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Surgery date!

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 1/28/2018 4:39 PM (GMT 0)
Hospital beds and me don't go together. At 6'5 it's hard for me to get comfortable especially that I sleep on my stomach but can't do that with bag now on me. The last night in hospital I did not sleep at all. I didn't want to use pain killers to help me sleep bc I had to pee in morning to be able to go home. That Friday night was a nightmare. Took hours and hours for morning it seemed. Tough night. Now Mak how is your stool?? Very loose?? Somewhat formed?? Dr wanted me to stay in hospital on Saturday(2 weeks ago today) but there was no way in hell I was staying there since I had my mind set on going home. I told Dr exactly that. My surgeon called warning me that I would get extremely weak if I didn't get Imodium and Gatorade Told surgeon been there done that before. So Mak make sure u have somewhat of formed stool or they might keep u longer
Posted 1/28/2018 5:40 PM (GMT 0)
Man I have to get up like 5 times a night to pee! I wish I didn’t have to get up as much but there still isn’t a lot of stool in my bag but I think it’s kind of thick like it doesn’t drip down the bag or anything it’s sorta towards the top. Haven’t changed it yet. Haven’t even talked to a stoma nurse they said I would today but it is the weekend so maybe not till Monday. Mostly blood in my bag but eating jello and drinking water so that I can get some more output. Pretty lightheaded today though not sure if it’s from being tired or just not getting enough to eat. Got to walk a lap earlier and that went really well. They want me to start eating real food today but I am not sure if my Bowels are awake yet. I don’t want to throw anything up that would hurt.
Posted 1/28/2018 5:48 PM (GMT 0)
Mak, if they want you to try solids today, by all means do so. You need food to help with the healing & if you were to have some issues with food, it would be wiser to have it happen now, not later at home!! The more you get up & walk around the quicker the bowels wake up. I am sure the nurses are checking the bowel sounds out.

Take care.
Posted 1/28/2018 6:14 PM (GMT 0)
I only ate the mashed potatoes. They gave me small chicken cutlet but I couldn't attempt to eat it. But I ate all potatoes slowly. Why blood I wonder in bag?? I had Stoma nurse change my bag on the Saturday I went home so I'm sure there's is one there today. What r they giving u to drink?? Apple juice?? Get someone to get u Gatorade if possible. Be well
Posted 1/28/2018 7:46 PM (GMT 0)
They told me the blood was just from the surgery and that it was normal but I finally got some output!! I think they are going to let me have solids either tonight or tomorrow. And i will definitely try some mashed potatoes. They said I could have some Gatorade if I wanted but Gatorade hurts my stomach bad sometimes so they may have to dilute it. I’ve just been getting water and been eating this lemon flavored ice. I walked around a lot maybe 20 mins it felt good but now a tad sore from it.
Posted 1/28/2018 9:16 PM (GMT 0)
Glad to see your doing better Mak. Keep up the good work and hopefully you can go home soon. I know how you feel, I've been in here 11 days now too. Anxious to get surgery over tomorrow so i can start the healing process and go home. cool
Posted 1/28/2018 9:26 PM (GMT 0)
Yea the lemon ices were good. Stay strong guys. Good luck Woogy. Let us know how u make out. Where did/are u guys having surgery??
Posted 1/28/2018 10:22 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Champ, I'm having surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Tomorrow at 4pm. Getting anxious. shocked
Posted 1/28/2018 11:34 PM (GMT 0)
I had mine done at KU medical center, woogy I was anxious too but it will be over in no time, you will do great!!! I’m already eating mashed potatoes and the pain subsides with walking although kinda feels weird to eat.
Posted 1/28/2018 11:49 PM (GMT 0)
Well they’re taking me off the pain pump and switching me to oxycodone hope I do well, I’m still in some pain, a little worried
Posted 1/29/2018 1:38 AM (GMT 0)
You’ll be fine on oral meds, your up and walking around so the pain will get better every day.

FYI, if you eat or drink anything in the future that is red it will come out that color in your bag. So don’t worry too much about it.
Posted 1/29/2018 10:55 AM (GMT 0)
Well they emptied my bag again. Mine is still a dark green color and msuhy. I thought it was supposed to be more liquidy. I think I am going to try some scrambled eggs this morning, maybe some more mashed potatoes on the side in case it doesn’t go well. Definitely feeeling that post op shoulder pain today. And hunger pains!
Posted 1/29/2018 3:16 PM (GMT 0)
Sounds like some bile (green). Output consistency doesn't matter that much, it's more the amount of output that is important. If the output is too little than you can leave and if the output is too much then you can't leave either.
Posted 1/29/2018 4:19 PM (GMT 0)
They said I might be able to leave today since I’m eating fine and walking good!!! So I guess my output is okay. The stoma makes some funny noises 😂 but the drive home is gonna be a killer if I go home today, 3 hours 🤮
Posted 1/29/2018 4:33 PM (GMT 0)
Grab a small pillow and put it between your stomach and seatbelt. It will make it much more comfortable.

