Prolapse bowel surgery: What was your recovery like?

Posted by tabithatwitch @tabithatwitch, Oct 28, 2022

I just had a prolapse bowel surgery last week… I was in the hospital 3 days. I live alone and it’s been rough…. The post surgery “ diarrhea “ is so bad.. it just wont stop.. I feel I am torn with fissures and the pain is excruciating.. I also feel full the moment I try to eat something or drink something… the surgeon’s office is very slow to call back.. I’m trying to eat what they call the BRAT diet but if I don’t get enough fluids I think I may have to check back in the hospital but can someone tell me what I can do about this constant diarrhea and how to heal these sores? Thank you

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What type of surgery did you have ? I have rectal prolapse and will have surgery soon where they pull up the intestines and attach it somewhere. I wonder if it’s the same surgery that you had?

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@lacy2

....its a long story, year had c.diff, reason why, also diagnosis of narrow angle glaucoma, took myself off zoloft , as have said on here before , 4 friends died and i had no help at home except spoue with c.diff and isolated myself by year end was basket case if you will excuse that expession, then 2019 dr at emerge put me back on zoloft which gave me heart pounding at night even tho hadnt before and took me off clonazepam which also had been on 15 years it was a tough year and so isolated and weak didnt realize i had extreme fatigue; the new family dr. dismissed me from his practice in Sept. as i had phoned collevge to ask how to deal with his yelling at me and in front of patients in waiting room and i hadnt done anything wrong, spilled water on my pills and needed prescription 5 days early etc. since then not myself and rarely leae the house, enough was enough after the other things in my life and then tinnitus and hyperacusis, eusatchian tube disfunction and havent slept through one night since... hyperacusit i hear every noise, not looking for sympathy as know there are many, thousands, in more dire circumstances than me but my life as i knew it ended and was because of ibs-d and many utis because of it and given too many antibiotics which led to cdiff, my bad luck! best wishes to all the sick and suffering everywhere and lucy you are in usa and can go to MAYO, I am in northern ontario and its a different story especilly when cannot travel due to now fecal incontinence, as good teaching hospitals in Toronto etc. I find cbt and trying to stay positive is now beyond my reach at 79... hugs, J.

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Sorry for your struggles 😡.
How drs dismiss us. Give us a pill !!
Was any of the antibiotics you took a fluroquinlone! Like cipro or Levafloxin

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@kilh

@tabithatwitch Hi, your posts sound a little better today. I hope that is a good sign and that you get some relief. Did you try some Pedialyte? Let me know how it works. I drink all the water I am supposed to but it goes right through and my body is still dehydrated. This rectal prolapse is driving me crazy. It only stays in if I am sitting which makes walking uncomfortable. Today it has been staying in so I can try to get stuff done in the house, a little at a time. Tomorrow may be a different story. Take care KLH

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Are you planning to have surgery for the prolapse? I also have it and am considering surgery but am fearful.

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@4846

Sorry for your struggles 😡.
How drs dismiss us. Give us a pill !!
Was any of the antibiotics you took a fluroquinlone! Like cipro or Levafloxin

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Hi, will try to keep short as i tend to over-talk and even confuse myself sometimes!
Over the years had many antibiotics for various things, after surgeries, uti's etc. given , and if a patient in hospital we were never told the names of pills, a nurse just brought them to us loose and we took them! 2016 Dr hurriedly gave me Norfloxacin, a Quinolone drug I had never heardnof, for uti without even a lab test and about 10 days after last one got peripheral neuropathy. Before I got C.Diff I had been given prescriptions in late 2017 and un 2018 Jan, Feb, and March..Sulfatrim DS-Bactrim for utis; then 2 packages Monoral/Fosfomycin in June and in July got C.Diff. Put on Vancomicin 2 Weeks in July and over 120 Vancomycin August to October... on a schedule... feces running down legs showers during night lost 15 lbs etc., cleaning house daily, getting weak; thing is cannot take anti-diarrhea pills while on antibiotics so it was double trouble. My body just didn't bounce back and after that had more uti's and now they don't know what to give me. Given Monoral/Fosfomycin again diarrhea night and day; last two times KEFLEX/CEPHALEXIN and as i have ibs-d from radiation years ago, even today I don't know if the diarrhea is an ibs-d flareup or C.Diff back again after Keflex last month...very nerve wracking, yet some people although are unfortunate to have to take antibiotics, dont get the bad reactions i get.... just unlucky for me and others like me I guess... maybe is just over my lifetimes just too many antibiotics in total or ? But I will never take another Quinolone drug again!

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@lacy2

Hi, will try to keep short as i tend to over-talk and even confuse myself sometimes!
Over the years had many antibiotics for various things, after surgeries, uti's etc. given , and if a patient in hospital we were never told the names of pills, a nurse just brought them to us loose and we took them! 2016 Dr hurriedly gave me Norfloxacin, a Quinolone drug I had never heardnof, for uti without even a lab test and about 10 days after last one got peripheral neuropathy. Before I got C.Diff I had been given prescriptions in late 2017 and un 2018 Jan, Feb, and March..Sulfatrim DS-Bactrim for utis; then 2 packages Monoral/Fosfomycin in June and in July got C.Diff. Put on Vancomicin 2 Weeks in July and over 120 Vancomycin August to October... on a schedule... feces running down legs showers during night lost 15 lbs etc., cleaning house daily, getting weak; thing is cannot take anti-diarrhea pills while on antibiotics so it was double trouble. My body just didn't bounce back and after that had more uti's and now they don't know what to give me. Given Monoral/Fosfomycin again diarrhea night and day; last two times KEFLEX/CEPHALEXIN and as i have ibs-d from radiation years ago, even today I don't know if the diarrhea is an ibs-d flareup or C.Diff back again after Keflex last month...very nerve wracking, yet some people although are unfortunate to have to take antibiotics, dont get the bad reactions i get.... just unlucky for me and others like me I guess... maybe is just over my lifetimes just too many antibiotics in total or ? But I will never take another Quinolone drug again!

