Problems months after colon resection surgery: What Helps?

Thank you for this info. I had first good nights sleep last night in 1 month. No leg pain either, but I had gone so long without sleep I probably passed out and did'"t know it. lol Today have had 3 bm that were normal so I thank God for that. Still having pain in lower belly where incision was and an uncomfortable feeling in upper belly. I drink probably 50 oz. of water daily , only 1 cup of decaf coffee. I am hoping by the end of April I will feel so much better. Trying to eat small meals, that seems to help . Drinking 1 glass of Metamucil a day has really helped bulk up my stools and it depends on what I eat also. But it does help me. Thank you and pray we will soon have our life back and be well.

How did your CT scan turn out ?

I had the same thing happen to me. I am 71 and had resection done 2 months ago. I was doing really good for a change last week . Now I have pain all across stomach every day ! Have taken Tylenol, no help. I am so tired of not feeling good and so sick of complaining all the time. The pain is more pronounced on the opposite side of surgery.

@carlyrn - I’m sorry you are going through these pain episodes- while being pregnant too.
First- you had major surgery in October and lost part of your intestine -in the process the nerve supply probably was interrupted and has not had time yet to regrow. Therefore, it is easy to understand why you have constipation too. Irregular peristalsis. It’s good that the ER tests were normal though. Unfortunate that the staff didn’t treat you well. Are you able to contact your surgeon or gastroenterologist to talk about what’s happening and what else can do to alleviate the constipation?

Hi. You kind of sound like me when I connected with this group. Different circumstances but same surgery. You are not alone with frequent bowel movements and stomach pain. I remember Coleen telling me to be patient and it was early days. I think I got more information and support from this chat group then from local medical facilities. Ask Colleen about a member who also experienced leg pain and numbness. He might have some pointers. Not sure about your pain. Mine was the actual incision healing. The surgeon cut through abdomen muscle. I also think you experience stomach pain with your body adjusting to a new normal. I know taking gas pills and picking foods that were easily digested (noodles, few veggies, chicken, no hot, no spicy), I still can’t eat chocolate☹️ It’s been five months and I have a scheduled eating routine that allows me to have my day and stay regular. What that means for me is still having multiple bowel movements, but not feeling housebound. I eat a lot of fibrous foods (now), but mostly, I drink a lot of water/liquids and exercise daily. Also, Citracil has been helpful when needed. At this point, it’s working and I can live with this. Working towards normalizing my bowel frequency, that just takes time I hope you start feeling better. It was 21/2-3 months before I started seeing a marked improvement .

Hi @carlyrn, am I correct in understanding that you are currently pregnant? Were you given any dietary regime to follow to help ease the constipation? Normally, I might suggest getting a second opinion, however that will likely be impossible during this time of the coronavirus crisis. Can you request a tele-consult?

I'd also like to bring other members into this discussion who may have some thoughts and experiences to share, like @astaingegerdm and @virgo1952

@mizreehop1896, like @lisag03 said, 2 months after surgery is not very long. Her friend had her sigmoid removed because of diverticulitis and said it took over a year to feel normal. It is so hard to heal if you can't get proper sleep. Is there anything that helps you sleep better?

I am 2 months post op . Was dong fairly good until I started waking up with the jitters every morning after a night of no sleep because of nerve pain gong down my legs. Never had that until after surgery. I am really regretting I ever had the surgery. I would rather deal with the Diverticulosis than this. Stinging, burning pain across lower abdomen and uneasy feeling in lower stomach. I go to bathroom constantly and have gone as much as 10 times a day! My urine just flows from me, not much control at all, I am getting really depressed because when you are hurting all the time , you don't want to do anything. I have prayed for the Lord to take this pain from me. Doctor says that everything inside and out is healed and there is nothing I can do to hurt my insides. THEN WHY AM I STILL HURTING ??? He says it is nerve pain and it will subside, but WHEN ? I just want my life back. I am 71 years old , but I have always liked to stay busy and now somedays I don't feel like doing anything but sit. Anybody out there going through this too ??

I am sorry to see that you all are experiencing exactly what I am experiencing but I am relieved. I literally left Advent Health Orlando in tears today because of the how my nurse, charge nurse, and admitting MD treated me. I stayed in the hospital two days during this Pandemic to be told I was fine (just constipated) and the tests didn't reveal any reason for my pain level. I was told to take Tylenol, Miralax and Docusate and to slowly resume a diet. I tried to tell the nurse I wasn't comfortable with discharge because I am being sent home with no answers, no instructions, and no medications. What was the point of being hospitalized?
Let me back up...I was hospitalized in October because I had a cecal volvulus. I had a third of my intestine removed...it adhered to my liver. I had a rough couple of days after surgery but everything was going well except for occasional constipation. Well, at the end of Feb. I woke up in excruciating pain (in my right upper quadrant). I ended up having to call 911. I got to the ED and the pain started to subside on it's own without any intervention. I found out I was pregnant at this ED visit so I couldn't get a CT scan. Well the same thing happened this weekend and I ended up in the ED again. The US was fine in the ED but they recommended I stay to get pain managment and a MRI. Well my MRI was fine and from that point on my MD and nurse started treating me like a drug seeking idiot. Can you all give me any insight and even better tell me what to do to stop this from happening again?

I might have missed it. But after 14” were removed from my colon due to diverticulosis I had to go back for several sessions where they would stretch out the colon with balloon treatments. Where the colon is stapled back together causes a narrowing of the colon hence the balloons to stretch it back out.

I go 6 to 7 times a day. Sore but does not fully explain the pain I live with daily. 3 bath tub soaks daily help a ton.