Hey soberlunatic, welcome to the site. I had a total colectomy with ileorectal anastamosis February, 2005. I suffered with constipation my whole life. Right before my surgery, It was a blessing if I...
Hey everyone! I haven't posted in awhile, have had lots going on at work. I'm glad to hear everyone continues to do well. I hope everyone who is "fresh" from surgery is doing well and feeling better....
Mom, hope your surgery went ok and you are on the road to recovery, we are thinking about you!! ~Somer...
Crystal, people have ostomies when they have some or all of their colon removed. They pull the end bowel outside of the body and it empties into a bag. You may have heard the terms colostomy or...
Nonna, I had my surgery February 2005, a couple of months over 1 year ago. I do not have ANY bloating. I'm with you, I wish someone had offered the surgery to me 10 years ago. Never felt better!!...
OK, thought I would share this with you guys, I knew ya'll would appreciate it. Don't eat the new yogurt, Activia- unless you want to spend the rest of the day in the bathroom!! I'm telling you guys,...
On the rare occasion that I have diarrhea, mine too is very skinny. Must be normal for us huh?! Cathy, I feel the same as you. Up until that little problem with GERD, I did not want to see the inside...
Stormy, I had my surgery Feb 2005. I did not have a temporary pouch or ileostomy. They reconnected me. I was in the hospital for 6 days. Stayed at home 2 weeks, then went back to work full-time. My...
Tweety, good to hear from you! Hope everything is well. I personally, never went that many times even right when I got home from the hospital. I would assume it is probably normal, I think some of...
Mom, a small bowel obstruction is something that anyone who has had any abdominal surgery is at risk for. You may or may not develop one. Just make sure you keep yourself hydrated, and make sure to...
Mom, I started having some reflux problems almost 1 year after surgery, I really don't think the 2 were related though. I think it is completely normal to have negative thoughts also. I did the whole...
Christine, welcome! I am also 27 years old. I am 5'10" and weigh 136 lbs. I only lost about 5 or 6 lbs total. My surgeon told me there was really no reason why anyone would loose a ridiculous amount...
Sasha, hope you are well. Everything seems good for me. No complaints really. Tammy, how are things? Still not feeling so good? You should probably contact your doc just in case. I hope everything is...
Hi Danielle, I had a subtotal colectomy, same surgery you are speaking about (removing the colon, and attaching just the very end of small intestine to the rectum). I had colonic inertia also. I had...
Mom, if you read the previous posts, you probably read my story about the NG tube. My surgeon said I would have one ONLY IF I NEEDED IT. I did get an ileus after surgery, lots of vomiting, a couple...
Cathy- I kept checking in some here and there, but I've been too busy to reply to any posts. I'm glad you are doing well, all things considered. It has been a long haul for you, but I'm glad you are...
Mom, I know the feeling, I would usually go 2-3 weeks (which was normal, for me) between BM's-then followed by awful diarrhea. It is the worst feeling, knowing how bad you feel, and others looking at...
Oh my goodness, I've missed alot! I don't think that Emma was trying to offend anyone. I sort of agree that if I found something that honestly worked, even if it tasted horrible, I would have done...
/community/emoticons/tongue.gif Hey guys, haven't had time to post in awhile. Cathy, good luck! I hope everything goes well for you, you've been through so much! Emma, the nasty C word, that's...
Hey guys, haven't posted in awhile, been really busy w/ work and getting a new car! /community/emoticons/yeah.gif Welcome to the Group Sandy, you'll love it here! We all do. Chris, I agree w/ Emma, 3...
Cathy, you don't have much longer to wait! I know you are getting nervous, I know I would be. We will all be thinking about you! Chris, Welcome to the group! We all know what you're going through adn...
Welcome back Emma, hope you had a lovely time in Sin City /community/emoticons/devil.gif Well the GI increased my Nexium (which doesn't help much anyway) to bid and scheduled me for EGD on 2/7/06-...
Marcy, I had anastamosis also (small intestine attached to the rectum). I was still sore when I went back to work. Everything was pushed and pulled around in there, so it's normal to feel sore...
Marcy, I had my surgery almost 1 year ago. I think for most of the girls here, 6 weeks was the magic "feel good" number. ~Somer...
Glad to hear from you Sasha! Hope you get out of the hospital soon! Those NG tubes are awful! At least they help w/ the nausea and vomiting, that was the worst part for me also. ~Somer...
