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Problems months after colon resection surgery: What Helps?

Colorectal Cancer | Last Active: Jun 4 9:58am | Replies (521)
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@hawkeye1976

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.

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Replies to "Hi All, 45 year old male. Had part of my cecum removed on Nov. 27 because..."
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Jan 30, 2022

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?

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Teresa, Volunteer Mentor | @hopeful33250 | Jan 31, 2022

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.?

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