Post Op Update

Hello All,

Thought I would check in and give ya'll an update. My husband had his first of two surgeries to remove his colon, rectum and create his J-Pouch on January 30. I am so incredibly proud of him. He was so calm going into the surgery. We had to arrive at the hospital at 5:30 a.m. and surgery began at 7:30a.m. The surgery was finally over by 3:00 p.m. (8 hours).

He was in A LOT of pain following the surgery. He said it felt like he had been run over by a Mac tuck, said his entire body hurt but the worse pain was from his back. Hurt so bad that after only 9 hours of surgery he was begging the nurses to help him up out of bed. Being upright helped his back pain a lot. However, he is still suffering with back pain and quite uncomfortable at times. He was given muscle relaxers but still in a lot of pain. He is also having a problem with enlarged prostrate. It was enlarged prior to surgery and even more so after.

It was challenging for him the first time he changed his appliance but the second time was much, much better and he is mastering emptying his bag when necessary. He's doing so well with this that he has not needed the help of home nurse service. He went for IV fluids a week post op and was amazed how good he felt afterwards. He is doing great drinking his 2 liters of water per day.
His back pain and his prostrate are real issues. He was not having back issues before the surgery. I'm curious if anyone else had severe back pain and prostrate issues after surgery and if so how long did it last?

During our one week post op visit with the surgeon we were told that he had high grade dysplasia. We were just one small step from stage one cancer and are very thankful that we went ahead with the surgery. We feel like we dodged a big bullet.

Karen

songlady said...
Oh, Karen! I have been thinking of you.

I am glad you went the IV fluid route.

And I am glad you dodged the cancer thing! Great timing!

I hope someone responds abut the back pain and prostate. I know that I had some urinary issues after surgery, and I imagine it's all more complicated for a guy. (As my husband says, "we men of a certain age."

Hi Meg!!! We are glad to have this surgery behind us. Definitely recommend the IV fluids to anyone having this surgery. The pain from the surgery was bad as you well know but the back and prostrate pain has not let up. He cannot remain upright or sit for any length of time. Laying down flat on the bed seems to temporarily help with the pain so he does this often throughout the day.

How are you feeling?

Glad to hear it went well! I agree with the comment about the staples- I feel like my posture was better after the staples got out. I’m sure that wasn’t even close to the pain your hubby is in. I also found that my back was sore too from being on that stupid operating table for so long. The surgery requires you to be in a really awkward position and I’m sure with the 8 hours didn’t help the situation!
Good luck with getting the prostrate situation under control.