So my takedown is tomorrow. Im nervous to be honest. This past several months has been the first time in a long time where i havent felt perpetually sick! Im looking forward to having the ostomy off, yea - im just not really sure what to expect. Will i feel like i have colitis again for a little bit (until i adjust to the pouch)?

Can anyone gimme an idea of what im facing here? Any advice for the adjustment process?

Thanks!

Hi

I wish you all the best,
Dont expect perfection right away (that was my mistake). You are going to have a tough time in the beggining and things will improve slowly. Your body I think goes in shock when you are first connected, its telling you that nature did not intend your rectum to be made of your small intestine.
I am doing much better now. Just start off eating bland foods and work yourself up. Get barrier cream and a sitzbath and use soft toilet paper and most important BE PATIENT

Good Luck

A couple good questions in addition to this:

1. will this be a more frustrating recooperation than my first operation.

2. are there any supplies i should get in preparation? Will i have control issues - will need depends or anything like that for a while? Immodium? Pain killers? What is going to be helpful here?

thanks

Hi

1. It depends on the person, for me step 2 was way more difficult. You need 6 months to a year to be in full working order, or so thats what I am told.

2. Yes buy depends especially if your ride home is long. I needed them for the first week.
Your doctor will let you know whether to take immodium because I believe they do not want people to take any OTC drugs for the first couple of weeks. You will be getting pain medicine at the hospital and a prescription to take home. I found that I still do need pain meds when I have really bad BB or if my belly hurts, when I stretch It is still quite painful. Bring a barrier cream and soft toilt paper to the hospital. I use calmoseptine now. But I would ask the Dr. what he reccomends first.

Jay,

Congrats on your TD tomorrow! I hope it goes well and is uneventful for you. Recovery time/pain will depend upon your surgeon and how things were in step 1. I had a 3 step procedure and I think the TD was more painful - simply because they really yanked the fascia when they closed up the stoma site.

I hope you have read some of the posts on the site discussing post TD issues. Everyone is different, but I hope you have your eyes open going into it. I didn't know quite what to expect and was a bit disillusioned for the first few months. Expect:

1. Some pain (not horrible, but more than you might think)
2. Diarrhea, really loose stool - for weeks or even a few months
3. Possible nighttime accidents - this really varies by person. Lots of people have problems once or twice in the hospital. Others have problems for several months. You just have to deal with it
4. Lots of gas
5. Lots of trips to the bathroom. Again, this varies greatly early on. Some lucky people start out only going 5 times/day. Others are going 20+. So don't be surprised
6. Depression is possible. The mental adjustment to living so differntly is tough - but keep in mind it will get better over time
7. Butt burn. Oh yeah. Inside your rear and maybe outside too. Pat, don't wipe. Use ointments to protect your skin. If you burn inside, find a good "cooling" (menthol) ointment

Just keep asking lots of questions.

As stated above, bring some soft TP and flushable wet wipes to the hospital with you. (Cottonelle makes good ones). Ilex or calmoseptine will help with butt burn. Also, I brought Ritz crackers for when I was finally able to eat, because the hospital food is gross. Any easily digested starch will do. Ritz worked for me.
Good luck!

Jay,

Hopefully you will have a smooth road out and you only have to deal with minimal issues. I have been very blessed because the issues I deal with can be pretty relentless and irritating, but I wouldn't call them painfull like the colitis was, or the first surgery. Or with alot of the issues that can result from this whole ordeal.

I have a little squirt bottle that I got with my ostomy supplies and I use it when my butt is really tender from going so much, BB, and itching. Kinda like a mini bidet!

Calmoseptine is what works for me during these times also.

I would suggest you keep real good track of what you eat for a while, you will know within 6 to 12 hours if it bothers you. I am 8 months out and still have issues with raw veggies and fresh fruit. I can have very little.

Your doc will let you know when you can have Immodiums and supplements. I take immodiums 2 x a day and I take probiotics.

I was only in the hospital 2 1/2 days for my TD and didn't have any pain, gas, blockages at all. I hope the same goes for you. What part of MI are you from? What hospital is your surgery at? I had mine at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak.

Good luck and Godspeed.

My surgery is at beaumont in Troy. Out of curiosity who is your GI? I've had really good success with Dr. Lynch in Rochester Colon & Rectal. My first surgery went well enough that they felt a 3-stage surgery was not needed (which hopefully works out).

Ive been feeling pretty good for a while now, so all this stuff is a bit discouraging to think about, but i thank everyone for the advice.

My mind has gone from:

'so scared of having my colon removed and having an ostomy that i would almost rather die'

to

'a miserable 5'10" 120lb 60-day hospitalized anemic man that really didn't care anymore'

to

'80million times better - even with an ostomy'

and now its a bit frightening to think i may be in for another year of hardship. Yes, i would prefer not to have an ostomy hanging in front of my stomach for the remainder of my life, but at the same time, it's just been nice to be back to a relatively normal 165lb guy this past year.

God-willing, this will work out well though (and im certainly thankful to God that Im still alive and able to use more time now to serve Him in some way before I do die). Months of hospitalization definitely puts things into good perspective.

Thanks everyone for the advice.

I felt great after my second step. I hope your transition is not hard. Just take it easy with food to start out with. You'll be living life sooner than you know it.

Michael

Check out the myspace jpouch site love to meet new people

http://groups.myspace.com/jpouch

so far the second surgery (takedown) has been more difficult to recover from but it feels great not having to wear an ostomy. more than pain, its just annoying having to goto the bathroom a lot, deal with some butt burn, gas pains, not being able to eat everything, lack of sleep, etc...but they say it gets better, its only been about 3 weeks for me so im waiting for it to get better, lol. i think patience is what everyone stresses so try to make the best of it with the time you have off.

Hi there -

Everyone is different (sick of hearing that yet?!) but just wanted to give you my situation:

- Had takedown 3 weeks ago (7/16)

- Was in hospital 2 nights; took pain meds only on night one. Pain was almost non-existent

- Started out with having 12 BM's a day, but now only have about 4 or 5 during the day. The "crappy" part is that I have 3 or 4 at night. So in total, I am at 8 a day, and I couldn't be happier.

- I have not had one incident of butt burn yet and I am eating anything and everything. some people just don't experience this and I guess I am one of the lucky ones.

So I think as others have said to go into it NOT expecting perfection and then you'll be happy with the outcome. I've probably had it a bit easier than most and I couldn't be happier with my life right now.

Good luck!
Lisa