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Posted 8/29/2015 12:37 PM (GMT 0)
How long after ostomy surgery did you go back to exercise?
6 weeks out still have pain around stoma site
Thanks
Posted 8/29/2015 10:02 PM (GMT 0)
I started walking straight after surgery and gradually built up my pace & distance.
I started doing very low impact pilates at about 4 months post-op, and more intense pilates at 6 months; now what I do is quite intense with no problems.
I would say at 6 weeks, very low impact is the best, walking or maybe swimming.
Posted 8/29/2015 11:01 PM (GMT 0)
Susan53,
I haven't been post op nearly as long as you have but if it still hurts I wouldn't push it. If you can walk and that feels good I woukd strictly stick to that for a while. Walking is so incredibly good for you. The more your able to walk the faster everything will heal up, the faster you'll be able to start doing more intense workouts. I would think (and I don't know because i haven't reached this point yet) that after 4 months is a safe time to really start running and doing more strenuous exercises. Let your body be your own guide though, don't push through the pain with an operation like this, could end up with more problems that you bargained for. I'm a busy body and know I'll have a hard time not pushing it but with the this surgery I've told myself I'll take it slow and do a lot of walking before I get into anything else
Posted 8/30/2015 12:20 AM (GMT 0)
Definitely listen to what your body is telling you every step of the way.

I had a total colectomy with an end ileo in my first surgery. They removed something like 225 lymph nodes and I had a lot of post op pain. It was much worse than the second surgery, which involved removal of the rectum and creation of the j-pouch. Most of what I hear is the 2nd is the hardest one in a 3-step procedure.

I started walking relatively short distances almost every day as soon as I could. I think it was post-op day 2 before I moved at all really. My nurse was about to pick me out of bed and make me walk the day before but I had tons of pain. From there I started roaming the halls a little more every day. I was in for about 9 days. After that on level ground I could walk a couple miles at a time. Not fast, just a nice steady pace and nothing jarring. From there I slowly ramped up, initially avoiding any kind of stringent core activity. I was doing light jogging before I could do a real pushup. I would guess it was about 3 months before I was doing most anything I wanted. Even after that there were a few days pain would crop up until about 5 months out. At this point nothing I was doing caused issues.
Posted 8/30/2015 6:06 PM (GMT 0)
I had a lot of pain around the stoma at 4 or 6 weeks. I really think i had mild Mucocutaneous Separation from being too over active. I was pretty much trying to get up and about the minute I got home from the hospital. I was able to get it under control by #1, RELAXING. #2, making sure I got a good fit around the stoma. I think moldable wafers helped at that time. I think getting away from stiff wafers, like coloplast, helped. #3, convex. Now my stoma doesn't hurt around it at all. I have been okay to exercise since about 6-8 weeks, probably could have done very light exercise before. My problem is fatigu. Still tot his day I struggle with energy level being low.
Posted 9/3/2015 3:01 AM (GMT 0)
I am only one week post op, used to be a big guy, heavy weight lifting, etc. I can barely walk around the block right now. I am also interested in this post for info
Posted 9/3/2015 4:32 AM (GMT 0)
I am 10 weeks post protocolectomy. Walk, walk, walk and walk some more. I am doing 10,000 steps daily (kept track of by my I phone). In the last couple of weeks, I have found no need to nap on the days I do my walks. They are a great energy booster. I have also added stretching and modified yoga, including planks. My joints hurt from the 6 mos of Pred pre surgery. Exercise really helps. At the 3 mos mark, I will try some upper body pulley work and modified push ups at the bar. But I am not going near a crunch; still have to figure those abs out, though I have been told that the plank is the best core exercise on the planet.

All in all, within 6 mos you can probably do 90% of what you did prior to your surgery. Pretty fast recovery in my book.
Posted 9/3/2015 11:52 AM (GMT 0)
I too am still suffering from fatigue. I do walk and I started light exercise. I actually thought I was turning the corner so yesterday I went to the gym cause it was too hot to go outside. I did a very light workout for only 20 min and by 6 pm that was pretty much it for me. Out cold by 9, errrr now I can't wake up. My jpouch is still in and the surgeon thinks it might be causing me problems, more tests ugh.
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