My surgery journey

Good luck, we'll be thinking of you! When you feel well enough, let us know how it went!

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!

Hey, everyone! I just made it home from my second surgery last night (out of the hospital on Saturday), and I’m feeling pretty good!
Surgery was last Wednesday at the Mayo Clinic. As much as I want to be done with surgeries, I was pretty anxious about this one. I know a lot of people say it can be harder than the first. Lucky for me, everything went great. I don’t think my pain ever was above a 3 after this surgery, which is significantly less than after first surgery.
I will say, though, that I was amazed at how differently my body reacted to anesthesia this time around. I had quite a bit of nausea, which was not fun. Then they think I had a reaction to the first anti-nausea med they gave me, and I starting shaking/shivering uncontrollably. It took almost an hour to get a Benadryl, which helped right away. I think the delay was because I started having issues right around shift-change, doctor rounds, and the time people started to come back from surgery. At one point, a very nice nurse in training asked me if I wanted a warm blanket, which pushed me over the edge into tears and shouting “No, I just want meds to make this stop!” Kind of embarrasing to lose control, but I don’t think I handle discomfort well. Pain, yes, discomfort, no.
After that, I was reluctant to take another anti-nausea med for fear I would have another reaction, even thought it was zofran, which I have tolerated fine before. So I tried to go the night without any anti-nausea stuff, and I felt uncomfortable and could feel my intestines kind of twitching. I kept getting up to walk around, thinking that would help. Turns out I was really nauseated, and by the time I realized it, I was exhausted, vomiting, and frustrated. Luckily, the nurse that night was fantastic and calmed me down and got me to take zofran, which took care of it right away.
I had basically no appetite the next day, but I stayed on zofran for about 24 hours straight and started to feel more normal.
They discharged me Saturday morning. I haven’t even needed any pain meds other than Tylenol and ibuprofen, so I feel really fortunate. I’m not wild about the loop ileo, but it’s also hard to make a judgment until a little farther along in the healing process.
I don’t feel nearly as tired and sore as I did after the first surgery, and I definitely think I will be back to “normal” way before the 6-week mark. I guess the variable may be how the loop ileo treats me ... I definitely can tell that things are going through me more quickly, so I hope my body can adjust and absorb the nutrients it needs.
Once again, I was amazed at the Mayo Clinic. It’s how health care should work: everyone is compassionate, competent, and cooperative. They don’t talk down to you, they explain everything clearly, and they always give you options, not orders. Usually in a hospital, I run into a range of staff competency and kindness, but at the Mayo I have yet to meet anyone who has been less than stellar (OK, except for one slightly brusque secretary). The nurses were the best ever.

Thanks for checking in kanva. The loop was a huge challenge for me, but some people don't have issues. I hope yours is easy enough to work with. Are you planning to get takedown in 8 weeks? I think I was able to schedule mine before the 8 week mark, just a few days, but I was thankful to get it sooner than later, since my loop was such fast transit and I was always dizzy. I had to take quite a bit of imodium and drink a lot of fluids, but I was never readmitted. I've heard it can happen if you don't stay hydrated, so stay hydrated & chew well. Loops are easier to block. I don't think I took pain meds when I was out of the hospital after the 2nd step either. I am just so allergic, without an anti-nausea, I get horribly sick. Sometimes with the ansthesia they give you demerol or something, and that makes me so ill. I've thrown up from that.

Glad to hear your updates kanva, you are doing very well! I hated the catheter as well, mine wasn’t draining so they had to take it out so I could pee! It was pretty uncomfortable!

Thx for the update Kanva. Sorry you had issues not only with anesthesia but then with the catheder. Ugh. That's rough when your trying to recover. I hope your loop works great and the time flies so you can have your final surgery and it will be all over.

Oh yikes, that sounds painful. That's one of my biggest worries are leaks. My skin is very sensitive to begin with. I can't imagine how it will be if my stoma leaks. Ugh. I don't sleep good at night for fear the output is pooling around my stoma since I'm on my back. I've tried to lean towards my right side at night to keep the output off my stoma. Lol

I hope the loop gets better for you soon.

Well, bleh. My itching got out of control yesterday, so I went to see my ostomy nurse. She confirmed it’s yeast. Luckily my doctor sent an antifungal powder home with me, so I have the tools to fight it. She said the redness at the bottom of the stoma is looking much better, though, so that’s good. She suggested Benadryl at night to not go crazy from the itchiness while it’s healing, and she also said an ice pack might help numb it during the day.
At least I know I’m on the right track.

Don’t get discouraged yet!! You’ll find out what works for you soon, I haven’t had a leak or anything yet so I can’t really relate but it definitely sounds very frustrating! Especially feeling out of control, do you have a measuring set thing (with different sized holes in it) to put around your stoma to help cut the holes? I got one in the mail and it helps a lot to figure out the sizing!

Having leaks is one of the things I fear the most. I hope you find the products that work for you Kanva.

Made it to 24 hours, which did feel great! Then I decided to switch back to the Hollister setup my ostomy nurse had recommended because I thought the fabric wafer would breathe a bit more than the Coloplast plastic. Big mistake. Another leak within 2 hours, which set off another horrible attempt at changing everything while my output wouldn’t stop. My skin had looked a bit better after the first change, but by the end of the second change, it was so burned from acid output it was raw. So ... guess I’ll stick with the Coloplast and just hope the yeast infection can heal.
And at least my full supply of Coloplast stuff came Saturday instead of Monday. I’ll take any victory I can get!

So happy you finally got it figured out, you must feel great!! I can tell your spirits are back up!

I am so happy for you to find something that works. That's usually the case, something works, even if it's not your ideal thing, there is something. That is what is most important. I hope you can get even longer wear time, and before you know it, you will be ready for your takedown.

Plucky, it's nice to hear from you. How are you doing overall? I am sorry to hear you've had blow outs