Hi KNKLHEAD!

I'm so glad to hear you're being discharged today, I was wondering how the surgery went.

Take care of that peristomal skin right from the start with some sort of barrier (Eakin or Adapt rings) and the manufacturers will send lots of samples for you to try until you find the brand and system that works for you.

Enjoy the meds while you can, get lots of rest and keep us updated!

Woohoo! Congrats! I had a relatively "simple" surgery a few weeks ago and felt great while in the hospital. Then I crashed for a week, haha. I think it was the steroids they gave me in surgery that helped me feel so good!

great news. I had my surgery last Wednesday. I went ahead and had j pouch removed and bottom stitched up. released from hospital yesterday. I am feeling much better than I thought. just sore in midsection and tired. and a little depressed, but I am trying to look at the upside. immediately after the surgery, I did not have any pain in the j pouch area. and I have only had to empty my appliance 4-6 times a day. when I spoke with my surgeon the day after surgery I asked him how the pouch looked. he said it looked very pissed off and that I had a lot of scar tissue on the back side of pouch which made it more difficult.

Hi, Troy and others. Best wishes!

Today I am back to work. I am lucky to have a work-at-home job! No pain meds today, slept in to about 9:30 am and up once to empty at 5:00 AM(I am impressed!). The output was thick pea soup today after pasta last night, so happy with the change of consistency for now.

I am seriously considering walking (20 minutes!) on the treadmill (my wife is going to kill me.)

Issues: My chest and sinuses feel a bit congested, I feel like my ears are plugged a little and I sound funny. (feel fine.) I have stopped taking Levoquin, orders when I was discharged, and a note into the doctor how to be sure it doesn't develop into anything.

Also, on my third Hollister (the one that I put on in the hospital -- sorry to say, all the ones the nurses put on leaked, but they tried -- and that one has been leak-free. There is a bit of stinging underneath and I'm thinking of putting a new one on, just to see if there is no leakage around the stoma, but inside the appliance.

Thanks for all the support!

Sounds like things are working as planned. You could have picked up a respiratory virus in the hospital (best place in the world to catch something!), so I would not worry about stopping the antibiotic; at least not yet.

Now, why would your wife kill you for taking a walk on the treadmill? Should be perfectly fine since you did not have your legs operated on. Walking is the perfect post op exercise. It is what you'd be doing if you were still in the hospital. Best thing in the world for your heart and lungs. As an old surgical nurse, I approve!!

Jan

Ha, ha. Thanks, Jan! The doctor said no driving for two weeks .. etc. (I need to drive on the 19th for business.) I can't blame my wife, I've been in some tough shape on and off for the last few years, and she's afraid of me over-doing it. I am very tired of being a sick person!

With your approval I put the Olympics on my Acer S7 Ultrabook and walked a good pace for 20 minutes. Pretty easy. I will continue to do it daily and I may up the pace.

Good for you! Best thing about the treadmill is that if it feels like it is too strenuous, you just turn it down or get off. Not like going on a long hike that you have to walk back from, even if you are wiped out.

The thing with driving is that they don't like you doing a lot of flexing of the hips and abdomen right after abdominal surgery. Of course, if you drive an automatic, that is less of an issue. Plus, if you are taking pain meds, they don't want that liability. I will tell you that I was driving in less than a week after my hernia repair, but I am not the best example to go by. Still, it was just around town.

I have a big LCD TV in front of my treadmill. My husband thought he'd rather just enjoy looking out the window. He found out that after about 10 minutes, he got bored and just watched the timer on the treadmill display. So, I always have a bunch of shows recorded on the DVR to keep my mind off the marching...

Jan