Sigmoid colon resection: What to expect for recovery?

Hello Virgo,

I was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2017. I had colon resection with 12 inches of colon removed. My surgery was performed by the Davinci robot and was a pretty quick recovery. It took a little time for my body to get on a ‘regular’ schedule but have no long lasting effects. Wishing the same for you 🙏🏻

I’ve been getting better every day. I spoke with my surgeon late last week, he told me my pathology came back and there was no cancer or anything nasty. I’ve been taking Fibre One every night and I am now on a “regular” diet. I also take a stool softener every day.
I occasionally get pains that remind me of how it felt when I was having a bout of diverticulitis. That scares me! So far they haven’t to amounted to anything.
Thank you for asking. I hope everyone is staying safe and healing well.

@kathyoung and @monicaeve, it's now 2 weeks later. Are things continuing to improve?

I agree - there isn’t a lot of guidance. I am 6 weeks out and my surgeon told me on Monday that it takes 2-3 months to get back to your baseline. I’m still in pain but certainly not as bad as I was 3 wks out. I hope you recover quickly and sorry you are in pain!

I am 2 1/2 weeks out from a resection. I too am frustrated with the lack of guidance from the surgeon on what to expect post operatively. I have a telephone consult in 2 weeks. That’s it!
I did post earlier that my pain is all on the right side of my abdomen.

I’m new to this so I’m just learning to navigate this site. Sorry if I’m repeating myself. 🙂

i hope you heal quicker then i am , I am 8 months now , and still sore tummy and sore if i eat after 7 in the evening , Best regards and hope you get better sooner x

I had a resection on December 31st. Happy New Year, I guess. I had stage 2 colon cancer and they removed 10". I had 2 severe bouts of diarrhea each lasting a week and a week apart. Strong antibiotics solved that problem. It took a while but I am pretty regular but still have a semi-loose stool. My recovery is good. My 6 month CT showed no cancer. I am 68. Hang in there, it will get better in time.

This has always been one of my pet peeves: the infantilization of women. People will NEVER get a clue about this. If someone calls me a "girl" I go ballistic! At 67, those years are looooong gone! Thank you!

Good morning. This is the real story behind colon resections. I experienced many similar challenges over this last year. Starting with Coleen’s input “Early days Sasha, be patient.” Everybody’s story is unique, but we all have colons. When part of your colon is removed, your body has to have time to adjust to the lose. So, baby steps. Thank you for sharing. It is a relief for someone just starting this journey to have others share. No, we’re not being whiny. We are just trying to figure it out. Take care. sasha

I experienced the same thing - chronic diverticulitis where antibiotics stopped working to get rid of the infection. I’m almost 5 weeks out of my surgery. This group has been a blessing for my recovery. It’s hard to know what’s normal and what’s not and it’s helped me try things to slowly get back to normal. My experience at 5 weeks - the pain is less severe, I am walking several times a day (short walks), tire easily and my bowels are still odd. I’ve had days where I’ve gone 10+ times and days that have been pretty normal and right now I’m on day 3 without a bowel movement. I have good days and bad days but every week that goes by I do feel as if I’m improving from the week before. I’ll be thinking about you and hope you let us know how you are doing!