital caused by a poor nursing staff who were not too concerned with my pain level, the surgery appears to be a great success! I've been home a week and aside from the hives I've been getting from my pain meds, life is good.
I've read through the several pages of postings that I've missed and have some comments to add:
First, congratulations Cheryl on your surgery date!
Kelly, I'm glad you found this site. Aren't the ladies just wonderful?
Zoe, about scarguard, my doc said that it goes on like nail polish then peels off 12 hours later or so. It should be applied after every shower and/or after each peeling. about the sharp knife like pain on the right side where the appendix used to be, I went to my surgeon's office yesterday for my first post-op and he said it's caused by muscle spasms resulting from the stretching of the muscles when the belly is clamped open for a long period of time during surgery. He said it would dissipate in time and to either walk it off, which works for me, or take a valuim, which also works. I think Sara and Sommer were asking about these spasms as well. So Zoe, what exactly are trigger points injections?
Sara, Somer and Emma, I had stuffed cabbage from a Libanese restaurant tonight -- yum yum! Up until yesterday I was on a low residue diet, and had absolutely no problems of any kind, i.e. gas pains. Yesterday my doc told me to eat anything I wanted, that I had no restrictions of any kind. He did suggest that I keep a diary of the foods that did bother me, but so far that list is thankfully empty. My BMs vary from 1 to 3 times a day with the exception of yesterday when I had several, but I think that was because I totally pigged out the night before. Also, they have been mostly soft, rarely D and on occasion actually formed! I've eaten small and large amounts of food and still everything is moving nicely. I'm so grateful and happy. The sharp pain sucks, but knowing it's temporary helps and the dull pain from the incision also sucks, but hey it's only been 2 weeks since I was split open on the operating table. I'm doing so much better than I expected. I do tire easily and after an active afternoon, I'm out for a good 3 hours. I feel the worst just after waking up whether from a full night's sleep or a nap -- I think it's just stiffness. Oh, you guys were right about my weight, it must have been IV fluid because 2 days after I got home, 10 pounds fell off. I'm now a happy 114# 5'2" female! So in actuality, I only lost about 4 pounds from this surgery, but I'm happy. I feel like a real success story!
On the one or two days that I didn't have a BM first thing in the morning, I found that walking, drinking and popsicles work best. Since I'm not a great water drinker, the popsicle thing is a great alternative. Also, I've never had to run to the bathroom or had an accident -- knock on wood please!
Lastly, Gingy, we all had second thoughts about whether or not to have this surgery; that's the norm. All I can say is go with your first instinct and stop second guessing yourself.
Oh, and for those who don't know, I'm 42 years old and will be 43 in November. I live in Michigan and would absolutely love to get together one day to celebrate our normalcy!
Ladies, I'm so happy to be back and thank you so much for your prayers and good wishes. I thought of you often and can't tell you enough how encouraged I was and still am because of you. Thank you again!
Amira