Colon surgery Next week----soo confused

[guest]

Hello people

very simple question , I am stage 2, having surgery next week, healthy otherwise, is it a real dangerous kinda procedure?I know I know every surgey had its threats but I just wanted to ask if its harmful enough to kill me during operation?

[georgemma]

Hello, Guest -- Welcome! What type of procedure are you scheduled to have? I need more information to help you. If you are having a pre-surgery check-up at your surgeon's office you should discuss your fears with the PA/nurse/doctor you see. Knowledge is power, and that should help with the anxiety. Ask about post-surgical pain and what your options will be. I look forward to hearing back from you --

[PGLGreg]

Nah, you won't die. After all, I and many of us reading this have had this operation, and not one of us died.

[Terry Miller]

Hi,
I can speak for a good old, run of the mill colon resectioning.... mine, which incidentally was 8 years ago Friday, was far easier than I had ever anticipated. I was in the hospital for 7 days and the 5th day was my only bad one as I attempted to eat solid foods for the first time. I vomited for most of the day, but by that evening, things were getting manageable once again. A part of the problem was that I had had my gall bladder removed at the time of the surgery. That was quite an adjustment for me. There are risks with all surgery, but the benefits are tremendous. I wish you well as you continue your life as a survivor.

Sincerely,
Terry

[Bryan S]

I was pretty much like Terry 6 days in the hospital then home. Not as much pain as I thought but that may be due to the morphine drip they gave me. After I got home the only reason I took pain medication was for my back not for the incision. I will tell you that once home if you drop something let it lay there someone else can bendover. The other thing is and you may as well tell them now is that you will not be able to wipe yourself and you will need that kind of help. I do not know if the laproscopic procedure is as bad as the older style like I have for this but the recovery time is shorter. Good Luck

[seussfan]

I had 8 inches of my colon removed (the right side) in emergency surgery. I was in the hospital for 11 days, but 2 of those days were spent getting blood transfusions because I had lost 2/3 of my blood volume and was severely anemic.

Because your surgery is planned, you will have a shorter stay and have less chance of infection. They will clean out your colon before surgery to insure less chance of infection. I was not so lucky since my surgery was an emergency.

I was relatively pain free in the hospital. The thing that hurts the worst is coughing and sneezing. Laughing isn't too much fun either. My back hurt a lot because I couldn't stand up very straight so it put a lot of strain on my back.

You will do fine. Think good thoughts and surround yourself with family and friends. They are the best medicine.

[irish]

You will do fine. I just had the surgery in January. Could have gone back to work into 5 weeks (depending on what you do). The hardest part for me to get use to was the stoma and appliance.

Website that I found very helpful is www.smile.org.au .
Found this better than some of the US sites.

Good luck with your surgery and my prayers are with you.
Irish

[pjpeace]

How do you do with getting put under? Most people have no problems at all...my sister chucks her wheaties when she comes to. everyone is different but there's a butt load of us survivors who have had this surgery and worse!

Had two surgeries so far. The first was a resection of my colon and the next was to get the rest of the tumor out. If you get an epideral those are a great thing for pain (if you are a whoosie like me let the Anthesialogist hook you up man). Get to know your pain scale...so they can best help you out. Keep up on the pain meds b/c if you don't and it gets worse it's much harder to get it under control again. you'll be perscribed some good stuff for about a week b/c your body will hurt pretty good for about a week after surgery. this was typical for both of mine.

Ask how they are going to be closing you back up too. The first surgery I was stapled and the next one I was sewed up so tight nothing was gonna fall out! if they ask to give you a belly thing if you get stapled TAKE IT! i wish i had one my first surgery! second one nothing was coming out man. If you get stapled back up they remove them sometimes before you leave the hospital or in a couple of weeks. it feels like getting your eye brows plucked out and you want a nurse to do it. everyone says this b/c they are more gentle with ya!

you are going to be super wipped out if you have a resection. it takes a bit to get your energy back the way it used to be but every day gets better and better. About 2 months to really recover and then you can still be regaining energy. it takes about 6 months for your insides to really get back to normal.

ever see that Gray's anatomy where they were passing out cause the chic was toxic when she was getting her resection? Stuff gets kinda moved around when they put it all back in from a resection. so your body will do some adjusting. doesn't hurt just is weird.

let us know how it goes! ask ask and ask questions. it seems a whole lot scarier than you think. you are going to be ok. i was freaked out for my first surgery but you are good and knocked out. so it's just like going to sleep and waking back up again.

best of luck!