Takedown was yesterday and successful. Now of course I will have to wait a month to totally be in the clear of any internal leakage but the surgeons said everything went great.

The incisional pain at the stoma site is a lot more than I expected, and I still get very very tired all of a sudden. I'm not handling liquids as well as I did after my first surgery but I am working on it.

I already had two BM's today but they were more like a bunch of fluid. This is my biggest complaint so far, when I woke up this morning the sheets were COVERED and drenched in yellow liquid. I kind of knew that maybe I was leaking as I felt it a bit last night but didn't know it was that much. Also, earlie today I woke up to goto the bathroom but as I did I leaked again and it got all over my gown and legs! GROSS.

Anyways, I am assuming that once this liquidness goes away I will have full control and continence. I did see some solid stuff in my stool (don't know why) and I held all that in until the toilet.

Other than that, it just burns like hell to pee right now since they pulled out the catheter and I dry heaved three times while on the toilet cause I felt like vomiting.

This second day has been rough so far but I'm trooping through it. I always think the day of surgery isnt so bad but the second day is the worst. Hopefully, I will improve dramatically by Monday for my fligth home.

All the nurses and my parents keep looking at me in a nasty way telling me to drink my full liquid diet. I keep trying to explain to them that after the dry heaving incident I am scared to start eating/drinking again as I felt bloated. I am eating chicken soup and stuff slowly but my mom is so frustrated at me...<sigh>...nothing like family drama to greet you when you wake up from surgery, haha

well if you have any tips and stuff i'd apprecaite it. thanks for hearing me out. this surgery isn't a TOTAL breeze but i think i'm doing well still.

Hey Aashkab -

I'm about three days ahead of you (had takedown on Monday); I haven't had any leaking, so I hope that gets better for you...

Right now, my doc has me on soft foods for the next week at least, so I feel your pain on the diet, although you'll hopefully be able to introduce things other than liquids soon.

Good luck - I still feel bloated and pretty gassy four days out, which is my biggest complaint; guess we all have to have something.

Hey Aashkab,

Long time since I've talked with you. I didn't know you were going in for your TD! Congratulations!

I didn't have leakage like you're talking about, but many people did for a few days like you. I had a few problems at home due to not waking up in time - but that went away after a month or two. So don't be surprised if it happens after you think it's stopped. Not a big deal and should get better.

I'm surprised they are pushing you to eat if you are vomiting. That's kind of a tell-tale sign that your digestive system hasn't awakened yet. I hated the bloating - ugh! And the gas continued for weeks while things healed up.

Be patient with your body. It will get better - don't get discouraged.

Eating after anaesthesia is always frustrating.
You will get your appetite back when it's ready. I ate sara lee petit croissants (in the freezer case), small, not overwhelming, it is difficult to have too much put in front of you when you are out of surgery.
go at your own pace. trust your own body and everyone should understand that though they mean well they did not have the surgery.

Hey, I hope your feeling better as you read this. I had the same problem with the nasty yellow leakage for the first few days in the hospital and then again for 2-3 days upon arriving home. It was usually just in the night when I was able to sleep. I have been able to control myself perfectly since then, no accidents at all in between surgeries.
I know it's gross but it should improve for you. My first REAL poo felt like the way those pop rocks candies used to feel in your mouth - kinda bounced around and didn't hurt but it was really weird feeling. After that it turned into the diarrhea we all know and *cough* love.

I had the same dry heaving crap, I think thats just the way you feel after abdominal surgery. (since it's happened to me all three times) I also had a lot of acid reflux for the first few days, which made me very nauseous. I was very happy with my nausea medicine
My doctor told me not to eat until I was ready and I wasn't ready for my liquid diet for a few days. At home, I added nice soft squishy foods very very slowly and learned what as good and what was bad. I wish I was able to access the internet at my hospital, no fair!!
A question, do you have all the nurses constantly telling you how young you are to have so many problems like I did? I'm 27 now and had my take down last August. I wanted to tell them that I didn't FEEL very young! Feel better, and if you can't sleep or want to hollar about nurses in the night, feel free to write me!

Sarah
boss@flyte.org

I'm also surprised that they're insisting on you eating when you're heaving. Just to get them to listen to you, just say, "Since I've been dry heaving I am concerned about an ileus. I prefer to be cautious just in case that occurs." (Ileus is the word you should emphasize.)

I think it's even more important that you get up and walk as much as you possibly can. That gets things moving and can help prevent ileus (I think). An ileus can mean inserting the NG tube and you probably don't want to do that if you don't have to.

I'm glad your surgery went well.

kathy

Things should start to settle down soon. I agree that you should hold up on the liquids as long as you're nauseous. The same thing happened to me and they were going to insert an NG tube. Fortunately, things calmed down, and I didnt need it. Try to walk as much as you can, that should wake things up. Hope you feel better soon.

janna

Hi Aashkab! Congrats on surviving TD so far. Sorry the stoma feels sore - it's normal, but yes, uncomfortable for a while. I was given chilled Fortimel and drinking yoghurt for the first couple of days. I threw up bright green bile but then that's how I react to general anaesthesia. So sorry you're leaking. I put on the biggest adult nappy/diaper I found in the hospital and waddled around with a backside that made Donald Duck's rear look positively elegant. Better than risking messy sheets. I hope you improve rapidly and that you can start enjoying life without a bag!