Hi everyone, Zoe here. It's been over a year since my surgery. I'm doing well enough. I walk now, don't run anymore. I just don't feel like it. I never put back on any of the weight - still at 95...
I need the dilitations because of scar tissue developing. At first they thought it was an obstruction and they told me I might need more surgery. I was in the hospital twice in November. They finally...
I've been good. I started running a little - I still mostly walk. I'm back up to my post surgery weight (95 lbs) and feel pretty good. I still have to watch what I eat because of the scar tissue but...
Hi everyone, Zoe here. I have a lot of catching up to do. I'm happy to see some of the old timers are still posting. I'm doing well, I have another dilitation in June. Hopefully that will be the last...
Hi everyone, sorry I haven't posted in a while. There are so many new people---welcome. I had my third colonoscopy with dilitation yesterday. I was hoping it would be the last one, but some of the...
We're here Mary. I've been down with a sinus infection and chest (or what's left of it) cold. I'm on antibiotics and cough syrup with codine (sure helps me sleep at night). I go to work and come home...
Hi Mary and Kathleen, welcome to the club. Amira and Somer are right. Six weeks is the magic number for most of us. I went back to work after six weeks at home and just overdid it. But that's me. I...
Hi Everyone! How did it go at work Cathy? I was thinking about you all day. Sara, the scar tissue removal is done via a colonoscopy. That's how they discovered it too. I've had two procedures and...
Thanks Cathy, about the insurance, I'm going to have to pay something - don't know what yet, probably at least $500 - $1,000 this time, but my husband and I talked about it and felt it was important...
Hi Everyone! I hope you all had wonderful Thanksgivings. I had my second procedure done on Wednesday and the doctor said I could eat pretty much everything except fruits and vegetables. It was starch...
Hi everyone, Pray for me. I am having a hell of a time with the insurance companies and getting these procedures covered. The doctor who is supposed to do the procedure is in my group, but his...
Hi Ayse, welcome to the group. Just make sure you stay hydrated with all the diarrhea you're having. There are some nurses and doctors on this list so they might have some more advice to give you....
Zoe here, You'll never believe this. I just got out of the hospital again. One week to the day after being released I had to go back for the exact same thing. Got another NG tube, but this time they...
Hi Cathy et. all., Tummy gurgles are good my doctor told me. Once, when I was at work I was talking with my boss in his office and my stomach made the loudest sound I ever heard. He just looked at...
Hi Sara and all! You sound just like me. Food I think should shoot through plugs and visa versa. We went out for my birthday last night to this really great Italian restaurant and all I ate was soup...
Hi Cathy, We're lurking out here. Glad to hear about you and your hubby getting "togehter". The first time my husband and I tried it I was so nervous, I felt like a virgin. I'm doing better. I am so...
Thanks Cathy, No, there were no signs. I felt fine one day, thought I was eating right and was sick the next. At first I thought I had the flu, but my abdomen hurt so much I knew something else was...
Just got out of the hospital today. Everything was going well and Friday I started throwing up and had terrible abdominal pains. The doctor told me to go to the emergency room and they admitted me....
Hi Everyone, That was interesting about hair falling out. That's been happening to me ever since the surgery. Thank God I have very thick, coarse hair so it isn't really noticable but it is creepy...
Hi Everyone, Just wanted to say hello and wish you all well. Zoe...
Welcome home Cathy. Wow, only 3.5 days in the hospital. You did good. Keep us posted and listen to your mom. We're here for you too. Cheers, Zoe...
Good morning ladies, I just had to share this with you all, because I know you'll understand and rejoice with me. I just got back from running 6 miles. I felt great and strong. I even wore a halter...
Emma, you crack me up. The same thing happened to me this morning. I have been running around like a nut at work and not going to the bathroom. Finally I had to go - or else. I too took a stupendous...
Hi Mary, I'm composing a list of ladies on this forum that hopefully will get together sometime in the future at a central location in the US (or abroad - LOL) and spend a weekend sharing surgery...
Welcome Mary and Callahan, Zoe here. If you would like to be on our TCC (Total Colectomy Convention) list please send me your email. Mine is [email protected] . I am composing a list with names,...
