No energy!

Hey Eric been reading your posts I just had my second kpouch done by Dr.Cohen I am healthy a ready to go. I have a ton of energy and I am only two weeks post op. The tube comes out this Monday Dec. 17 and if everything holds I am back to work this Janurary.This has been the best recovery I have ever had but I have never been down for more than a month with no energy. Good luck hope you get over what might be dragging you down.

You shouldn't have high liquid output.....you sound like this may be diahhrea. Your electrolyts are probably low. Have you been checked for pouchitits? Pretzels and gatorade sound like a good idea. If you are taking Magnesium supplements, make sure you aren't taking too high of a dose...as this could give you diahhrea. Applesauce and peanut butter are good thickeners too. Another thing is food sensitivities....food journal might help. Probiotics are good to take too.

Another thought is depression setting in...with everything you've been through, I would wonder about that too. That could be lack of energy too.

Happy Holidays to you too, and I hope you can go to West Virginia.

Hi sweetie,
Have you been taking any vitamins or suppliments? I tend to go for the liquid or chewable kind...GNC has liquid B's that I like (we tend to need them being that the terminal ileum is what usually absorbs the B's if I am not wrong), a chewable adult multi and some good mineral compounds that could be part of the problem...My usual morning routine is 1 dose of liquid B's, a chewable adult vit (Costco has some good stuff too), a supplimentary Cal/Mag/D or some such mixture Chrome/Copper...I do do other mixes seasonally to deal with various problems but that helps me a lot (I take iron too but I have been chronically anemic)...you may want to ask for a full pannel to see what is going on in there but PTSD can pull a lot out of you too and lower your energy and your immunity too..if you like you can hit a good health food store (or the bulk store) and get some good quality peanut/nut butter, some dried fruits (I like cranberries, cherries, raisins etc and then I blend them with some nut butter and sesame seeds or other goodies and make my own energy bars that way...you only need a couple of tablespoons worth to give yourself a lift...Also juicing can help too...try carrot pineapple for a kick...the other thing that you might want to check out is Omega 3/6 or fish oils...I took halibut or salmon oil for years post pouch creation and it did me wonders...
As for the farting, mine does too on the rare occasion when I let myself overfill so stop letting it overfill! (you can also take beano or gasX to keep the gas production low)...
Hugs sweetie
Sharon

Dehydration symptoms are brutal. Especially fatigue. check potassium levels.

And, iron and vit D levels.

and, b12.

I found if any of these are low or in the very low end of the blood range, I am pooped (pun intended).

Remember too much plain water dehydrates you. We need salt and electrolytes. You can drink water and toss back some sea salt (1/2 tsp). Sea salt has natural electrolytes and it's no calories!

Also, real lemon juice squeezed into water is packed with minerals.

Get better and have fun!

Never mind, I think I've, like the idiot I am, have figured it out, it's the Percocet. I'm still taking it for pain, but I notice when I don't take it I'm all sweaty and lethargic, until I go a day without any, then I feel terrific. I've been taking multivitamins, caltrate D, omega 3 and Mg supplements for years now, I also get testosterone injections every two weeks. Seems I just have to suck up the pain, it's better then dealing with exhaustion, this really is quite a journey, one that I pray soon ends, my body, and soul, can't take much more! Thanks guys, hugs!!

Eric

PS - my emotions are STILL all over the place, guys aren't suppose to cry, but when I was watching the tragedy in Connecticut unfold, seeing all those poor poor families destroyed by the actions of one psycho, I fell apart, I had to shut the TV off, I just couldn't watch any more. Normally, I'd just be sad, but I would have never fell apart like I did, what the heck? What's the connection between a K pouch surgery and my wild emotions? My family doctor attributes it too years of pain, suffering, and surgeries finally crashing down on me with this last surgery. I think he may be onto something. While I dealt with my past problems the best I could, I think I just suppressed a lot assuming things would be just fine, but when I realized that I need more surgery, and enduring the most pain I have ever felt over the past 24 years since my first diagnosis at age 20, it was more then my psyche could handle. For about two months, after my k pouch, I was in agony, if felt as though something inside me, aside from my physical health, broke. I've tried so hard, all my life, to push it aside and try to live my life with letting those close to me know just how much pain I was in. Honestly, after the events of this summer, I felt like giving up, like I was in a dark, dark tunnel with a light at the end I could never reach. I've been moody, angry, and more depressed then I've ever been. Poor Freddy (my other half) has had to deal with my mood swings, I feel so horrible for being such a B$&#C to him, but I just can't help it. I'm already on Ativan, Citalopram and Buspirone, but it's not working as well, but my doc doesn't want to increase my dosage, he fears it might make it worse. I know it's silly, we've all been through this, I'm disappointed in myself for not being strong enough to cope with this. Granted, I'm doing better then a few months ago, but it ain't easy, guess I'm no where near as strong as I though I was. I just pray nothing else impedes my recovery, don't think I can handle much more right now. I know I'll need knee and hip surgery within the next year, my body is falling apart, all related to the years of UC and it's treatment. For now, I'd rather deal with the physical pain, that's easy, but this emotional roller coaster is more then my brain can handle, thanks for listening, I needed to get hat off my chest,

Eric

Eric,
I could create a group thereapy session for hubbies of K pouchers! Mine has lived through me, repeated pouch surgery and menopause all at once! Talk about a Nobel prize for Zenitude in a supporting role for post-op surgical nutcases! There are nights I am sure that he wished he had either put a lock on the knife drawer or on the pharmacy cupboard!...Post op is psyco-melo-drama in our house...I am the strong one going into the surgeries, he is the wreck...coming out I am decided and stoic and resistant...then comes that period when the outside looks healed but the insides does a meltdown...I am as edgy as a racehorse at the starting gate...I want to be painless, healed, acitve and 'normal' but it is way to soon to go square dancing or jogging or even back to work so I am bored and in pain and lonely and scared and all of the emotions just boil up and over and the first person to walk in the door at night gets both barrels...him. I cry at insurance company commercials and the news and cartoons for the kids (darn Lion King!) if you know me you know that I am a great cook so if I ruin the dinner (or not) and he makes a comment the whole pot goes into the trash along with the dishes and I go stomping off in tears...It lasts for about 6 months unless there are post op complications and more surgeries and then it is just a never-ending roller coaster of highs and lows and fear mixed with pain and terror...and of course the knowlege that I need more surgery and cannot afford it either physically or financially let alone emotionnally (been putting it off for well over a year now)...my valve is not broken but not perfect and my pouch is 'off the wall' so it sort of pulls on the already stressed valve...a quick fix would be to have the pouch reattached to the wall through laporoscopy (my French surgeon can do it here) but I can't even wrap my brain around the idea...So yes, sweetie, I do understand you and all that you are going through...It Is Normal. If ever normal there was for us, this is it...until we are all healed and well and back to an acceptable life that is...
Hang on to your socks for a while kid, it will get better...you just have to see about those articulation joints....can they not fix them with injections into the senovial fluid sacs??? Here that is the newest thing for arthritis...it is non invasive and recreates the fluid sacs that seem to deminish with time and disease...it is some sort of resin gel that lasts about a dozen or more years and gives you back the cushy feeling when you walk or use your arms/shoulders...can you look into it???
Hugs
Sharon

Eric, the percocet alone can effect your emotions. I'd switch to tylenol with codiene if you are still having some pain. And, it helps slow down the poo flow. It seems to not make me as emotional as it's not as strong. feel better.