Sigmoid Colectomy recovery

Unfortunately I don’t have any encouraging news. I had my Colectomy in 2031. Have never gone back to normal. I’ve learned to manage, but I acquired SIBO, belly distention,gas and incomplete emptying after. I’ve tried everything, had every test imaginable, PT , change of diet and I’m able to keep it under control , but certainly feel worse than I did before. Of course, the pain from the diverticulitis was excruciating, so that’s gone and I hope to keep my colon from rupturing.
I wish you the best. Not a fun journey for sure!

Do not get too upset on haling time. It took me a good 4 mths to feel better. But, every month it changed and was better. it took a while to lay on my sides. Maybe you need more time. 9left side took longer) Do you do any stretching exercising?
My main issue was not eating as much and keeping my meals very light while trying to consume all nutrition you need to heal. EAT small and CHEW thoroughly. If needed ginger ale for gas. It is very important not to stay seated long after eating. You must move. Always walk after you eat. And drink plenty of water.
My go too was also chamomile tea and peppermint tea for gas and bloating and that feeling of being too full.
I was already lactose intolerant. I do not drink milk. I can have cheese and yogurt.

I have dealt with chronic diverticulitis my whole life. I’m from the south and my Mama’s cooking nearly killed me. I missed so much school because of “Stomach Viruses” that magically disappeared when I joined the military and moved away from home.
I finally realized that I did not have stomach viruses and it was a way of life that changed dramatically after I turned 19 and lost 18” of my small intestines in 1980.

Then fast forward to 2011 and I had a severe case of Diverticulitis that did not respond to antibiotics.
My surgeon then put me in the hospital for 5 days on IV antibiotics to avoid an colostomy procedure. Thanfully things improved but the damage was done. I went back in 2 weeks later and had a Sigmoidectomy. It was life changing in many different ways. The first was I had to learn to be “regular”. For someone that used to only poop once a week or two. This was going to be a major change for me.
I tried high fiber powders that caused horrible gas and bum pain. My poor bowels were a mess from all the trauma, food issues etc. We finally came up with a formula that worked best for me. I took one Milk of Magnesium caplet at night and would have MiraLax in coffee or a liquid the next morning. After a few weeks of trial and error my body finally got used to pooping everyday.
I am a lot more aware of what I eat now also. No seeds, nuts or anything that could possibly form a pouch. I know there are varying views on that now, but I figured why take the chance.
I don’t eat fried foods at all, I also watch my bread intake as that always seems to slow things way down.

Keep a food diary, make sure you walk as much as possible as that really helps with any gas. I avoid alcohol but mainly because of the gut migraines I get.
Diverticulitis has affected everyone in my family for many generations. The first clue was immediately after dinner my kids would be in the bathroom if we had things like spaghetti or anything else with a heavy sauce. My husband used to think they were doing it to get out of cleaning up. He learned the hard way that was not the case. 🤦🏽‍♀️
A Sigmoidectomy is not a fix, it is done to remove a part of your body that was dying.
You will always have Diverticulitis/ Diverticulum, that is a problem that you will always have.
You still have to stay vigilant to what your body needs.
I hope some of this info helps you.
Just remember to listen to your body and you will recover from the surgery.

{{{{{HUGS}}}}}

My sigmoid colon was removed along with some of my small intestine. Mine was open surgery. I would have died that night if I hadn't gone to the hospital.

Cases are different.

A removal of your sigmoid colon can be done laparoscopically (unlike mine).

A patient can be near death, frail, sick and weak when arriving at the hospital (like I was).

While in other cases, the surgery can be planned, the patient is strong on arrival and the surgery is minimally invasive. I don't know about you, but my scar is almost a foot long.

I mention these things because there's no way anyone could know what to expect for you, as we don't know what happened. For me, I had the best surgeon around (so everyone says!) but my full recovery could still take years. My abdominal muscles were cut through, along with thousands of nerve endings. It's a big deal!

What shape were you in when the surgery was done? Was it open or laparoscopic?

There's one other thing worth mentioning. I knew I was really sick. It was painful, and for at least three years before the surgery I didn't know what was wrong with me but I couldn't eat anything safely.

After the surgery, literally upon waking up right after it, my body felt as if it were fixed. Combine this with that I came in begging for someone to save my life, and my expectations are not the same as yours. I wasn't hoping to feel better sooner, none of that. I was grateful to simply be alive. Somehow this overshadowed everything else. Learning to work with a diet was a pleasure because I hadn't eaten a single thing in years without worrying it was going to upset my gut, and now I just had to tiptoe around the instructions given by my doctor and nurse, figure out how to manage my "device" (my dad had one!), and not get too frustrated with lack of information and misinformation. These things are perhaps what you're running into; things like details about "how long will it take" to heal, to sleep well, preventing episodes and generally getting around out in the wild!

I can sympathize. No-one still has told me anything valid about "how long it will take" for me to heal. I have to read a hundred cases on social media and try and interpret the puzzle. I've been lucky with no complications (thanks, Doc!) and have learned that part of this is tossing your frustration in the toilet and finding out what you can about your own unique, personal situation!

Prayers to you, for patience and healing! No-one deserves to have their body fail on them, but sometimes there are hidden blessings, which I suspect mostly come in the form of thinking about life in general differently!