Hi Cathy, hang in there. It's almost time. about the noise, that's the first thing my surgeon was looking for. He wanted to hear noise. He said when you started passing gas that was a good sign. It...
Cathy almost time, my thoughts and prayers are with you. You will be sooooo happy you had the surgery. Thanks for the suggestions for the knee. The doctor ordered a CBC with auto diff. and he said...
The strangest thing happened to me the other day. I went for a walk and bent down to tie my shoelace and noticed that my whole right kneecap had turned bright red. I don't recall falling or bumping...
Hello Ladies, Time to start a new vein. We got lock out of the other one. Good luck Cathy. My prayers are with you. Emma's right. Light reading is the way to go. Even picture books. LOL The meds they...
Hi all, I didn't have the defecogram. They wanted me to have it but the barium was contaminated and they couldn't get any for several months. This is the Cleveland Clinic. LOL Instead they did an MRI...
Amira, I have the same problem at the top of my incision. There is a bulge, otherwise I'm pretty flat, which is great. I keep massaging it gently and it seems to be going down. Maybe that will help....
Kathy, go with the total. Everyone is different. You might not always have diarrhea and need Imodium with every meal. I'm about 2.5 months out and my stools are most of the time semi-formed (skinny,...
It cracks me up about how many of us have had career changes. I started as a speech therapist in the Cleveland Public Schools and ended up getting an MBA when I was 36. Zoe...
Hi everyone, I am slowly compiling the information everyone is sending me. For those new to the site, please send me your e-mail and I will send you a list of everyone who wants to be included on the...
Ladies, Please don't forget to let me know your e-mails so I can get you on the colectomy list. My e mail is [email protected] . I posted this information earlier, but sometimes messages get lost in...
Emma, I tried cantalope and it's just fine. I don't like pineapple, so can't help you there. I had this great idea. My email is [email protected] . I was thinking if people want to email me their...
Amira, I hate to tell you this, but I'm two months out and it still hurts to sit. I still get this pain in my side. The left side isn't as bad any more because I'm getting those trigger point shots,...
Emma, the first thing I wanted when I could eat in the hospital was a cup of coffee. When they brought it I nearly gagged and couldn't drink it for about a month. I got over that and drink my daily...
Hi Annie, I have that same pain on my right side right right above the hip bone area. Sometimes it's worse than other times, but it always seems to be there. I am two months post op today and am 55...
Hi Kelly, I borrowed one of those juicers from my sister-in-law. I take cucumbers, celery, green peppers, carrots, anything that looks good in the grocery store. It is a pain in the butt to clean the...
That happened to me too Kelly. I keep extra underpants and baby wipes at work. Vegetable juice is also a good cleaner outer. I make my own, wow does it work fast. I try to drink about three big...
Emma, what does this mean. The pathology report from my colectomy said I had intramucosal pigment laden macrophages and fibrous obliteration of the appendix. It also said they were benign. I got the...
Hi All, I went back to work today and also went for my first trigger point shot. I feel really hopeful. Work wasn't so bad because I used more common sense this time. I ate, and went to the bathroom...
Kelly, I know how you feel. Going into surgery, I thought I was in such good shape that I wouldn't have to be out four to six weeks like "everyone else". Even when I went back to work after six weeks...
Hey everyone, I didn't mean to sound nasty by saying enough. After I wrote that I thought, that wasn't nice. I just wish we would get back on the topic of total colectomies and how to deal with our...
Ok gals, enough. Did anyone develop tripper points after the surgery, and if so what kind of treatments did you have to go through? I start a series of shots on Monday. I hope they help. Please keep...
Thank you Emma and Sara, I too feel the same way. With all the setbacks I have had from this major, major surgery, I would still do it over again. I go to the bathroom everyday without the use of...
Hi Milt, Thanks for the update on Amira. Glad to here she is doing better and getting all that support. Also, thanks for the reminder about thanking our significant others. I remember the first time...
Emma, It's my turn to tell you not to worry. After the surgery, each day's output was a little different for me. Some days I'd go a lot, other days just one or two times. After six weeks, I've...
But like Emma says, waking is VERY important. They tell me I walked around a lot, I even left the floor and got hell for it from the nurses. LOL. Zoe...