If you cough, sneeze or are getting up put the pillow over your stomach it will help support your incision site.
Posted 1/29/2018 4:37 PM (GMT 0)
My ride home was about 45 mins-1 hour. I told my son to bring a blanket and I laid down in front passenger seat. At 6'5 it wasn't most comfy thing but I just rested as much as possible. Have drinks on hand bc of dehydration. Stop when needed No rush now. When gas is going in bag it makes funny noises. Be careful. Take things slow and you'll be fine
Posted 1/29/2018 4:48 PM (GMT 0)
MAK,

If it is making funny noises and your output slows down then I'd ask your surgeon about Ileus, I'm not saying that's what you have but it's just something to be aware of. I think that I got it 3 days after my surgery and started vomiting which kept me in the hospital longer.
Posted 1/29/2018 5:16 PM (GMT 0)
My output hasn’t slowed down, it’s been pretty consistent. They let me change it by myself and seemed to be coming out well. Will definitely keep the lieus in mind though. I will keep an eye on it. I don’t get to go home today because they have to bridge me back to my warfarin they forgot about it but just one extra night won’t hurt anything! I’m only 5’2 so I don’t really have to worry about having a lot of room in the car just worried about the bumps but will definitely get a small pillow. Did the ileus hurt really bad?? And if it did where exactly because I am having a little bit of discomfort in my lower right side but I was thinking it’s just from the surgery
Posted 1/29/2018 5:30 PM (GMT 0)
Wow that went by fast. I'm sure you are really happy to go home. Glad your doing well and everything seems to be going right.
Posted 1/29/2018 5:57 PM (GMT 0)
You're small intestine goes into shock and stops passing stool. Basically it becomes a blockage and you start vomiting. It will wake back up and start pass stool afterwards. It kept me in the hospital for a few extra days.

I'm not trying to scare you, just was mentioning it so you were aware of it. I've had it happen a few times. Even when my hip was replaced I ended up with ileus from the anesthesia and pain meds.
Posted 1/29/2018 6:15 PM (GMT 0)
I will definitely keep an eye on that. I’ve been having some more blood in the bag but my nurse doesn’t seemed concerned so I think that it’s normal. I did just get done changing it so probably from irritation.
Posted 1/29/2018 11:54 PM (GMT 0)
Wow ... congratulations on making it through the surgery! I’m glad KU Med went well for you. Recovering from everything your body has been through is so hard, but your body’s capacity to heal will amaze you. I just had my second surgery last Wednesday, and even though there was much less pain this time around, those first couple of days after anesthesia were no fun. I’m so happy you had the instant sensation of peace in your abdomen ... isn’t it amazing?
Best wishes for your recovery!
Posted 1/29/2018 11:58 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks kanva! Glad to hear wasn’t as much pain with your second surgery, that is something to look forward to! It is definitely amazing! Wishing you a speedy recovery as well!
Posted 1/30/2018 12:32 AM (GMT 0)
Did you end up going home? I live 5 minutes from the hospital, so the ride for me, was always very uneventful. I even took an Uber/Lyft to and from often. It was a lot cheaper than parking, and more convenient. They do wheel you down though, and getting in and out of the car by yourself is a little bit challenging. You will definitely go home and need to rest a lot, but before you know it, you will be feeling good & able to start living life. I had a lot of noises from my stoma. I always hated that. Noise + air in the bag, were my two least favorite things about the ostomy.
Posted 1/30/2018 3:17 AM (GMT 0)
I didn’t get to go home today because they forgot to bridge me back from the lovenox shots back to my Coumadin. But I get to go home in the morning!! Yes just worried about my car ride home because it’s hard to sit without my feet up. And almost a three hour drive.... maybe I’ll try to sit up in the very back, my parents brought me a pillow and blanket so hope that helps. Maybe I will be able to sleep the whole time. Definitely won’t have to worry about using the bathroom, lol! And we have stairs that go up to our house so that may be a little challenging but I’ll tackle that obstacle when I get there.
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