Hello all. It has been a long time since I posted here. My husband Scott was an
UC sufferer for 18 years. He had been on a waiting list for surgery and we got the call the last week of October and had surgery Nov.2. This was the first of 2 surgeries and now has the temporary ileo. He came out of OR saying he was screaming with pain - they had given him IV epidural during the surgery...Did this not work?? He had been very anxious that entire weekend and totally morphine crazy. On the Sunday afternoon the 4th the nurse gave him some Benedryl to help with his "itchies" and he was off to have a nap. While napping his body decided to shut down. Keep in mind, this is a healthy 35 year old male who had a no probs before surgery. Initial diagnosis was Pulmonary embolus which than lodged his coronary artery which than caused his heart to stop. One week in ICU and four more weeks in hospital than he had the go ahead to come home. He of course suffered acute renal failure which thankfully responded very well to dialysis and other treatments and therefore doesn't have that issue to deal with anymore. The surgeon feels as though the clot didn't stem from the abdomen. The first few scans showed the clot and than of course it dissipated. The doppler done in hospital showed no more clots. His heart appears normal. The last talk with the surgeon before leaving the hospital he said that his heart went into an abnormal rythmn. Too many different reasons?? If there was a clot shown in the lung upon the first few scans, why would he think that wasn't the issue?? To the present... Scott for the most part is healthy. He has not much energy - understandable. He has had 2 incision sites being packed daily. He is now at 30 mls of metamucil 2 times /day, 2 immodium 4 times/day. The last few days he can't seem to get away from the liquid stool, no matter what. He has been on Ciprofloxin 500mg 2/day, which we are wandering may be causing the assumed diarrhea?? His biggest complaint would most likely be the pain in his feet, ongoing not really any relief. He soaks them, I massage them, it all feels good at the time but it comes right back. He used to get the same sort of foot pain right before a flare up. Now for the last 2 days its affecting his hips. Any suggestions?? We meet with his surgeon on Monday to "check in" and discuss his next surgery, as regardless of his complications he is going ahead with it. Does anyone have any ideas on questions we should ask?? Any advice on things I have mentioned?? Thanks so much for your time in reading this, we appreciate any input you may have.
Catherine

I am so sorry to hear about all your problems. Regarding the epidural they mayhave put it in too high, they may have missed the part of the spine it needed to go into, or it could have fallen out. The heart problems-wow-I just don't know what to say. Did he receive heprin shots after the surgery (it is a blood thinner)?

Regarding foot and hip pain I have experienced this too. For me it was due to a lack of nutrition. I needed to start taking a multi vitamin and that cleared it up after a few days. I would ask your doctor first before runnning out and buying vitamins since your husband has had a series of complications.

Good Luck,
Erica

This nearly to what happen to me but I had to go back in because I was bleeding interanlly and went into a coma my suggestion to you and him is to stay in close contact to the surgeon and such.

Also take it easy for ahwile the healing process is going awhile i'm 33 by the way..
I was in hosptol for 2 months and had to learn to walk again.


Tell him to listen to his body take his meds etc drink lots of liquids and eat right he should be better in no time.


As far as his foot I do went through that it was a complication they said was he swollen???
have him get physcial therpy it will help my foot is better not 100% but I know what pain he is talking about and feel for him.

any questions PM me this sounds all to familiar not everyone goes through this but I have experinced this..

Good luck have a speedy recovery.

Hi Catherine,

I don't want to worry you but if the foot and leg pain coincided with him starting on Cipro then I would get in touch with his doctor asap and stop the Cipro. He could be having a reaction to the drug which can be perminent if he carries on taking it.

Cipro always gave me more watery stool and made me feel worse. Perhaps he could try a different antibiotic such as Flagyl?

Good luck and let us know how he gets on.

