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Total Colectomy Part 9

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Posted 3/10/2006 5:00 AM (GMT 0)
Hey Everyone,
I am doing much better now. I am able to eat just about anything. I still haven't tried Mexican even though it's one of my favorites. I am still having to go to the wound care center. I went there today,and the doctor said I was doing much better. My bottom wound is still slowly healing. I started taking an Iron supplement after I got out of the hospital. Has anyone heard of Floridex Iron and Herbs? It is the best stuff to build up your blood. I am also taking when I remember Source of Life vitamins (whole foods). I feel so much better,even though I still seem to get tired in the evening.

Lesa- I am sorry to hear about your complication. My anasmosis was closed except for a small hole. I don't have that problem anymore he widened it when I had my second surgery. Lesa take it easy.

Cathy- I am glad your daughter is better. I hope you are feeling better too.
Remember to take it easy.

Jewls- I am so glad everything went as well as it did. Don't rush yourself,
take it easy and heal so you won't have any complications. I believe when we have complications, it's our body telling us to slow down.
Cathy's right stay on a low residue diet. Don't eat stuff that will make you gassy. Drink lots of water and stay hydrated as much as you can. I still have to remind myself to drink water.

To everyone else hello. I really miss talking to you all.

I am going to a Wedding this weekend. My friend is getting married.
She had a colectomy, when she was 18, she was in the OR with me when I had my surgery both times.

Blessings to you all,
Sasha smurf
Posted 3/13/2006 3:00 AM (GMT 0)
Hi all,

Sorry I've haven't been around but life's been pretty busy as we are in the process of closing on a house.

My recovery is going pretty well although bathroom habits post op are certainly different.  Immediately after the surgery, I was having bowel movements that were nothing but water 5-10 times a day.  Over time, this settled down, everything solidified somewhat, and my visits to my new home away from home were reduced to about 3 times a day and I was thinking, ok, this isn't so bad.  A little over a week ago, something changed and I'm now having 95% liquid bowel movements 15-20 times a day.  Ouch!  My butts sore!

I'm going to try some Immodium and if that works, talk to the doc about a scrip for lomotil so the insurance co can pay for it. :)

Other than that, everything seems to be healing fine.  I'm not really having any pain at all, other than if I mess up and eat something that causes gas, which can be eventful.  My incision freakin itches though!

On another note, as I've said before, wifey had a right colectomy done back in November.  Her colon was smaller than it should have been, so this effectively removed about 1/2 of her total colon.  She seems to be having some problems with dehydration.  Has anyone else experienced this?  Have any thoughts on it?

I hope everyone is well and on the road to recovery, I'm sorry that some of you have been having a rough time.

/hugs

Chris 

Posted 3/13/2006 5:25 AM (GMT 0)
Hey all,
The Wedding was great. I cried of course,happy tears. We had to travel out of town. It wasn't a bad drive though. I thought I would of had to stop more since my surgery. I ate popcorn for the first time since it. I was a little nervous though. Kristen told me I shouldn't eat it for six months, but of course I didn't listen. How is everyone?

Chris- Glad to hear you are on the mend. The liquidy bowels should subside after a while. Are you eating a lot of fiber or salads? I notice when I eat spinich I go more frequently.

Well I am off to bed.
Night all,
Sasha

:-)
Posted 3/13/2006 5:36 PM (GMT 0)
Chris- the job of the large intestine (colon) is to reabsorb the water in the stool. When we don't have a large intestine, we don't have that same mechanism in place. Yes, the body does try to compensate, however sometimes it can't keep up. My son had an intussuception when he was 8 months old. He lost his entire large intestine. Now, he's 10 and he's great, but he got the flu last year and due to the extra water loss in the stool and nausea/vomiting, he dehydrated rather quickly. Now, your wife lives in a catch 22 in that if we drink too much, we'll get diarrhea and dehydration, and if we don't drink enough, we get dehydration. There is a fine line that we all have to find, like walking on top of a fence, where we can maintain hydration with minimal bouts of dehydration. With my son, first sign of illness and I have to watch him carefully. I always swore that he'd never play outdoor sports (we live in Arizona) and of course he's a star basketball player at 10. It still freaks me out.

Sasha- you didn't say how the popcorn went. I ate popcorn once, no problems. I'm glad you're doing well.

