Problems months after colon resection surgery: What Helps?

Two years after surgery I have painful flare ups on my left side. CT scans and blood work always show no issues but I have a burning on my left side. It’s painful, the first time I felt it was about 3 weeks after surgery they said it was epiglottis appendigritis, fatty tissue tangled in nerves and with weight loss pain would stop. Two years later I still have pain even with weight loss. I’m frustrated with no answers anyone have similar issue? I’ve had colonoscopy, ct, mri, X-ray and bloodwork but no one can give me an answer. The only thing they give me is pain killers and muscle relaxers but all that does is knock me out.

Hello, was the bacterial infection the cause of the pain after surgery? thank you

That is what is holding me back from making an appointment. I have been vaccinated for covid19.

Hi I have Crohns disease diagnosed at age 12... I've experienced everything to do with IBD... Anything you ask but now I have one major problem.... I have bowel movements every hour about 20 per day... I always used to take loperimide and it helped but a few years ago I could not take it because it makes my small bowel cramp really badly... I'm waiting on a doctors appointment with mh surgeon recently I took a colonoscopy... It showed a obstruction... I'm on the public health system here in New Zealand and while it's free it takes a long time to get seen... If I was in USA my medical insurance would be too much for me to pay... I need something to slow my bowel down.... I feel like a baby and I need a nappy it gets kinda humiliated but I can't let it bother me.... I've heard of metamucil... I have a question and maybe you could help me understand if it could help? How does it feel? Does it slow your bowel without imodium? On other posts I've been listening and following so I guess I've decided to respond now.... I've had multiple comparative diagnosis so I ask anyone following this thread let's talk and see if we can help each other. God bless Martin

You may be having nerve pain. When your new colon is holding stool it can put pressure on nerves and if there was any nerve damage during surgery, it feels like a hot poker. I was having some really bad pain above my scar and mentioned it to my surgeon at our bi-monthly zoom office visit. He agreed that was probably it. He put me on a nerve pain med called Gabapeten. I used it for a few nights before bed and now I'm not having the pain. I still have alot of pills left so will hold on to them in case it comes back. I take just a teaspoon of Metamucil in the morning and before eating. Seems to help. Also I have loperaminde 2mg which is imodium that helps with loose stool. Good luck I hope you find some relief.

Actually I have thought about it. In fact a close friend is an acupuncturist and we discussed it. I haven't actually tried it partly because of the COVID restrictions.

I am so sorry to hear that you are in such distress. Have ever thought about acupuncture? I am thing about giving it a try to see if it relives any of my pain.

Hi everyone! I thought I would give you an update since may last post. I have been continuing to struggle with abdominal pain since my partial colectomy for colonic inertia in early December.
Since I tend toward constipation, I tried adding Citrucel with minimal improvement (previously Benefiber made my pain worse), then added Miralax. The Miralax pushed me in the other direction with diarrhea and cramping so I am now trying a low dose, starting with just ¼ of the recommended daily dose. Interestingly, when I tried Miralax and several motility drugs before my surgery, they had no effect so I guess my remaining GI tract is more sensitive. I've noticed however that even when I get relief from the constipation such as from the Miralax, or earlier from a Fleets enema, it doesn't reduce the pain. In fact, it may temporarily increase the pain due to irritating my bowel. Although I have been keeping a food diary, the pain doesn't seem to correlate much with what I eat.

Recently I had an MRI and a HIDA scan because of sludge noted in my gallbladder on earlier CT scans. Unfortunately, the results show multiple gallstones, delayed filling and only a 27% ejection fraction suggesting chronic cholecystitis. I discussed this with my gastroenterologist. He said since I was not having clinical symptoms of gall bladder disease at this point and my pain was not gall bladder - like, he was in no rush to suggest surgery. This was a great relief to me because I didn't feel I could face another surgery at this point, still dealing with the aftermath of the partial colectomy in December.
My weight remains low having lost about 30 lbs before and after the surgery. I haven't been able to regain weight probably because I try not to eat too much fearing making the pain worse although I try to snack more frequently. I am also restricting fat because of the gall bladder issues so that also makes it hard to gain weight. When I tried adding a supplement like Ensure earlier, it caused diarrhea and cramping. This has all gotten a bit overwhelming!

I also just started taking a low dose of antidepressant to see if that will help the pain. Usually they use a low dose of a tricyclic antidepressant like amitriptyline(Elavil) but since a side-effect of these is constipation, I asked if I could try duloxetine (Cymbalta), an SNRI used for other pain that may be helpful for GI pain as well, but doesn't risk constipation so I am starting on just 20 mg/day. If duloxetine doesn't work, I might re-consider the amitriptyline. I keep hoping I will find a way to reduce the pain either medically or with time but at times it is hard to feel hopeful about that.
I am keeping my fingers crossed!

@gcesar hi. Yep. Sounds like my surgeon. Once the surgery is over, on going care is your responsibility. Need to find someone who will see you ongoing. I don’t know if you need more surgery, but getting a second opinion is something you can take charge of. I was having problems a few months, went to the ER. Afterwards I requested a GI referral. Not sure what you should do, but surgeons are surgeons, period. Virgo

Have you considered a second opinion? See where that leads you?