Connect
← Return to Problems months after colon resection surgery: What Helps?
Discussion
Problems months after colon resection surgery: What Helps?
Colorectal Cancer | Last Active: Jun 4 9:58am | Replies (521)Comment receiving replies
Hello mate, I just had my sigmoid resection last Wednesday 12/02/2020. This may be a bit long. I'm at home under a blanket writing this as that's about as much energy as I have at the moment😆.
I chose to do this surgery electively as I've been in hospital 2x in 3 months, with three visits to A&E. I had enough of the pain, and didn't want to risk getting a bag. I knew right away the diverticulitis was chronic. Let me say this, I'm happy I did the surgery but, the aftermath is utter sh*te. The pain is ridiculous. I was terrified by this surgery. Can't tell you how bloody happy I was to wake up👍🏻. Bit of background, I'm a 46 year old make with a fairly healthy past...mostly. I'm a runner, and have a mostly healthy diet. The only thing I'm making a change lifestyle wise is my alcohol intake. I was a moderate drinker, now I'm only an occasional weekend drinker. Never had any issues mind you, this surgery just had me thinking I'm going to sort some bad habits.
Where, was I🤔? Right, the surgery...after waking up the pain was manageable. By Wednesday night it hurt badly. The following day was by far the worst. I was on Dilaudid until that evening, after which norco. Went home Friday late afternoon. Very difficult get adjusted to getting up and down at home. You also have to stay on top of the pain or you'll be playing catch up for half a day. For the first day and a half I continued to have bloody stools. My doctor said its normal to for up to 5 weeks😱. That seems odd to be fair. Anyway, my BM's were without any blood up until the third bm I passed this morning which was small and mixed poo with blood. Yesterday, I had a chocolate Shake which gave me diarrhoea. All those bm's were normal poo with no blood. I'm not sure what was going on with that earlier bm. My stomach has been gurgling but not overly gassy today. To be honest my entire stomach hurts.
So far going to the bathroom is a very, very odd sensation. Things seem very different. And, obviously my abdominal muscles are cut so pushing at all hurts.
I'm drinking loads of water, walking, and breathing into that device so one doesn't get pneumonia. I'm doing everything I can to get well. I just hope things go better than most on here. Trying to be positive👍🏻👌🏼.
Replies to "Hello mate, I just had my sigmoid resection last Wednesday 12/02/2020. This may be a bit..."
Connect
Hello fellow re-section-ers (?). I had a colon resection the end of October,2019; and joined when no one in my area could give me info/answers to what the heck was going on with my body. In addition, I was diagnosed positive for a bacterial infection that I don’t need to expand upon. Only, that it may have extended my healing process. It is now mid February and I am not house bound, doing scheduled eating for better bowel control (generally emptying out in the early evening hours) and back to my daily exercise routine. Not perfect, but so much better. I probably “turned” that corner around two months. It may be different for each of us, but you will know when it starts. Mostly, for me, my eating was limited due to nausea and taste was off. Sweet was my worst. Weight loss, nice but not like this, bowel urges and frequency, with sometimes disappointing outcome (yes, I was a toilet hugger), some pain/tenderness around my incision (learned bearing down was not good)! and low energy. All that has gotten better and I hope it continues as time goes on. The six week recovery that my doctor spouted has turned into a more realistic 3-4 month recovery. So, be patient and take good care of yourself. I find I still experience occasional abdominal pain; but have found drinking citracel helped. Also, gas pills. I hope that is helpful to someone. This information I got from others who reached out to me when I needed help.