I was very anxious about my reversal. It went so much better than I expected. My pain was a lot less and I was only in the hospital 5 days. The midline incision, which is huge, really doesn’t hurt. Where the stoma used to be is sore and the still swollen. My surgeon said it’s normal. At 3 weeks out, I have fatigue and need to rest during the day. But, I went grocery shopping yesterday and did well. When I had the original surgery, I was weak and slept all the time. It took 12 weeks before I was strong enough to go grocery shopping. The biggest limitation has been not picking up anything over 10 lbs. With all the surgery, one worry is getting a hernia. My bowels kicked in and started working 3days after surgery. It didn’t hurt at all. I recommend taking wet wipes, desitin ointment and hemorrhoid cream to the hospital. As soon as the first movement starts, keep treating yourself, don’t wait for it to get sore. I read a lot about incontinence issues, but that hasn’t happened. I had the hospital put a potty chair next to my bed, and that worked well.