LISA61 - WELCOME!!! I, like you, am so thankful to have met so many wonderful people on this board - they've been a God send to me! I don't know what or where I would be now without all the support, encouragement, and experience of so many and their willingness to share their stories with me. You can find more information for your condition under "Colonic Inertia" another name for your condition.
I must agree with PhyllisB - this is a big and very serious sugery and only you can make the decision to move forward. Sounds as though you've been doing your homework (I spent hours upon hours, days upon days, and weeks upon weeks, gathering as much info as I possibly could). I only wish I would have found this site and the knowledge of so many several years ago! I never knew there was a surgery out there that would change my life for the better. I literally spent years and years not going for weeks and when I did go, I had to physically remove what had accumulated for weeks. No amount of medication, or anything else for that matter, helped me. For the last several years I looked like I was nine months pregnant and was always being asked when I was due.
I'm not sure if it's a MUST to have a colorectal specialist or a general surgeon - I was referred to a colorectal surgeon who did my surgery. If your surgeon is familiar with this procedure and has the experience, not to mention he takes the time with is patients, then maybe he is the one to choose. Like PhyllisB mentioned, make sure it's someone who does this all the time and not someone "in training", as well as, someone who will answer any and all of your questions/concerns. I was blessed to have one of the best in this fiend in my area. He is AWESOME and treats each patient as if they were his only patient.
I can also relate to your depression. I've suffered for years with depression. It's not all related to the "constipation", however, it did add to my depression issues. I don't have any knowledge on fibro, but from what I've gathered on this board, "chronic constipation" affects more than just our bowels and so many have posted that their fibro issues have improved since they've had surgery.
I had my laparoscopic total colectomy on November 9, 2006. It's one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life. It's been a long recovery, however, worth every hour I've spent recovering. There is no sugar coating here - it's a long process but being "normal" for this first time in my life is something I cherish. I go anywhere from four to seven times a day and after 16 weeks, the swelling has all but deminished and I don't look pregnant!!
BOOTYNOWORKY - My heart goes out to you!! It is and can be discouraging to be going thru this at this stage in the game, but know you're only three weeks post-op correct? I too was readmitted for pain about two or two and a half weeks post-op. I spent an entire Saturday AND Sunday in the ER before they finally admitted me. My surgeon's first thought was a blood supply issue from where they connected the intestine to the rectum, as the two CAT scans could show him nothing (surgery was so new that the scan just showed an empty space). I think I mentioned that to you before (if I did I'm sorry for repeating myself). Ahh, they found a loop in the intestine huh? That surely can be why you're having pain, or at least that's my thought. I know having a large loopy colon caused a lot of pain, so why wouldn't a loop in the intestine cause pain? When you see your surgeon on Monday, please ask him about maybe having a blood supply issue where they connected the rectum to the intestine. It's just a thought. Thankfully it wasn't the issue in my situation - I just take a lot of medication everyday for depression and he said my liver processes so much that I have a high tolerance in processing medications and was prescribed something a lot stronger for two more weeks.
Please keep me posted OK? Hopefully he will have answeres for you on Monday!!!