Problems months after colon resection surgery: What Helps?

Thank you for your wonderful response!
Please let us know the results of your CT SCAN next week.
I have a feeling that you will be getting a good report and finding encouragement for a good recovery!
Many blessings to you! Paul

Can't thank you enough for your response. The stool is there in the rectum area and is so annoying. I have to take a laxative suppository or force it out which is not good but sometimes my only option. Your kind words give me hope and I can't thank you enough. Bless you also on your journey. You are a special soul.

Supposedly the sigmoid colon is 18 inches, so with 9 inches gone I'm at 50% and you say that you are 100% .
I am sure that taking all of it makes a big difference by comparison.
Three months is truly nothing when speaking of recovery for colon resection and bowel surgery.
Definitely forget the fiber.
Whatever fiber you get, let it come from food, not supplements.
I don't know your age or how naturally active you are, i.e, if you can stay at home every day, etc.
I would slow down, rest more, no exercise like that prior to surgery, just light walking around the house.
At 3 months, some inactivity is not a bad thing to allow your colon to mend and recover. Rest, take naps, sleep and avoid stress.
Get your diet right for colon recovery and eat small, easily digested meals and snacks throughout your day.
You will make it through this but you've got to know that life and bowel activity is going to be different and sometimes challenging for awhile if not a year or more.
No one ever said that colon resection can be a speedy recovery. It is quite the opposite.
Best wishes to you always in this journey!

Thanks for your advise. My sigmoid is gone and that's the chamber for stool to form and sit before it goes to the rectum. I suffer everyday with pressure in that area. Fiber makes it worse so I eat more fruit. Some nights can't sleep and afraid to eat. Doing everything, exercise, massage, acupuncture. Everyone says it take time but it's been three months and no improvements. I go for another cat-scan next week. Just don't know how loncg I can sustain this. If anyone out there has any other suggestions I would so much appreciate it. Bless you all on your recovery.

I had Rectal Cancer in 2019 and underwent Chemo then Radiation, then finally in 2020 had surgery to remover aprox. 11" of my rectum. They installed an Ileostomy bag I had to use for 3 months while the rectum surgery healed. They then reversed the Ileostomy and now the plumbing is all working again. Although...not as it used to in the past. I do have times of normal BMs and then I'll have no BM for 2 days or so and then the next day, my bowels empty out. First very formed stool, and several times of BMs and then diarrhea. So I have to stay close to the toilet for that day. Having an Ileostomy bag wasn't too bad and the reversal went like a dream but I am not against having the bag for a while. All in all, I'm glad I had the surgery. Now the Cancer is gone and having good blood tests saying no cancer has returned.

Surgeon asked me if I wanted one before emergency surgery. I said a resounding no. Can't live life like that. It might have been temporary but did not want to be opened up again to restore normal function in hospital for how long? My stint in hospital was painful, difficult and long enough. There was an old man in hospital when I was there. He had a bag and refused to learn how to use it which extended his stay there and thus he couldn't go home. He insisted the nurses change it. I really can't blame him, I left before he did so can't update. His wife was a long-suffering angel of positivity dedicated by love to be by his side whatever he decided. A rare person who talked to all of us in the ward using her magic to cheer us up. All I can suggest is research research research and research again finding 100 - 1000s of people who have a bag and their lives now. The surgeons don't care what you decide. It's a job for them after all. Research natural remedies, change of diet - anything.

I'm not sure why colon and rectal surgeons are not more forthcoming about what to expect after colon resection.
Maybe they are trying to not pile on more stress to what already exists.
But would it really be of help to hear warnings of possible explosive diarrhea for months to come during recovery?
Many here have expressed regret in having had the surgery because of bowel problems later. Is doing nothing really an alternative to having colon cancer?
1- Increased intake of fiber is not always helpful, in actuality it can make constipation and diarrhea worse. I would not take fiber supplements.
2- I don't believe that many, if any doctors are recommending Probiotics after a surgery. People are taking a Probiotic while not having any conclusive evidence of their current gut health or how a Probiotic can be helpful in an unknown environment of 40 trillion living microbes and hundreds of species of bacteria.
I'm not seeing where Probiotics should be introduced into a colon for instance, where colerectal cancer has once lived and the likelihood of its return.
3- Avoid dairy. Avoid added sugars. No meat. No fried foods. Keep it simple. Eat plain pasta. No baked goods.
4- Whatever you eat, eat it at home. Forget going out to restaurants and fast food.
5- Drink water. Give up hot food and drink during colon recovery.
6- Eat fruits and vegetables from canned or frozen. Fresh produce is not the best choice.
7- Whatever you eat, cut it up to give your digestion a break.
8- Stay with foods for awhile that are easily digested.
9- Plan small meals and eat something throughout the day when hungry. Forget 3 meals at prescribed times of the day.
Eat small meals and snacks numerous times a day.
10- Nuts are a great snack but give them up while your resections mend and heal.
We are talking about fragile tissue and staples.
*Do not allow yourself to become constipated as straining can push the resection seam apart or in the least, create a leak.
These are suggestions to try for those having bowel related issues after colon surgery, resection in particular.
When it comes to diet after colerectal cancer, you will find that this is no one size fits all.
You experiment over time and your diet is constantly evolving as you eat this but not that.
Eventually, you will find what works for you!

I am reading all these comments. I too have no quality of life. I'm afraid to eat. Can't sleep because the pressure in my rectum, like a broomstick and it is constant. I have no peace 24/7. I am trying everything from acupressure to exercise to laxatives which they don't advise. Has anyone considered a colostomy bag. I know it has it's own set of issues but at YOU are more in control. My aunt and my girlfriend have one and their quality of life is better than mine. The stress of all this is not good and I worry how long I can sustain this. Please, I would appreciate any comments. Bless you all.

Try enzymes with probiotics. I get the MAV nutrition brand thru Amazon.

My oncologist started me on a pig enzyme that he warned was pricey even with good insurance. I think it was called Cretin. I then went to Amazon and found the one pictured below at 1/3 the cost. I don't believe I will ever poo normally, but this really helps. The brand is MAV nutrition. Sorry the pic is not clearer.