My bags are packed...

Good for you! Sending good thoughts your way. Don't forget SOFT toilet paper!

Good luck!

Good luck! All the best wishes for tomorrow!

Good luck!

Gin

Had mine done 12 days ago. In hospital 1430 Wednesday, out 1300 Friday.

Compared to the first surgery, it isn't a big deal. One thing I have learned in the last 12 days is that metamucil is my friend. Sure I have the baby wipes, butt cream etc etc, but metamucil changes acid rain to a much milder sludge that comes right on out without leaving a burning residue.

Now I'm 60 so i thought there might be some issues, but so far I am delighted with the way things have turned out, I'm hoping it just gets better from here on in.

All the very best and I hope your results are similar or better than mine.

Good luck...
Sharon

Good Luck and hear from you soon!

Thanks y'all.

Surgeon said it went well and that there was very minimal scar tissue, etc.

Now just waiting for things to wake up, the calm before the sh%t storm so to speak.

Pain so far isn't terrible, walking the halls, etc.

But I'm flipping hungry.

Well, about 24 hours out from surgery, they moved me to a full liquid diet & everything woke up in a damn hurry.

Going a lot (volume, frequency is about every 2 hours right now), very liquid and a lovely deep shade of green. But I can hold it for a bit. Dozed off a little while back and woke ready to go. So that's good.

No burn yet, just great cascades of green liquid every 120 mins.

Onward.

I hope they give you a sleeping pill or sedative. I remember they did that with me the night before surgery, and I had not asked for anything. They just came in my room and told me to take it. I assumed they wanted me to have a good night of sleep and not to be stressed out. It worked. I slept well.

I had my takedown on Monday.

Right now, liquid is pouring out of my reconnected plumbing.

Not unexpected, but disconcerting.

Well, everything went sideways last night.

Massive cramping, vomiting, spiked a fever, chills, voluminous liquid output etc.

Waiting to find out what's up

Bummer! Hope it's not an ileus.

Jan

I had a postsurgical ileus after step 1.....hope it's not that. They do suck, but you will survive it.

All. Know right now is that I feel like hell, my blood pressure is super low & they're fixing to send me for a CT.

Fingers crossed this is not a leak! Much worse than a simple ileus...

Jan

Jan,

Why would you think this is a leak? Symptoms?

Fever, chills, low BP. Could be any number of things, but when it is in the early post op period, you think infection. Wound, respiratory or urinary tract.

It is quite possible to have an uncomplicated ileus and a resiratory or urinary tract infection simultaneously. It is possible that you even came down with a viral syndrome post op. Not good timing, but possible. The CT should sort things out. At least you are still in the hospital so they can be right on top of it.

Jan

Charmin makes a toilet tissue with aloe for sensitive skin that is wonderful. You should also look into a bidet. I have one in both bathrooms and a portable that I take with me. Got them all from home depot.

So,

I had a hematoma in the abdominal cavity, but they don't know why or where it came from. No sign of leaks in pouch, etc.

They cleaned it out, but had to open a larger center line incision and give me an NG tube. I can't eat/drink anything for at least a couple of days & I'm going to be in the hospital longer than the original 4-5 day estimate followed by longer healing time of incision, etc.

I guess that is the good news/bad news thing. Excellent that it is not a bowel leak. Also excellent that they found the source of the symptoms quickly and drained the hematoma. It would surely have led to a serious infection otherwise. Bad news is the complication leading to more confinement.

Hope this is the end of the bad news and you get good news only from now on!

Jan

I'm tryng to see it that way. Because they can't locate the source of the bleed, the parade of docs is getting longer.

And they forgot to change the orders, so I got a blood thinner this AM and a Vitamin K shot this afternoon.

I just my reversal and im getting the same symptoms as you
but my surgeon is refusing to give me a xray to find the problem

I hope they get this all sorted out and you get rid of the NG tube soon. Extended stays are exasperating....hospitals are not a place to get rest.

All the best to you too Hawker

Out of ICU, foley out, NG tube still in.

Getting a little grumpy from not eating, but glad to be out of ICU.

With nothing by mouth since Wed, I haven't really tested the pouch. After waking from the second surgery, I had some mucous leakage that I couldn't control, but that seems to have abated. What little output there is from the pouch would best be described as granular and it is controllable.

Pain is manageable, maybe a 4 on my personal threshold scale, which seems to run high.

Gas pain especially is diminishing, though belly is still distended. I want to walk more, but it's something of a production with the NG tube. Hopefully that comes out tomorrow.

Hawker,

I don't know the specifics of your case, but I was in pretty considerable distress. My surgeon is a VERY conservative guy & I am still a little surprised that he opened me up again so quickly. Part of that decision probably resulted from my rapid deterioration. I was walking the halls restlessly a few hours out of recovery and had put a few miles on the pedometer the next day before things went pear shaped. Within a couple of hours, I went from Model GI paitent to curled up in a fetal ball, trembling, shivers, etc.