Melissa, they ATTEMPTED an NG tube 2 or 3 times, but I kept pulling them out. I had lots of nausea and vomiting, and deep down I knew that the NGT would help, but I just couldn't do it. There isn't...
Welcome to the group Melissa! You really have found a great support group! As you probably read, I had my surgery almost 1 year ago. I am a full time nurse also. I had an open procedure done, the...
Cathy, I wish my husband was a little like yours. He is always wanting to fix something or paint something or build something. It gets sort of annoying. I think our master bath has been turned upside...
Emma, have fun in Vegas, sounds like SOOOOO much fun! Lesa, I'm glad you are feeling better. I think I would have had better luck w/ the NG tube if they had inserted while I was sedated instead of...
Lesa, glad everything went ok. I never had to get Potassium while in the hospital, but I know that is very caustic to the vein. I also never had any peeling or skin problems after surgery. Stay away...
Welcome to the group Maura! /community/emoticons/tongue.gif Emma, congratulations on the date! I know it really starts to seem "real" when you have the date picked. I feel like my esophagus is on...
Ok Ladies, had to start a new thread. Gosh, 8 Parts! Mary, I was not in the ICU at all after my surgery, thank goodness. I don't think I would want to be in there unless I truly needed to be. I was...
Lesa, you are a champ! /community/emoticons/yeah.gif Hope everything continues to go well for you. Soon you will be home and on the road to full recovery! Sasha, we all were worried and nervous and...
Hey everyone, glad everyone's Christmas was good. Mine was ok. Zoe, glad everything has continued to go ok with your dilations. Hopefully you will be back to "normal" in no time flat. Sasha, hope...
Hope everyone had a Happy Holiday(s)!! Lesa, it only gets better from here, you just have to look through the mud and the muck, good and bad to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Hope your...
Lesa, I didn't have to take any antibiotics as part of the prep. I did have IV antibiotics in presurgical holding just like you said. I would be the same as Emma, I would still keep it light b/c you...
Lesa, I was the same as you, I never felt "totally" cleaned out before. It is important for you to be as "clean" as possible to decrease your risk of infection from stool leaking or spilling into...
Lesa, If it makes you feel any better, I didn't have the trouble that Emma did during my prep. I can't remember exactly what I did, but I know I did it for 3-4 days. Hopefully, you will be fine with...
Emma, Hey I can handle pain all day long but keep that NG tube FAR AWAY from me! /community/emoticons/mad.gif I can say the most pain I remember was when they stopped my IV Toradol. Amazing that just...
Blu, Welcome! I had subtotal colectomy on 2/22/05 and am doing great, best thing I ever did! I encourage you to go to the Ostomy board, there are is a thread titled "Total Colectomy" there are 7...
Lesa, At the begining, they were giving me Astromorph and Fentanyl via epidural. I remember waking up in recovery itching to high heaven. I remember crying and yelling (which I NEVER do). Then they...
Lesa, I had an open surgery done. My surgeon told me he wasn't much sold on the laproscopic but if I really wanted it, he would do it. He said you are under anesthesia for longer with the lap, and...
I didn't take any laxatives during the time I had my sitz marker. If I remember correctly (my last marker study was nearly a year ago), I had 17 markers (out of 24, I believe) just beginning to go...
Mary, When I was in nursing school, I took microbiology as a short session through the Summer. If I remember right, It only lasted for 4 or 5 weeks. But those weeks were all day, 8-3 or so. Just to...
Mary, My surgeon was a specialized Colorectal Surgeon. His office consists of 3 or 4 colorectal surgeons. This is the only group of surgeons that specialize in this field around where I live. He was...
Welcome Mary and Kathleen! I agree with Amira, reading all of the previous posts will provide you with a wealth of information starting from the beginning, through the surgery and post-op. It's...
Glad to continue to hear everyone is doing well, considering all of the complications and continued procedures some are having. Cathy, Hope work went well, you are probably exhausted. I know that...
Haven't posted in awhile! I'm sooo glad everyone continues to do well. Cathy, gosh, your story is inspiring! You are so strong to have gone through what you have and still seem to be upbeat! I hope...
Cathy, I didn't take any meds (except prep stuff) prior to surgery. I did get IV abx while I was in pre-surgical holding but nothing po during my prep. My surgeon told me that if you are having a...
Emma, the duck sounds cool. I often find myself saying something that sound udderly ridiculous to pt's. But thankfully most of the time, they don't understand me anyway! I just repeat myself and hope...