Problems months after colon resection surgery: What Helps?

I take metamucil every morning mixed with cranberry juice and then a hot cup of coffee....No constipation. This is a long term solution, not a once n done fix. Hope this helps you.

Thank you for your reply.

Yes, she was able to find a soft yoga pad to help when sitting on a hard chair or in the car. It helps tolerate the pain for short stints of time. And yes, we've tried going to the best hospitals in our region (Philadelphia) without any luck. We did go back to her regular GI last week who prescribed a Barium Enema. But she is hesitant to schedule because of the pain.

Welcome Caren. May I ask what led to your needing colon surgery? How long ago?

Sorry for the late reply, also thank you for asking something that no physician has asked. As it happens, I lifted something awkward and heavy that day. I don't remember if I did that before the past episodes. My diet is fairly regular so the idea that a muscle/hernia strain could be the cause is a welcome suggestion.
Thanks again Colleen

Hi All, 45 year old male. Had part of my cecum removed on Nov. 27 because of complex polyp found during routine colonoscopy. Everything was going great. At the two week mark I was opening up what I was eating. Really was surprised how well I was healing. At the one month mark the only issue was sore abs, like I had done a bunch of sit ups. At week 6 I started doing my exercise bike and figured I was almost 100% although I still had the sore abs. Then at week 7, I came down with a really bad stomach ache. It has been with me for about 5 days now. I've barely eaten the past 5 days. I got in to see my surgeon and he says everything looks good. In addition to the stomach ache, I get pains in my sides and then yesterday I started having a really bad lower back ache.

Reading through the messages it sounds like some of this is normal? Not sure why I was doing so well and then it took a 180 on me. I'm curious for some of you that have posted about the stomach aches if they finally subsided? Thanks! Glad I found this site.

Hi Hawkeye, and welcome. I'm glad you found the group and this discussion. You may also be interested in this related discussion:
- Sigmoid colon resection: What to expect for recovery? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/sigmoid-colon-resection-10282019/

Allow me to bring in a few more members to respond to you such as @travelgirl @starrlight who had cecum surgery, as well as @tbillz119 @maureen54 @virgo1952 @sundance6 @corn50 and others.

I think these wise words from @des46893 may be relevant to your situation:
"[My surgeon] used the analogy that the existing colon was like waistband on an old pair of underwear and the stapled section was like the waistband on a new pair. Not kidding. Like everyone says each individual is different the thing you don’t want to do is to go full throttle when you start to feel good. At Mayo I ran into several people who who figured they were near 100% and regretted their rush back to normalcy."

Give yourself time to heal. Have you been able to eat small portions these past few days? Are things getting better again?

Hello @hawkeye1976

I would like to join, @colleenyoung in welcoming you to Connect. We have another member, @thull, who has had multiple colon surgeries and she may be able to add some thoughts about diet and activities following surgery.

You say that you have barely eaten in five days. Have you tried any nutritional drinks like Atkins, Ensure, Boost, etc.?

Hello,

I had a colon resection surgery for diverticulitis in August of 2020 and I am experiencing some pretty severe abdominal pain and digestive issues.

I was completely fine until about 6 months later. I woke up one morning with really bad abdominal pain and decided to get a colonoscopy, endoscopy, ct scan, the whole works.

One day, the pain went away and everything went back to normal. Fast forward 6 months and the pain came back in full force - I have tried several diets, been diagnosed with SIBO, Candida, Dysbiosis, Leaky Gut and even mold poisoning but my main problem is so much abdominal pain, especially in the colon with highly altered bowel movements (constipation, watery stools, hard lumpy stools).

I have also had a HIDA scan, CT scan for bowel obstruction, CT scan for adhesions which all came back normal.

However, when this problem started, I noticed these little 'knots' all over my gut which were very painful to the touch and I went to a place called Clear Passage twice and did intensive manual therapy for these adhesions and now they are gone but a big part of me wonders if there is some sort of adhesions or stricture that hasn't been detected by CT scan.

Just recently, I have been getting colon "attacks" where it feels like a knife or a gun shot wound to my sigmoid colon that lasts anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.

I've tried a wide array of different diets including fasting and intermittent fasting, supplements, natural and prescription prokinetics.

Now my doctor is trying to convince me to get a permanent nerve block but that seems absolutely insane to me with everything that is transpiring and this gradual worsening of symptoms.

Sorry for the long post but I am very very desperate at this point and looking for any possible answers I can find as I am in pain almost 24/7

Coleen,
After another episode, I'm writing to ask what type of physician should I see to begin diagnosing my issue. It definitely is a result of lifting so I suspect a hernia or a failed hernia repair (I've had several). Should I start with an internist, gastro-interologist, the original resection surgeon? Getting tired of chasing this thing down. Thanks in advance.
John Salacain

Welcome @michaelfromfl. You'll notice that I moved your message to this ongoing discussion about colon resection surgery.
- Problems months after colon resection surgery: What Helps? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/three-months-after-colon-surgery/

I did this so you can connect with fellow members like @john2871 @hawkeye1976 @robinmacdonald @louiel @hopeful33250 @shelfitz @fourof5zs and others.

@john2871 asks a good question. "What type of physician should I see? Should I start with an internist, gastro-interologist, the original resection surgeon?

I can imagine that you're both getting tired of chasing down the problem. I'd like to hear what others think, but my first suggest would be to get a second opinion at a large medical facility where specialists from different disciplines work together as a team to problem-solve.