Problems months after colon resection surgery: What Helps?

Hi everyone I’m 6 months post op. Some internal things can’t eat somethings - hamburger is rough! Some things give me diarrhea. I have a small hernia. I get gas anywhere, everywhere and at any time. It just slips out. Other than that I’m ok. I lost 15lbs wish it was more. My CEA level is 6.7. I had a ct scan of my abdomen all is well. I had a 6 month colonoscopy and my first endoscopy. My blood pressure was really low afterwards. Much love to all my Colon Caner warriors cause this sucks.

Hi Shelfitz, welcome. How upsetting that your wife continues to have painful symptoms nine months after surgery, like rectal pressure and lower abdominal burning. You'll notice that I've moved your post to this discussion about post-surgical issues. I did this to connect you with other members like @joyce1 @robinmacdonald @louiel @dcoakley @doodily10 @phil123 @glacier @tbillz119 @mdavids @lorijbq who have had the same surgery. Through their experiences, I'm hoping that they can provide tips and ideas about your wife's discomfort and what course of action you might be able to pursue to get answers from her medical team.

Shelfitz, while you continue to look for the underlying cause, what do you find helps her sit comfortably? Have you tried an inflatable ring, like a pool ring? What has the medical team offered for her pain? Have you considered seeking a second opinion?

Still in extreme pain 9 months post sigmoid resection

My wife had her sigmoid removed in March 2021 due to chronic diverticulitis. She got infected which required antibiotics and ultimately ended up back in the hospital with C-Diff. She has not recovered since and has lost over 40 pounds in 9 months. She has rectal pain and pressure which prevents her from sitting normally. And lately, she is feeling a strong burning sensation in her lower abdomen. We've gone to more than one specialist, but they don't seem concerned even after we plead with them for help. Her latest CT scan in October showed some fat stranding in the anastomosis area so everyone say she's fine. We're both completely deflated over the lack of concern and she has little belief that she is going to get better.
Has anyone else had these symptoms (mainly the rectal pressure and lower abdominal burning)? If so, how did you treat? We are desperate to find her some relief. Any guidance would be so greatly appreciated.

Hello @louiel and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I'm sorry to hear of all of the problems that you are having post-surgery. You must feel very tired as well as in pain.

I have just a few questions if you don't mind sharing more: When your doctor found this inflammation, 2 months after surgery, did he restart you on antibiotics or offer you any other suggestions? You said that you ran a high fever for 12 hours. How high was the fever?

I would highly recommend that you call the doctor's office and leave a message regarding the fever and pain and the fact that the current pain med is not helping. It might also be a good idea to see if you should be taking another antibioltic.

I would really like to hear how you are doing. Will you post an update after your call to the doctor? If the pain and fever come back again remember that you can go to the ER or other walk-in clinic to have an evaluation and blood work done.

Hi, I’m new to this site but have been reading through all the comments over the past few weeks. I had a bowel resection 7 weeks ago because of Crohn’s disease. All went well and I was recovering fine until I developed an abscess a few weeks ago which ended up with me being re admitted to the hospital for anti biotics. I came home and again I’ve been fine until about 5 days ago where I have horrendous pain in my lower right abdomen which is were the resection was done. It hurts to even gently touch this area. I had an emergency CT scan done a couple of days ago and the surgeon said that it looks like just inflammation that is causing the pain. Has anyone else had such bad pain from inflammation 2 months after the surgery? I feel like I’m going backwards. Im 34 with 2 young children and I feel so bad that I still don’t have the energy and in to much pain to do anything with them. The surgeon basically said to wait another month before I go back to him but I’m worried something else is wrong. Had a high fever last night that lasted about 12 hours but that has gone now but it’s just the extreme pain. Paracetamol doesn’t do anything for the pain and not sure what else I can take. Any advice would be much appreciated.

I commented on this site previously that I had extreme pain on the right side for a couple of months following colon resection surgery. A CT scan showed no issue and I was told the pain was caused by the robotic arms which entered on that side to go to the left side to remove the portion of the colon with diverticulitis.

Hello @suzieduarte72 and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. It seems like a good amount of time between your resection and this onset of pain. I am so glad to hear that you are going to Urgent Care today.

@doodily10 has recently shared a sudden onset of a sharp pain as well so I am hoping the pair of you can connect to compare your experiences.

What did you find out from Urgent Care?

Hello, I had colon resection on July 12th seemed to have recovered well, back to work two weeks ago. However last night and all day today, I have had SEVERE pain at right side of abdomen, BUT only after iv had a bowel movement and trying to stand from the sitting position. Its really an almost unbearable, sharp pain. Im going to Urgent Care after my shift today but wondering if it sounds familiar to anyone here.

I forgot the add last year 2020 had chemo therapy and radiation to shrink colorectal tumor before surgery

I had resection surgery in November reconnected elyostomy January 24th once a month severe abdominal pain goes away in a couple hours lately it's been once a week last night I called 911 went to the hospital they did a CT scan and found nothing unusual any suggestions on what the pain could be