1st surgery in less than a week!

Hi there,

Good luck with the upcoming surgery. I hope all goes well for you.

As far as recovery goes, everyone is different. It really helps if you are not to sick going into the surgery. I was pretty ill so my recovery from step one was a difficult one.

I really did not want to see anyone at first as the pain was pretty high and i was quite doped up. It got better at about 3-5 days for me. Most important thing to do is get up and walk. You might not want to, but it is incredibly important.

As far as when i got home, It was about a week to 10 days before that happened. Once home, i was able to handle stairs and showering. Driving did not happen for about 3-4 weeks. Be careful with what you eat and drink plenty of fluids.

This is a tough surgery and will take some pretty considerable time to recover.

Best to you

I agree with the pain being high.
You most likley will not want to see anyone right after surgery.
My wife and two sons were in the room after my surgery and all I remember
is alot of pain and being doped up so much you cannot communicate anyways.
Best thing to do is wait till day two to see anyone.
At least that is how I felt.
Everyone is different.

Not sure what your first step is but my first step was the proctocolectomy and the j pouch creation. So it was a lengthy surgery that took 8.5 hours. To be honest, I don't remember the first 24 hours after surgery, that's how doped up I was. I don't remember my husband being there but he was. I don't think you'll want visitors.

If your first step is just the colectomy (and you will have the j pouch done in the 2nd step) then you won't be under anesthesia for near as long and may be pretty coherent after it's over.

They told me no driving or lifting anything heavier than a gallon of milk for 6 weeks after surgery. I'm sure the no driving thing is because of the fact that they send you home with pain killers to take.....usually a 30 day supply. You can go up and down stairs and shower once home. You just need to keep your incision out of direct contact with the water stream.

You'll be really doped up that night, hard to predict if you'll want visitors or not. I was "high on life" (mostly dilaudid) after my first step, so happy and bubbly, couldn't sleep at all, just wanted to start walking laps and chat with my friends. Conversely, after Step 2 I was in a huge amount of pain and took a long time to come out of the anesthesia, so I was so tired I could barely open my eyes until the next morning.

Basically it's hard to predict, so I wouldn't recommend having them come until the day after.

You'll be able to walk stairs immediately. I washed my own hair in the hospital (~4 days post-op). You can drive as soon as you're off of pain meds, which for me was before I left the hospital. Depending on your incisions and recovery it might be hard to twist around to check your blind spot for a week or two. It's a good idea to bring a little pillow with you that you can place between the seat belt and your lap since that area will be tender.

I was in the hospital for 12 days after my first surgery. I was in great pain too after surgery but my husband and mother were there and I was grateful to have them in the room "just in case" I needed something and the nurses weren't right there. My surgery was also about 8 hours and my husband said it was 3-4 hours after my surgery ended before they were able to see me in my room. They didn't let anyone into the recovery area.

When I got home I also had the restrictions of no driving (due to pain medicine) and no lifting > 6 lbs. I was able to take showers/wash my hair but it was very difficult because you are so worn out it is hard to stand up in the warm water that long. I had to immediately lay down after showering to recoup.

I wish you the best of luck with your first surgery, it will be hard but each day will get better.

Take care.

You will probably not want visitors for the first day at least. I know that even 3 days after my operation I was totally out of it and kept saying the most odd things. I was only able to sustain visitors for about 30 minutes before I needed a nap.
I was in the recovery room for about 3 hours before I went up to the ward. I did manage to call my parents to let them know I was OK but that was about it.
Good luck.

There's a big difference between visitors who bring implicit demands (for attention, conversation, whatever) vs. those that just don't. I was very pleased to see my brother in the recovery room, and my wife on day 2, but I had nothing for anyone else for a couple of days at least.

There's a difference between "visitors" and the one or two people who are your primary support. I would advise all visitors to hold back until at least the next day. The last thing I wanted were well meaning family or friends dropping by to wish me well. I had tubes in every orafice, multiple IVs, monitoring equipment, and nurses messing with me every 15-30 minutes.

I was happy to say a few sentences to my husband, then let him take a nap in the chair. If you are in the ICU, only one person can come in at a time. I was in the ICU three days.

Jan

I had surgery in a hospital far from home and was glad. The last thing I wanted was visitors with that new bag on my stomach. Like others, I was pretty drugged up too. I really just wanted all my energy to go toward healing and getting strong again.