Glad things are on the upswing. Hard to be patient, I know. There will be plenty of days for eating.

Jan

Was just told that the cultures taken from the hematoma came back positive for two different strains of E. Coli.

And onward I go, waiting for the surgeon to come by and not really tell me anything.

Apparently I have to wear a sort of hazmat suit when I want to leave the room. Fashion forward to the limit I am.

Try not to wig out about E. Coli. It is the normal gut bacteria that is in all of us. It is the super-virulent strains you read about in the news that are deadly. Most likely, you had a bleed at the anastomosis site and some gut bacteria leaked with it. It happens. You bleed briskly and by the time they are aware of it, your body has already sealed the bleed and leak. It is a common source of these deep pelvic abscesses we talk about. The good news is that this was caught early and the bad boy evacuated quickly.

The main thing to be concerned about is if there was enough infection in there to cause adhesions to the point of being problematic. But, cross that bridge if you come to it. In all likelihood, things will progress normally.

But, complications are a real bugger to deal with, both physically and mentally. So, try to keep that positive attitude going. It will serve you well.

Jan

Thanks Jan.

I'm just sick of nothing in this process going all that smoothly. Nine and a half months ago, I'd barely heard of colitis, and here I am stuck in the hospital again.

I actually feel pretty good, other than the gnawing hunger and the raw throat from the NG tube. I just want to put all this on my rear view and get my life, or some reasonable facsimile of it back.

I guess all this not eating is letting the pouch heal some without having to work much. Maybe that's the silver lining?

Take your silver linings where you can get them. When I was recovering from my pelvic abscess I was taunted by this Taco Bell sign on a huge pole outside my window and they must have had Taco Bell commercials 50 times a day on TV. Even the stupid hospital food made my mouth water when the meal carts came around.

But that sore throat from the NG tube was the worst.

This WILL be in your rear view, just not according to your plan!

Jan

Damn near mugged an orderly when I saw him with a tray that had dinner rolls on it.

Being hungry is always a good sign. I had similar complications to you after step 1 (ileus, infection and very high WBC count, NG tube, extended hospital stay), didn't eat solid foods for 8 days, and really gained an appreciation for being able to eat. But you will need to take it slow with your diet and slowly wean up from liquids to solids. The sore throat from the NG tube will suck, but that will go away too.

When I've had NG tubes in the past I always ask for chloraseptic spray, the stuff you can spray down your throat when it's sore. Worth a try if they haven't already set you up with some. Seems like a minor intervention but I know it always helped ease my throat discomfort. Just a thought.

Yeah,

Got the spray, and it helps, but it ain't a cheeseburger... I had my last real meal a week ago yesterday at dinner. Made it through about 36 hours of clears and then full liquids before the kibosh of the NG tube.

I wonder if I'm getting charged for just room and not board?

That is a great question. I work at a hospital and I can tell you all patients regardless of their diet are charged the same. So if that's the case with you as well and you have visitors, have em send up the tray so they can eat it. You're most likely paying for it anyway. That being said, I know I tend to get a little crybaby pissy pants when I haven't eaten for days so maybe you don't want others eating "your" tray of food in your room. I think that might push a guy over the edge.

The food ain't that good to be asking for it. It simply looks good to ATXGuy because he has not eaten anything. Compared with Plan B Burger, or any decent restaurant, that food is total crap. It is low end cafeteria food. I have been in many hospitals and none of them are serving haute cuisine. So the truth is, he isn't really missing anything.

Except basic nutrition. I generally have my family bring me in takeout at least once day when allowed. I made a bunch of homemade stock before this surgery for the clear liquid days & it's just sitting balefully in the freezer at home.

It's lame that I'm getting billed for food I'm not eating.

quote:

It's lame that I'm getting billed for food I'm not eating.

Sounds like unjust enrichment to me. I would at a minimum gently inquire about whether the charges can be waived by the the hospital, as you are paying for something you aren't receiving. Although it does cost something to IV you, so don't know how those costs offset. Maybe you can ask what the per diem is on running an IV. They get credit for that, you get credit for the food charge, wash the two and see where it comes to after that. Then offer them that and see what they say.

Your IV should be giving you electrolytes and some minimal nutrition. I was also on an IV for about 8 days and not happy about it but also not able to do anything about it. And unlike you, I had a roommate, a man suffering from leukemia whose wife brought him in Chinese takeout every day per his request, butterfly shrimps, shrimps with lobster sauce, fried rice, moo goo gai pan, etc. etc. It was a horrible torture for me to smell that food, because I love Chinese food. And in fact my parents smelled that food too and asked my roommate's wife where the restaurant was and they went there and ate and said it was superb. It was a few blocks away from the hospital....you don't need to walk very far to find good Chinese anywhere in NYC.