I am so glad to have found this site and to find out what y'all are going through.......
. I've been doing a lot of googling and searching online to try to figure out how long it will take to recover from my colon resection.
I am 47 yrs old and had a HAL colectomy on 4/11/12. Doc removed 18" of my sigmoid colon due to numerous bouts with diverticulitis over the past few years. I was in the hospital three days, on pain meds, antibiotics, etc. On the third day, I told the doc I wanted to go home (just couldn't take being in the hospital - no rest!). As I was recovering normally, he allowed it. My surgery went fine and I love my doctor. The first week at home was VERY rough. I took the pain meds and slept a lot. The second week was a tad better and got even better after my staples were removed. Since then, I have had some good days and some bad. I HAVE found that no matter what I eat, I have terrible pains (comparable to labor pains!) in my abdomen about 30 mins to an hour later.....most of which result in a trip to the bathroom. I have not had problems with diarrhea but have had gas and bloating and have been constipated a time or two. Like another writer here, I have also felt food as it traveled through my intestines and colon. I read somewhere that the lack of length in the sigmoid colon results in a lack of water to help with the moving of stool. That makes sense so thanks to whomever noted that information!! I do seem to be thirsty a lot and am drinking a lot of water. I still get tired quickly but did manage to cut my grass with my self-propelled lawn mower today with no problems at all! YAY! It's back to work next week.
I truly hope everyone here feels better soon..........goodluck and thanks for sharing!