Recovery can easily take six weeks- try to be patient with yourself. A gangrenous bowel can kill you, so you're having a pretty good result (comparatively). Make sure to stay well hydrated, and good luck!

Dana be patient!  You just had major major surgery. You have two kids, that alone will make you exhausted!  It takes a long long time to recover from this time of surgery.  Get plenty of rest especially when the kids are in school. Feel better!

Thank you for the positive messages. Unfortunately I am back in hospital today. CAT scan shows a blockage, but they were able to stop the pain this time. When I had the surgery they gave me an ungodly amount of pain meds and nothing worked so hoping I won't be in here long. 

Hang in there and feel better quick!

Scott is right Dana, 

Survival is rare when you hit Gangrene...especially internally...where you cannot see it to treat it...you have been through the trenches here, gangrene, mega doses of pain meds, surgery, resection of your small bowel (and no, they never take just a couple of inches, they do 'safety margins' to make sure that they did not miss anything...usually up to a foot on either side (depends on the surgeon)...Their job is to make sure that the disease does not return, you digestions is someone else's job...

So you are dealing with resection, dehydration (less bowel here to absorb), shock, anesthetic, yet another blockage...you are going to be in pain, sore, exhausted and just plain 'flat' for quite a while...so call in all of those chips & markers that you have out their...Get the neighbors to pitch in with the kids, grandmas if you've got them, friends, family and anyone but the milk man...you need help, now....

You can pay them all back once you are back on your feet but for now, use those that you can, and beg, borrow or steal sympathy and help from those less willing to pitch in...it will do them some good too.

PS...let those kiddies draw pictures on the floor beside your bed, fetch and carry for you and help you with whatever You need...They will stay busy and be thrilled to help mom.

Sharon

Wow, your words moved me to tears. Thank you for understanding. 

I hate clichés but this is a 'keep your eye on the prize' moment for you...I don't and you shouldn't care about how long it takes today. Worry about how your getting up and overdoing things now is going to affect your future healing.

Over doing things before you are healed is just not smart. Not for you or those kiddies...you want to be around and healthy for the big stuff, this is just little stuff, get past it, heal, give yourself a margin of manoeuvre, meaning a few extra days to get over the worst of it and you and they will be better for it later...

No one is going to remember that you sacrificed your future by doing laundry 7 days post op or that you managed to vacuum the whole house 2 weeks later...they will remember you having to go back in 6xs for various repairs because you overdid it and tore yourself to bits.

Hot tea, hot soup, warm hugs and baby love...

Sharon

Thank you.

Hi Dana, 

I recently went through something similar.  At 4am on Feb. 24 I woke up feeling like my gut had ruptured.  The pain would not subside and went to the ER around 7am (after the kids were awake).  They said I had a partial blockage, I didn't want the ng tube so went home to tough it out.  Not surprisingly I wasn't tough enough and was back in the ER the next day, got the ng tube and waited 3 days and it never corrected itself.  I had bowel resection surgery and now feel similar to you what you are going through.  I was in the hospital for a week after surgery before my bowels would even start working again.  Now I'm home and in pain and taking longer to recover than thought.  I also have 2 young kids (1 and 4) and a job that I need to go back to at some point.

I do agree with post above that you have to ask for help during this time.

sorry I don't have any advise, but there are others in the same boat.

Adam

Adam427-

Shortly after my post I ended up back in the ER with a blockage and I believe it was a blessing in disguise. I also refused the tube and after the pain subsided the blockage cleared itself, but of course I had to stay a couple days. Turns out all my electrolytes were dangerously low. After I left the hospital the 2nd time I finally started to feel better because I was given iv and vitamins.

My suggestion is to drink Pedialyte, Gatorade or whatever it takes to get hydrated and see if that helps. Also, since I am new at this blockage thing I find that drinking a full glass of water and walking (around house) helps a lot. 

I hope you feel better soon. 

Dana

Speaking of getting people to help when you're recovering, is a great idea. My boyfriend he takes care of me because it's hard for me to do things. I can't even carry any heavy things anymore because I'm so weak majority of the time. My mom and boyfriend carry the groceries in. My roommates also help out by doing the household chores and cooking for us. It is hard for my boyfriend to do everything himself, so it's good to have help. My roommates or my boyfriend bring me food and drinks to the main bedroom. It's really nice to have such nice in my life. My point is that most people wouldn't have problem with helping you. If they don't want to help or have a problem with helping you, you might want to stay away from them. Anybody that truly cares and loves you would be understanding in that you need help. Don't be afraid to ask for help. I hope you get better and please don't over work yourself. I have that problem too because recently I tried to clean the bathroom. It was not a good idea because I got dizzy, so I had to stop. Anyways have a good day or night (where I'm at it's 12:03 am but I don't what time it is where you live). If you ever need somebody to talk, you can message me if you want. Sorry my post was so long.