Reversal tomorrow!

It should be fine. Just keep an eye on it. I'm sure you know the drill....if it gets red, painful or starts oozing ugly stuff or if you start running a fever.....see your doctor right away.

Rabbit81586 said...
So I got released today. I feel good. As long as I keep moving my abdomen doesn't tighten up as much and this hurts a lot less. !

I used a heating pad for most of the first month, I found that it helped keep that area lose and relieved a lot of pain. If I didn't use the heating pad then I'd have a hard time moving around without pain. I'd also use the heating pad when I went to sleep at night.

ks1905 said...
It's very noticeable because of the scar and discoloration. I actually have an appointment tomorrow with a Plastic Surgeon because I had an open surgery and have a huge raised scar next to my belly button. And the scar above my pubic bone hurts sometimes if my belt/pants rub up against it. I'm going to ask the plastic surgeon if he can do anything for the site where my ostomy was.

I still don't understand why a lot of surgeons leave that gaping hole open to heal like that. Yes, yes I know they say because of infection but just as many surgeons choose to close the site and it's fine. I guess it's personal preference on their part. You are at risk for infection either way. Mine was loosely sutured closed and it healed so nicely you can barely see the scar.

My wound is loosely sutured as well. They said I don't need to cover it for the shower but I do anyways at least for the first week or so I will. I've had 2 bm's today. The second one was mainly because of gas it makes me feel so "full" and I don't feel comfortable passing it without being on the toilet yet. I'm trying to stay moving to keep my abdomen loose. I also tried stopping my pain meds as I don't want that to cause any constipation or anything and having so few BM's this early has me a little concerned. But man is my stomach sore

Thanks for all of the responses.

I'm steadily going mayb 35 times during the day. I went once last night because of gas. There is a ton of gas that generates and it's actually kindof hard to release. I know I shouldn't push when I go so I just sit there and stool slowly comes out then air will release and I feel better. There are also times when I can hear air moving around in my guys and sit down on the toilet and just stool comes out. So it has me wondering about dilation. I was dialated while I was under on Friday and while my stool was much more loose things rushed out a lot faster. So I guess my questions are, will thicker stool make it harder to pass gas? When do I need to look at getting dialated?

Thanks!

No no no I meant 3 to 5 times, the "dash" must've auto corrected out. Yea I have a follow up on the 23rd.

Things are still going great. My pouch is a little bit more active than that first day home since I'm weening off the pain meds. Still not bad. I can hold it as long as I need and have no senses of urgency. In fact, I don't even think I've gotten to the point where stool gives me the urge to go yet. The gas distention and discomfort make me go. I do hope the gas settles, it is uncomfortable. So far that's the worst part and it's not even that bad. Just that discomfort coupled with the muscular soreness isn't fun.

I'm very happy I did this. Even emotionally my wife see's a difference alrdy. Not that the ostomy wasn't a great thing or that it didn't give me my life back or anything. I think for me, it just didn't fit. I'm very active and the risk of the bag getting ripped off was a common occurrence. Not to mention the insecurity I had with it. Anyways once I'm healed and have good feel of the day to day and can really weigh the two against each other I'll probably make another thread. Thanks again and I'll continue to update.

Bidet comes in tomorrow. My butthole is anxiously waiting.

Rabbit,

I had to be dilated during my take-down surgery too. The surgeon said that if I had problems emptying my pouch in the future then he would dilate it again but the pouch might develop on its own with stool and gas going through it.

I hope you are continuing to improve! Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I'm learning a lot.
Have you been using your bidet? I have one from my years with UC and I love it.

One week post-op update:

So today is one week since I had the surgery. Overall I'd say things are going way better than I expected. My surgeon keeps saying I'm a "model patient". My abdominal pain is almost gone. I'm still sore around the wound but I can sit up without feeling like my insides are shredded.

I'm going to the bathroom 3-6 times a day and 0-2 times at night. Mostly my bathroom trips are caused because of gas. I cannot separate the two, at least without risk of crapping my pants. Same thing at night, I'll wake up with gas cramps and what-not. I do still sit slightly propped up in bed at night. I also got the bidet in and installed it. That thing is awesome! It's a little weird at first but gets the job done and my rear end is thankful.

A couple of things that's happening that I'll bring up in my follow up is that it's tough to feel "empty" after I go. Between the gas and poop. Peeing is also a bit difficult. If I'm sitting and pee it makes me poop or if in standing and pee I feel like I can't empty my bladder completely. However, after surgeries I do usually have bladder issues. Lastly, the past day or two when it go poop I almost feel like my butt is involuntarily pushing. It's weird.

Anyways, that's it. I'm going to make a thread comparing life with an ostomy and a jpouch here in the next month or so. I just want to have enough experience with the jpouch and heal up before I can really make a good assessment.

Thanks again for all of the support all. I hope the threads I've posted relating to each of the 3 steps as well as ostomy product reviews I've done over the past few months have helped or given those who are looking at surgery some insight and comfort. Feel free to ask me anything and even though I've gotten my life back I'll still lurk the forums.

That's great news. I hope that you will feel even better 2-3 months post op. Remember that all this stuff takes time to heal, which one week isn't nearly enough time.

I had trouble at first emptying my pouch and thought that I needed to be dilated again. Over time my pouch has developed (probably thanks to c.diff and horrible gas from it) and now it is much easier to empty my pouch. I'm 10 weeks post-op.

For me I don't know if I would call it involuntarily pushing but most times I feel like the pouch just opens, empties and that process makes it feel like the muscles are moving all by themselves...weird feeling, I don't know how to explain it any better.

about a month post op I felt like I back slid a bit. Lots of unproductive trips to the bathroom, cramps, bloating, pressure and gas. Turned out I had a stricture at the anastomosis site. Once my surgeon dilated it, I felt so much better. The stricture formed again a few weeks later and I had to repeat the dilation. Then another three times before it finally stayed open. If you have a follow up coming up, your surgeon will likely check you for one. It cAn make you feel miserable. It's quite common after takedown. Not saying that's what's going on but it's a possibility.

tenesmus - the pushing feeling. Like Dry Heaves of the butt?
Worst feeling in the world!!

Hope things clear up for you. I liked your probiotic tea idea - smart.
Stay strong!! *hugs*