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I completely understand. I’ve had SIBO methane since I took cipro in 2014. and small fiber neurapathy too. 😡. Plus all the other issues body muscles tendonitis pain.

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I’m sorry for your suffering.
I too have rectal prolapse and looking at surgery. What type of surgery did you have? Where? Thanks for your reply. I hope you are feeling better soon and on your way to recovery.

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@baz

I’m sorry for your suffering.
I too have rectal prolapse and looking at surgery. What type of surgery did you have? Where? Thanks for your reply. I hope you are feeling better soon and on your way to recovery.

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baz Thanks for the reply, I hope you are getting along better than I. Two years ago I went into surgery for an anterior and posterior rectocele. The anterior was fixed but when my doc went to the posterior my tissue would not hold any stitches. Therefore my rectal prolapse was not fixed. Since then I have been applying an estrogen cream three times a week to strengthen the wall so I can have it fixed. All was going well and the surgery was scheduled for April '22. on my follow-up visit which was on March 1, 2022.

Then on March 5th, I went 911 to the ER with Afib and was told I had CHF. There my journey started, surgery was canceled, and I did not return home until May 6th after rehab and then extended care for three weeks. In September, I had another echo and EKG to see if I could have surgery. A month later I received a message That I could have a cardiac surgery release. It gets better. I called to get an appointment to set up a surgery date. The earliest time is on Dec. 5th and he is booking for late Jan. '23. Cannot pick a date till I see him and by Dec., he will be booking in Feb. or maybe March.

Now I am waiting and the pain and pressure are not good. There are some good days when the prolapse stays where it should be and then days when it is out every time I go to stand up. Any fluid retention does not help at all. I am still trying to get my strength back but the total fatigue is taking a toll on me. I do not get much done around here and my home is a disaster zone since I was gone all those weeks. We go out for two meals a day because I can not stand long enough to fix, eat, and clean up after. I do good getting laundry, some dishes, and cleaning done. Besides, I wish I could drive rather than wait for someone else to take me. We live on the farm and have cows that are now Fall calving. The other (better) half does not have a lot of time to drive me around. The worst part of it all is he has 6 blocks that need open heart surgery. He is waiting for me to get fixed so I will be able to help him some.

Enough of me, the surgery I had was vaginal and had no incisions. I did not have one problem with recovery and was back in the garden and helping outside. I have never really been sick all my life till all this hit in March. I guess my body just went into total, total fatigue mode. If your only problem is with the prolapse and that is an easy fix or was for me. Once I get mine fixed then comes another RSR(right side). My rotator and bicep are both torn so not much ROM.
You get so old and everything seems to start falling apart. Now my heart which kind of stopped all my progress is back in sinus rhythm and ventricle pressure is in a normal range and no more CHF, no heart meds, and am just on Xarelto.

Let me know more about the problems you are having with your prolapse. How do you deal with and do you have any meds to help? How long have you been dealing with the problem? I hope you do not have to wait around to have it fixed. It sure puts a damper on enjoying life. Stay healthy and hope all goes well for you. KLH

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@baz

Are you planning to have surgery for the prolapse? I also have it and am considering surgery but am fearful.

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I have a prolapse as well. I really don’t know if it is cystocele or rectocele since I haven't found a doctor in my area who will do anything for me. One told me that more than 50% of women my age (66) have some sort of prolapse as if that makes it okay to just leave it. I am uncomfortable, sometimes unable to urinate…and other times the urge to go is so imminent that I must hurry to the toilet or risk an accident. My urologist is sending me to a gynecologist for pessary fitting but I’m afraid that it will be too uncomfortable to deal with. The urologist said surgery to repair the prolapse would require an extensive recovery. I feel like I’m not being taken seriously but live in a smaller city with few options for medical treatment.
I would be interested to hear from any women who have some type of prolapse. How are you dealing with it if you’ve had surgical repair, how did it go?
Thanks.

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@tabithatwitch

Hi... Well, I did decide to just listen to my own body and just stopped taking that. I think they prescribed it because they were afraid of constipation ... not sure really how that would even occur after all that awful prep before surgery. I am just sticking to a small diet plan that has been helping with both issues of diarrhea and constipation ...and getting a squatty potty really improved things....

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In reply to you all. I have just realised that my problems are not so bad after all. Some of you seem in a really bad way.
I have Achalasia and my operation of the POEM procedure was unsuccessful. However I cannot find a lot to eat and, would you believe either custard or coke are the ones that calm my Oesophagus down. This was discovered when I was researching my condition on Mr Google and not from the doctors.
Anyhow I would like to wish you all well with your emotional state and well being and hope you find the right doctor for your condition.
I really realise as I have said that I am not as badly off as some of you. The waiting is the worst. I hope all goes well for each and every one of you.
I am not sure how I came to be on this site as I am from Australia and was researching my condition of Achalasia which is a swallowing condition.I really wish you all well and certainly home your condition improve sooner rather than later.
Take care and stay safe.
Denise Powell

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How are you doing with your recovery for rectal prolapse surgery? I am going to have surgery sometime in January and I’m very concerned about not only the surgery but the recovery. My prolapse is now causing occasional fecal incontinence so it’s definitely time to take care of it.
I’m 70 years old and my doctor is recommending laparoscopic biologic graft ventral rectopexy with possible posterior dissection.
Is this the type of surgery you had? Thank you

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