Preparing for surgery

Paul, thanks for taking the time to post a reply for me.

With so many things to worry about i guess a roomie would be towards the bottom of the list, but its still something to worry about.

Its great being able to read about the things you are going through in hospital as it will help me be prepared for my own ordeal!

Hoping everything goes well for you.

Peter

Hey, glad to hear you got to eat a bit today...even though it was soft stuff, cherry jello is my favorite! Glad to hear things are getting better for you Paul. You are always in my thoughts.

Cool, no more tube.

When you are able, what's going to be the first of the former forbiden foods you'll want to eat?

Thanks everyone, Last night’s supper consisted of a bowl of chicken broth, orange Jello, apple juice and coffee. I had everything except the coffee. I am not a coffee drinker. Last night my room mate started to throw up and I happened to be out of bed and I quickly brought him a basin to use. My previous room mate did the same thing for me last week. Over night I had the best sleep since entering the hospital. I only woke up once for about an hour.

This morning the doctors wanted me to try solid foods. They managed to make the order in time for breakfast. For breakfast I had a bowl of cheerios with milk, orange juice, a bagel with butter and some cheese. I made a cheese sandwich with the bagel and cheese. Shortly after breakfast the nurse permanently removed the IV. No more pole to lug around.

Lunch consisted of a tasteless bowl of vegetable cream soup with crackers, salmon sandwich, apple juice and chocolate pudding. With lunch came a menu to allow me to make my own choices for meals tomorrow. The selections weren’t great but it was nice to choose for myself.

Around lunch time the surgeon came to see how I was and said I was greatly improving. She said we will see how things go tomorrow and it may be possible for me to go home late in the day. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

There is an IBD support group that meets at this hospital once a month. My nurse told me about it and recommended that I go. It was today in a room just down the hall from 2:00pm to 3:30pm. I went to the meeting and there were 3 in patients and about 5 others with IBD, both UC and CD. There were a couple social workers from the hospital, 3 parents of children with IBD and one spouse. There was a real mix of people. I found it very interesting to talk to other IBDers in person. Some had surgery and others were considering it. They had cookies for snacks but I wasn’t sure if I should eat one. I just started solid foods and they are picky on what I eat. I smuggled a chocolate chip cookie back to my room and I will ask the nurse if I can have it when I see her.

The nurse just came in and she said it should be ok to eat the cookie as long as I chew it well. Boy was it good. Dinner just arrived. It consisted of chicken broth, beef chunks with gravy, mash potatoes, diced squash, an apple square and orange juice. The nurse thought I shouldn’t be eating beef so she went away to check. She came back and told me to chew it well and stop if it was too tough. It was very soft and delicious, the best meal I had since before surgery. The nurse also said I shouldn’t have eaten the cookie because of the chocolate. Oh well, it was too late. Do I look concerned?

Take care,

Congrats Paul!!!!!! I too went through the surgery on the 15th of October, and it was the best choice made. It's nice to no longer have to worry about being within a few steps of the bathroom and you can eat and drink normally again!! The first couple of days off the IV was a little tough, but every day gets easier.

Oh, and the ilieostomy is better than what it sounds. You just need to empty, clean and change it. Pretty simple and the best part is you can live your life with no one every knowing that you have it. Your clothes cover it and you look like everyone else out there.

Congrats again and enjoy your recovery.

Paul, thanks for keeping everyone updated. This will help others like me to see what the ultimate step in UC is like. I am happy that you are starting to improve :). Keep stealing those cookies... the thought of a cookie right now is making me drool. I had to have a colonscopy prep and i haven't had any food in 1 1/2 days!!

Vin

It looks like I won’t be going home today. This morning my incision was draining and they put some dressing on it. The doctors this morning said that I can’t go home yet because my stoma output is to high. I may be allowed to go home this weekend or Monday.

Paul....thanks for the updates. It seems you're coming along nicely, albeit developing some klepto habits..lol!

A few more days there (with food now) will go quickly.

quincy

Thanks everyone. Today was a setback. I was feeling very sick including nausea and light headed every time I would stand up. They reconnected my IV line. I didn’t do much walking today. The amount I urinate has greatly reduced. They measure all my fluids both in and out. I have to urinate into a container and write down the amount. I did that once today in the washroom and all of a sudden stool came out of my bum and all over the floor. It was dark brown or almost black. It really freaked me out. It was the first time anything came out there in almost 2 weeks. The nurse said that it sometimes happens.

My stoma bag developed a leak so we changed it. They also took out the catheter from the stoma. They replaced the large capacity bag with a regular size one. It was full within a half hour and developed a leak. They then put a new high capacity bag on. An hour later when I was eating I smelt something terrible. I looked at my bag and the hose came off. Stool was all over my bed. The nurse cleaned me up and changed the bed. This is no fun.

I hope everyone had a good Halloween. Take care,

Hang in there Paul. Big hugs to you

((((((((((((((((big hug Paul))))))))))))))))))

Hi everyone.

No I’m not taking anything for high output, maybe when I get home. I don’t want to discourage anyone from surgery. Everyone is different. I won’t know how successful my surgery is until well after my second stage. Maybe my problems are because I’m an old man at age 51. Actually today November 1st is my birthday. Not exactly my favorite way to celebrate my birthday by being in the hospital. My wife and 6 year old daughter are here and are currently sleeping on a chair beside my bed.

Overnight they disconnected my IV and this afternoon I had a good shower. Shortly after my shower they reconnected my IV. I am still on solid foods but my stoma is still putting too much out. They removed the gauze from my leaking wound and it now seems fine.

One huge benefit to surgery I haven’t mentioned up until now is that my arthritis has greatly improved. For several months before surgery my arthritis was more of a problem than my bowels. I couldn’t even lift my feet high enough to wash them in the shower, now I have no problem. Before I couldn’t fully close my fist, now no problem.

Take care,