TOTAL COLECTOMY PART 22

It is his son, William Chey Jr. and he is here in Ann Arbor, MI. I have heard much about his father who is in upstate NY. Have you seen him?

Lizzie

XtremeMisery said...
It is his son, William Chey Jr. and he is here in Ann Arbor, MI. I have heard much about his father who is in upstate NY. Have you seen him?

Lizzie

Linda,

No, it doesn't hurt very much to push, and when I have liquid bm's I dont have to push much at all.  I have complete control, but it comes out pretty easy.  It's only if I take fiber, which my doctor wants me to take to make the stool form better, that I have trouble.  I'm taking very very small doses of fiber and it's better.  Then I take lomotil, but only once a day, or every other day to help me slow down.  The thing is I don't go much at once, so even though I'm going 15+ times a day, it's still not a whole lot.  It's so hard for me to know how much I should be going daily, because I used to go at least 4-7 days at a time before I went before, with laxatives, and I went so much because of the number of days.  I don't feel bloated like I used to though, so I guess that's what really matters.

Karen,

I'll check about that ointment.  Prep H is ok, and helps some, but I'm still very sore and itchy.  Last night I didn't go much after dinner, but woke up at 2 am and 5 am and went very liquidy and boy did my rear hurt after that! This morning I ate some cereal and I've gone twice since then, small amounts, but a little formed, so that didn't hurt as much.  I think it really is just a matter of time and maybe figuring out how much and what fiber/med to help me make my bm's more natural, whatever that might be!!  It's been over 30 years since I've had a natural bm so this is all so strange to me.  I don't have the bloating I used to though.  Last night I had a little because I felt like I should have gone more and I was a little bloated then, but when I went during the night, I woke up fine and hungry!!

I'm not going back to work for at least 6 more weeks, and possibly longer.  I have no energy yet, I'm good for awhile, but if I do anything (grocery store, drug store, etc.) I can't wait to sit down for a little while.  I try to walk at least 30 minutes a day, but then I need a hot bath!

I don't know anything about the stoma, but I'm sure you'll be so happy to have it reversed.  I have a friend who had a pretty bad infection in her intestines and had to have the stoma for a few months.  She said it was ok under the circumstances, but she was grateful she could have it reversed.  I think for her, because she never had a problem with constipation, it was a huge surprise when she woke up from surgery.

An NG tube is a horrible tube that is put in your nose and goes down your throat to your stomach to keep you from being nauseous after surgery.  I have slow emptying of my stomach, and I knew I'd have one when I woke up.  It was pretty horrible because it's very uncomfortable in your throat, but I was adament that I didn't want it taken out too early because I didn't want them to have to reinsert it when I was awake!  It felt great to have it finally taken out on the 5th day, but I felt like I had a big lump in my throat for several days afterwards, and my throat was scratchy and I coughed alot, which hurt my abdomen!  I'm still pretty sore, and my rear is very sore, but all in all, I think I'm doing pretty well.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Hugs, Jane

Hi!  I am new to the site and I am so excited to be able to talk to people about what is going on with my body.  I am hoping someone out there has been in my shoes and can tell me what to expect after my surgery.  I am scheduled on April 21st to have an open total colectomy with illeorectal anastomosis. 

Here is some of my story:

In September 2008 I was put in the hospital because I had not went to the bathroom (BM) for over 6 weeks. They sent me to have a CT scan to make sure that I did not have an obstruction (which I didn't). Then they decided to put me in the hospital to help get me cleaned out. I spent the night and got pretty well cleaned out but not completely. Then they sent me for a barium enema to see what my intestines looked like. When they put the balloon in me and filled me up with the barium they asked me to turn over onto my side and the balloon fell out. If you have never had this procedure the barium is like white paint. It is very thick and is very difficult to clean up. So needless to say it made a huge mess! Once everything was cleaned up I had to go thru the whole thing again. After that they sent me for a Sidz Marker test. This was right before Thanksgiving, around three weeks after my barium enema. The first thing they do is take x-rays of your intestines before you swallow the pill. The radiologist came out and asked me when I had my barium test because I still had a bunch of barium in me! I had to then swallow a pill and I went back a week and a half later. They said that all of the little markers were stuck in one place. The average time that they should be out of your intestines is 24 to 48 hours. Most of mine were still in there over a week later.  That is when they first mentioned that it could be colonic inertia.  From there I was set up in December to have a bunch of tests at Wake Forest Baptist Hospital. It is a learning school for doctors so I went in there hoping they could help.  They wanted to make sure that my rectum was functioning correctly because of the problems I had with the barium test. I failed the test where they tell you to expel the balloon they fill up in your rectum.  They give you five minutes to push it out.  I couldn't do it.  So now all three of my doctors agree that I have colonic inertia. Basically the way they described it to me is that my colon has died. It just stopped working and they have no idea why. My surgeon decided that I needed to go to physical therapy for my rectum before he would do my surgery. He wanted to make sure that my rectum was functioning correctly. He did not like the test results that I got back from Wake Forest. I have been going to therapy for the past 6 weeks or so. Yes it is what it sounds like. I have to do exercises for that area of my body. Apparently my rectal muscle has tightened up completely. So not only has my colon died but my rectum has decided to close up too. So there is no way anything could come out if it wanted to. I have had alot of pressure to fix that because if I didn't they were going to also get rid of my rectum and I would of needed a bag outside my body. I'm happy to say that I have learned to relax that muscle so they are going to be able to attach my small intestine to my rectum. So that is where I am at now. Counting the days until my surgery.

Oh my gosh Lizzie. I am going to have to look this up, I am new to the other terms since I haven't experienced them and hope I never do! What did they do for you about this? I remember you saying you hurt so badly for over 48 hrs. I hope you are better very soon. 1/2 cup of soup! Yikes. Double yikes.

Linda

Hi all....

I think I may have begged myself out of the hospital too soon. I am having a lot of abd pain and back pain still. I left the hospital yesterday, but I am sure I should have stayed. I drank some oj last night and had liquid coming out of me every 25-35 mintutes. I was not supposed to go back to work, but i came today and I am regretting it. I am weak, tires and still distended. What should I do?