Hi,
Thank you for taking time to answer my previous diverticulitis concerns. I still have questions and yes I am scared to death. I don’t know if (the bag concern – which the doctor expects it will not be needed, however………...
or just cutting out the bad part of my colon is troubling me)
Any help with the following questions and concerns may help me to overcome since you have already had the robotic sigma colon surgery and remove left and right ovaries…..
Questions
How many hours where you in surgery?
1.--When you came out of recovery – How did you feel and where you in pain and what medication was given for pain?
#2-- Day #1 in the hospital-- where you sore? Did you hurt? Where you up walking?
#3 –where you in the hospital 3days?
#4 When did you have your first Bowel Movement and was it Painful?: Was there blood in the bowel? Do they give you something to make you have a Bowel movement?
#5-- Day#2 in the hospital--- how were you feeling? Day #3 how where you?
#6 – When you got home from the hospital-- Where you in pain and how did you feel at home?
#7-- Did they give you a list of food to eat?
#8- Did you take supplements at home? What type of food did you eat at home? Do you have a lot of bowel movements each day and does it keep you from going out with the friends and family? Did you where Depends?
Okay--- any input to the above questions would be helpful to me. Once again, Thank You for any input
and God Bless!
In answer to your questions:
Not sure how long I was in surgery but I think around 3 hours.
1. Right out of surgery I was a little foggy and according to my daughters, a little goofy, but very little pain. They had me on oxycodone and Gabapentin but I stopped taking those soon afterwards and took only Tylenol. Certain movements caused a little pain but never anything intolerable.
2. On day 2 they removed the catheter and I walked the hallways of the hospital a couple times a
day. I also took a shower on my
own. I believe I had my first BM
that day but it was pretty much all blood which I was assured was normal. I was a little sore but not terrible.
3. Yes, I was in the hospital for 3 nights. Surgery was Monday
morning and I was discharged late Thursday afternoon.
4. My BMs were not painful and I didn’t take anything to make me have one.
5. Days 2 and 3 in the hospital were similar as far as pain. My BM was not bloody by the third day. I walked the hallways at least twice a day. I made my visitors walk with me which they were happy to do because hospitals are boring. lol
6.I remember the drive home from the hospital (about 20 minutes) was a little rough and I didn’t feel like eating. Just a little too jostling around I guess. But by the next morning I was okay.
7. I was given a list of foods I could eat and foods to avoid for the first few weeks. Basically they had me on a low residue diet; white rice, white bread, easy to digest meats, cooked vegetables, etc. I never needed Depends or any pads.
8. I don’t really take supplements except occasionally need miralax, but I think my bowel movement issues aren’t necessarily surgery related. My surgeon suspects IBS because I’ve had issues for a long time. But obviously surgery affects your digestive system and your system has to relearn. Six months out I’m still trying to figure out what works best for me. I have an appointment with a GI but it’s not for 2 more months which is annoying but typical for where I live. Meanwhile I’ve started a food journal which I purchased from Amazon to see if I can figure out trigger foods. There are days when I may have several BMs and don’t feel real great so that’s what I’m trying to figure out. But I go out with friends and family and am careful about what I eat. Again, a lot of this probably is not strictly related to my surgery. The worse problem I have, and had before surgery, is being able to leave my house in the morning because it takes all morning for me to get it all out. So I make all my appointments in the afternoon. That makes my life quite difficult.
In the end what will tell you is that having that surgery was definitely for the best for me because I spent last year in and out of the ER, was on medication that made me sick, and lived with the fear I’d have an episode while traveling which did happen last Christmas and was a terrible experience. I also lived in fear of my colon perforating and having to have emergency surgery by whatever doctor was on duty at whatever hospital I was in.
I hope you are getting the information you need in this discussion group to alleviate some of your fears. I wish you the best.