Hi to everyone. I hope all is going well. In this forum world no news isn't always good news, you know what I mean?

Cathy
Posted 3/13/2006 6:23 PM (GMT 0)
Cathy- I thought the popcorn would of given me cramps. I love popcorn but I know it is hard to digest. I will probably only eat it once in awhile. How are you feeling? I am doing much better since I started the extra nutrients. I'm just not getting alot of rest during the day. I homeschool two of the three kids. My husband put my two youngest in school while I was inthe hospital for the second time. I have since then taken my youngest out and started homeschooling him again. I have a 13 yr old that I have been homeschooling for 6 years. He goes to classes outside of the home. My 8 yr old is still in school and doing quite well. I really like his teacher.

Hey to everyone else!

Sasha
Posted 3/16/2006 4:20 PM (GMT 0)

Hi,

This is my first time in here. I have been reading some of the things you have been writing.  It helps me .  I just found out yesterday that I am going in for a subtotel colectomy in April.  I have colonic inertia.  I have been dealing with this for a few long years sad .  Now we are finally getting to this point but I am SCARED.  This is a major surgery .  I have been checking out websites since last night looking at new things to find out they all give pretty basic info .  I was looking up some info to share with my spouse , not much luck though.  Do you lose weight during this ?  How bad is the pain afterwards?  Just a few curiosity question.....Please if you have any extra info for me let me know .......Thanks

PS ..The surgeon says it will be a lap assisted subtotel colectomy with anastomosis of the small intestine.  ???

Post Edited (tweety110968) : 3/16/2006 9:25:00 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 3/16/2006 5:21 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Tweety,
Lap assisted....small intestines means that they will use a camera inside to help them see so that the incision won't be as big. Sometimes they have to open you up anyway, but you won't know until you wake up. The end of the small intestines is called the ileum, and it is reconnected to the sigmoid colon which is next up from the rectum. They remove the ascending colon, transverse colon, and descending colon. Lap surgery has a quicker recovery time and less pain following surgery, but it's still major abdominal surgery.

"Total colectomy part 9" goes back all the way to "Total colectomy", there are parts 8,7,6....3,2,1. There's alot of beneficial information if you take the time to read through them. We've all had colonic inertia and we've all had the surgery or are about to have the surgery. I think that it's fair to say that those of us a few months past surgery or more are all glad we did it.

So, to help with your questions: I lost 27 lbs. Most of us lost weight due to prep and slow diet progression after surgery. I have gained 4 lbs back. My STC surgery was 9/8/05. I had a few complications so my weight loss was a little more than the usual. Post surgical pain was managed in the hospital, after I went home pain was not a big issue once I actually started taking the medicine that they gave me to take for pain.

Hope this helps.

Cathy
Posted 3/16/2006 6:07 PM (GMT 0)

Cathy,

Thanks for the information, I am looking forward to not having to use the enemas and laxatives anylonger.  How many of the people have had to have an ileostomy bag.  They say that this is a possibility but not expected.  What are the chances of this having to happen?  Is this a difficult transaction?  I will be looking thru the other forums for more information.  Thank you!

Posted 3/16/2006 9:50 PM (GMT 0)
Tweety-
ME!!!
I'm the only one who ended up with an ileostomy bag. Imediately after surgery, my anastamosis herniated and perforated. I ended up with peritonitis. The perforation went undiagnosed for 2 1/2 weeks, so I got pretty sick. When they went back in they knew right away that I needed the ileo.
Obviously the biggest difference after surgery is that you eat and you go, unlike before. You'll figure out what foods work good for you and what doesn't. Right now, I'm only 5 weeks post ileostomy take down, so theoretically I'm where I should have been in the beginning of Oct. 05. But, I eat and I go. If I feel full- I drink an extra glass of fluids to help facilitate things moving along. If I get diarrhea, I hold off on the liquids and eat bulking foods. I have chosen not to eat beans, and brussel sprouts because they are very gas producing. After surgery, I was having a little difficulty differenciating gas from stool. But that problem has resolved.
I'm not going to sugar coat this. It's a big decision, but even with all the complications I've had, I still feel better than before and I would do it again. I remind everyone, including myself, look each day for the things that are better and don't dwell on those things that aren't better yet.
If I can answer any other questions, don't hesitate to ask. I don't know how I would have made it through all this without this forum and all the great people in it.
Cathy
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