Take care

Shell

Hello again and thank you to all for your input. Jeff at some point we will pm you and share experiences, etc. No he has no swelling of his feet, otherwise given his circumstances we would have seeked medical attention. We will consider the physical therapy and up his fluids some more. Shell, thank you. We stopped the cipro this morning without consulting with surgeon or doctor, I read up on it and my Gosh!! So thanks again, we will see what his surgeon suggests tomorrow. Erica - the epidural they had given in through his clavicle. No he had not been given any heparin until after the fact and in ICU, again there were no issues prior to surgery and no signs before his p.e.. We will discuss about nutrition/vitamins, he has been on Replivite which is more b&c vitamins, but thanks for your input.
Thanks again to everyone for taking the time to read and check in, we appreciate all feedback. Stay healthy,
Catherine

Could it be lack of salt? Mandy had terrible pains in her legs, post surgery, and that's what it was.

OK, one thing for sure, there is no way he had an epidural if the catheter was at the clavicle!! This is a subclavian IV and is a central line for intravenous fluids, medications, and blood draws (depending on how many ports it has). An epidural is always inserted next to the spine around the level that you want the anesthesia. For abdominal surgery, it would be around the mid-back. The catheter is then taped in place and it does come up and over the shoulder, but that is not where it inserts. So unless you mistook the end of the catheter as where it inserted, this was not an epidural.

Anyway, it is not likely he will have similar complications now, because his state of health is improved. Even though you say he was healthy going into surgery, obviously he had problems, or he would not be having the colectomy. UC is associated with clotting disorders, so I would chalk up his complications as UC related. Now that he has had this time without a colon, the take-down should be better.

Did his diarrhea and foot pain improve after stopping the Cipro?

Jan

Hello all. Thanks again for all the replies. And yes Jan, I ooped big time, and yes, it was the catheter line. His diarrhea hasn't really subsided, and the foot pain is a real problem still. His surgeon didn't know what to say about his foot pain and the nephrologists comment about the cipro was she has never had anyone respond with foot pain. He will hopefully start some physio with ultrasound therapy next week. Thanks for your input and we do hope the takedown is much smoother. Copperhead - Scott had his surgery at St.Michaels in Toronto. thanks again for your replies.
Cat

Cat,
Please try prescription potassium for leg pain. Usually your doc can call it in to the pharmacy. Cipro can cause this deficiency. It worked for me.
Try a low residue diet for the diarrhea. Hope the healing process is smooth. Good Luck!

Cat, I personally don't believe in taking anything unncecessarily. If blood work specifically done for potassium levels does not show a deficiency then look for answers elsewhere.
There are also foods high in potassium if that's the issue, like bananas, although you would have to eat many if it is really a deficiency.
Just something else to consider.

Hi again, and thanks again for the input. Barbie and Always Sunny - Scott had issues while his kidneys were in acute failure and needed a low potassium diet, as of now, the diet doesn't require that. We get most recent blood results Monday and will look into the levels, and discuss with the MD. Thanks so much again for the advice. Stay healthy,
Cat

I would not rule out IBD related arthropathy with the foot and hip pain. If he had recently been on steroids and they are tapered off or low, it could be from the steroid withdrawal. I had terrible hip and shoulder pain coming off of my prednisone; so much that they had to check me for avascular necrosis. Luckily, it was not. 10 years later, I have IBD arthritis with sacroiliitis and am under treatment of a rheumatologist. So, do not assume it is some passing thing and keep asking for evaluation if it does not resolve.

If the diarrhea does not resolve, make sure to get C. difficile infection ruled out. It is getting more and more prevalent in hospitalized patients. It can take multiple tests to get a positive toxin result. There are very few antibiotics that it is sensitive to, and Cipro is not one of them. Flagyl or Vancomycin are pretty much it.

I am sure that he has had enough blood tests to know if he has a potassium deficiency. But, potassium can definitely run low in the presence of diarrhea.

Surgeons can have a tendency to have tunnel vision and can have a hard time seeing beyond their surgical field.

Jan