Colon Resection

[livingwith]

It has been 9 days since my sigmoid colon section operation was done laparoscpoically by a fine surgeon I have to say I feel much better than I ever thought I would after this surgery. I was extremely nervous after reading some of the comments others have written. I had been struggling with diverticulitis for six years with this year being the absolute worst.
I was on Flagyl & Cipro 5 times in 5 months. My doctor told me enough was enough and it was time for the surgery. It was important ...Read the full article

[Summerof63]

Hi Robin:

Thank you for sharing your experience. I am having a resection on December 2nd. This is the most informative post I have found so far. I am of course nervous but absolutely do not want to experience the awful pain again that I had with two episodes of diverticulitis. I spent three days in the hospital last week because of it. I just had a laproscopic hysterectomy on October 10th along with a rectocele repair and had some challenges with that- so much surgery in such a short time has me a little freaked.

Your experience helped alleviate a fair amount of concern. Please update how you are doing now. I have read that many feel so much better over all after the surgery recovery. I hope that is true for you!

Kind regards,

Terriann

[RobinA]

Terriann: I am so glad I was able to alleviate some of your fears. It sounds like you have had your share of health issues. I will tell you what my doctor told me, " With how you've been feeling, someone like you with your history is going to feel so much better, why wouldn't you want this surgery?" He was so right. I feel stupid now that I put this off for so long and jeopardized my health and even my life. I feel so good I tell people all the time I wish I had done this sooner. My doctor had told me two week recovery and I thought I should be 100% at two weeks and I wasn't. I felt great at week four or five. The way I describe it is like this: I think of my colon as a "superhighway" and the horrible bowel movements and pain I always experienced was like a bumpy unpaved exit ramp! Now I feel like the highway was paved including the exit ramp and I have never had such smooth bowel movements like this in twenty years and I am amazed! I feel like a little kid recently potty trained! I want to run out of the bathroom and yell to everyone to come look. Now it looks just like Dr. Oz said it should. A little personal but perfectly round and formed! I was just released from my surgeon's care and I feel great. The incisions healed nicely. They're still a little red. I wish you all the luck and like I said in my other post, take it easy and listen to your doctor. Be selfish and let everyone wait on you.

[RobinA]

Teriann: P.S. I see your name is Summer of 63. So if that means when you were born, we are the same age! I was born July 4th, '63

[Summerof63]

Hi Robin:

Thanks again for all of the information. I am happy to hear you are doing so well. I am fortunate to work in a home office unless I have travel so hopefully I can be back to work in three weeks. Desk, phone, computer. When I had my last surgery I worked in bed- not to bad of a deal. :-) We are the same age! I was born August 27, 1963. Wonder what else we have in comon- maybe we are like the twins, Danny Devito and Arnold Swartzenager in Twins. LOL

My doctor told me I should plan on 5-7 days in the hospital so I have bought a few pairs of cute winter pajamas to help pass the time in. Did you say you were in for three days but wished you stayed the fourth day? I am in no hurry. My hubby and 17 year old daughter did a fine job last time but.....well I hope they don't get burned out. My mom may come to Arizona from California to hang out and help. I told her I needed my mom this time. ;-)

Kind regards,

Terriann

[RobinA]

Here's what else we have in common! I have a 17 yr old son. My mother and sister live in Phoenix. I live in NJ. We all migrate to AZ eventually. I was in the hospital Thurs-Sun. I had the choice to stay and leave on Monday. My back hurt so much from the hospital beds I just wanted a good night's sleep in my own bed. On Monday I really regretted not staying another day. The toradal that you get as a shot becomes a pill and your morphine pump becomes a percocet. Which I can normally tolerate. But because I wasn't eating too much they were making me feel sick. The doctor wasn't able to call in another script because it's a narcotic and the hospital is over an hour away so picking up a perscription from his office was not going to happen. So I switched to Tylenol and finished the toradal.You are only supposed to be on Toradal a total of five days which includes your hospital stay. When I finished them I took Advil & Advil PM to sleep. Honestly by Thursday (one week post-op) I was feeling pretty good with just Advil. I ate small portions of white toast, scrambled eggs, chicken, canned veggies, mashed pototoes and for some reason I craved rice krispies! I followed a very low fiber diet. I kept telling people I was eating like I just had lapband surgery. I stayed away from red meat for the first week. Strangely, I have lost my desire for steak and fried foods. I still enjoy hamburgers though. I think you start to judge your food by how long it stays in your system. Another great tip in the first few weeks of recovery was to use a small foot stool when you sit on the toilet. It really helped because you are not able to bear down. The best advice my doctor gave me was to drink water. Lots of it. It really keeps things going. I hope you're able to get this surgery done laparscopically. It really helps with recovery. Just keep in mind it's a very deep surgery and everything has to adjust. On the bright side, I lost ten pounds!

[Summerof63]

Wow! We do have a lot in common! It would be a big change from NJ to AZ but nice to be near family. My daughter is graduating high school this year. I am excited but sad too. The plan is for her to stay home and start at Scottsdale Community College then transer to university once she is acclimated to the scene. I am so okay with that!!

Thanks for the food tips. That was going to be my next question to you. At this time the plan is to do it laproscopic I hope beyond hope that it goes as planned. I thought about trying to cook some meals to have on hand but it sounds like meals will be simple- I am going to get a box (or two) of rice crispies. That sounds good and very low in fiber. I like the perk of losing 10 pounds! I did already lose 8 pounds from my hysterectomoy but I have a feeling it is mostly muscle mass. ugh! Has your weight stayed off? What do you do for work? I seem to remember you said it was hard to sit.

Well it's fun talking to you- I am thankful for the info all of it.

Terriann

[RobinA]

Terriann: I am checking back to see how your surgery went on Dec. 2nd. I hope all is well. Please let me know how you are feeling. I still feel great and I'm about three months post-op. To answer the weight issue, about six pounds stayed off but everyone keeps saying it looks like more. I wonder if it's because my stomach doesn't look so bloated. Have a "restful" wonderful holiday.

[Sharon9]

Hi, I am a very active young 72 year old female. I had my laproscopic resection surgery two weeks ago and and am still having digestive pain. I am on hydrocodone split in half at least 4 times a day. I am eathing a low residue diet but started eating melon today. I seem to be constipated and having very uncomfortable ( 3 or 4 ) bowel movements a day. Am also having pain urinating. For some reason a Uralogist assisted and put in splints during surgery. I spend about half the time of day in bed, it seems more comfortable to lie prone but I also take a walk twice a day. I see my Dr. next Tues. Does anyone have any hints about easier elimination. I thought I would be in better shape by now. Thanks, Sharon

[RobinA]

Sharon, be patient, rest and drink tons of water. I hurt right after surgery when I urinated. It will get better. I cant stress enough about drinking water. It really was quite amazing how much it helped in the bathroom because you can't really bear down. Go slow with introducing foods. Eat small portions. I remember feeling like someone who just had their stomach stapled.