Total colectomy

I had the rest of my large intestine removed on may 5th. The surgery went fine, no complications. I was suppose to be in the hospital for 7 days. After day 2 I started to run a fever, my heart rate went up, and my blood pressure went up. I was sent to ICU in the hospital and was in there for a couple days. I started to get a very bad burning in my chest and it was not long after that I started throwing up, and couldn't stop. I had to ask to have a drain put down my nose into my throat into my stomach to drain it all. I don't remember what happened, but my husband said they had to rush me in for a 2nd surgery. They had to do an exploratory surgery to find the problem. I had an adhesion that came apart and was leaking toxin into my body causing me to get very sick. They were able to get most of that out, and I had to have two drain tubes put into my stomach. one on the left, and one on the right. I was able to leave the hospital finally on the 15th day in there. I am at home now, tomorrow will be one month since the first surgery. I am still in a lot of pain, and taking pain meds. I had to take antibiotics for a week after i got home to try to clear up the rest of the toxin. (oh, and my white blood count went up to 42,000!!) It was 22,000 when I left the hospital. The drain tube that I had on the left healed up nice and quick. The incision from the surgery healed up nice and quick. But the drain that was on the right has opened back up and is draining more fluid. I have to keep changing the dressing on it, probably 6-10 times a day. This is good the dr. said, cause it is getting the rest of the fluid out. This morning I am a little concerned, cause it seems like the incision is getting a little bit bigger now. I keep going back and forth to i am started to feel good, and then something else makes me feel so horrible again, and have to take more pain medicine. As far as the bowel movements, which was the reason for the surgery, that has improved. I have probably 3-4 bowel movements right now. But I am still trying to get my appetite back. I am not eating very much right now. I have also lost weight since the surgery. I went from 115 to 102 right now. I am drinking nutritional drinks to try to put some weight back on. Does anyone have anything to share with me to maybe help me feel better. BTW, If I would not have had the 2nd surgery when i had, i would have died from the toxin, my body was shutting down.

     Sounds like you had sepsis.  Good thing you were already in the hospital.  I had a similar episode about a week post op.  Luckily, I too, was still in the hospital.  Two days after my operation, total colectomy with end ileo, the resident surgeon told me I could eat...so...eat I did ....mmmm so good going down.....not so good coming up .  My surgeon ordered the ng tube to be placed back down.  That really helped me a lot, but a few days after the ng tube came out is when I had the episode similar to yours.  However, my BP plummeted down....waaay down.  The night nurse couldn't get a reading.  All I can recollect is being extremely tired and wanting to sleep.  Of course, that never happened.  The nurses, technicians and doctors kept me up all night running this test and that test.  I didn't have the two tubes on either side though.  I just had the one jp tube and they kept that in till the morning I went home.  I know I had IV's going in both arms and had a heck of a time trying to pee, even with the port a pot right next to the bed.

      What I don't understand is...if you don't have your large intestine, don't you have an ostomy?  Do you have a wound nurse coming to your house?  You really should have someone to stay on top of things until you are more stable.  This is just my own humble opinion.

I seem to be doing better now. I am able to get up and around now. I am not in much pain now, and i am very close to being one month out since the 2nd surgery. My bowel movements have increased alot, but i still feel better now. I am not sure how the blood work is yet, i still have that to get done. The drain spot where the open wound was is shrinking in size and is no longer draining. The dr. explained that it has to heal from the inside out, and if there is any infection, it will get pushed out as it is healing. I am starting to be able to eat more again, but still got a long way to go for that. I had spent 3 weeks pretty much not eating. So I have had to work with my body on that too. I am all the way down to 101 lbs. right now. I am barely starting to put the weight on that I had lost. I know I have a long road of me, but I feel positive about my recovery now. I know God has been healing me, like i have prayed daily many times a day. I am a fighter.