The Colon Club

So I had my first bm yesterday. It was very painful. Lots of stabbing pains,I could barely stand to get to the bathroom. It was softish with a fair amount of blood. I had two other bm later in the day that were liquid mostly and not as painful. All night and early morning,its3am right now,I have had a lot of gas pains,I can feel stuff moving in my intestines. Every movement inside feeling like a knife. My stomach is swollen and hurts from the slightest touch. I also feel as if I can't empty my bladder. That pain you get when you really gotta go or you've held it to long,that's constant. I've had a slight fever, adegree or two above average the last two days with it breaking while I sleep,covered in sweat. I'm just wondering if this amount of pain and discomfort is normal after a colon resection? Do I just tough it out?

No, you don't tough it out. You call your surgeon and if you can't reach him/her, you go to the emergency room. Don't take chances post op, especially if you have fever.

That pain was normal for me, but I had open surgery. I surely didn't forget any of my pain meds, during the first couple of weeks. Again, I had some urination problems, and was given some pills to help in that area, that related to prostate. I would be concerned about the fever, and check in with your doctor about all of this. Your paying him to keep you as comfortable as possible, during your recovery. It's good your having movements, and yes they can be very painful at first. Things should settle down. Now that you are getting bowel movement, you will probably be very irregular, which is normal. Hopefully your pain will calm down in a few days, but remember, it was major surgery.
Regards,
Michael

I had open surgery, I spent 11 days in the hospital in a ton of pain. My tummy was distended so much from gas I looked and felt 9 months pregnant, I lost 15 lbs due to their ice chip only diet. I had runny BM and a ton of gas. The gas pain lasted for months and was so uncomfortable, I used suppositories too help move things along.

But with all that going I NEVER had a fever. Call your doc and it does get easier. A new normal to say, for me it seems I have to go BM about 15 minutes after eating, I'm on the fast track

I had my surgery at the end of may, no pain anymore


Angie

What KarMel said. If you have a fever, call your surgeon. If you can't get the surgeon go to the emergency room.

KarMel wrote:No, you don't tough it out. You call your surgeon and if you can't reach him/her, you go to the emergency room. Don't take chances post op, especially if you have fever.

I agree with KarMel. It's better to be safe than sorry so have it checked out. I had pain after my resection but it doesn't sound as bad as you described. No fever either.

I recently had a subtotal colectomy and had night sweats and episodes of fever at home after being released. It turns out I had a huge abscess that required hospitalization for IV antibiotics and drainage. It sounds as though you may have the same problem, though I don't know what to think about your other symptoms. Don't wait to contact your doctor or go to the ER.

Best,
Jeremy

I had open surgery and didn't have any blood from start, a lot of pain, cramps, multiple bathroom runings, and never fever. First few days after surgery I had such fever as you and during these first days i also get antibiotics IV. It is not normal, and with days I was less distended (first few days I didn't believe it is possible ti have such huge tummy), and you are more distended and painful.

Ok. Just got home from the er. Had a ct and some morphine,which doesn't do much for me. The ct showed normal surgerical trauma,inflammation etc. It also showed the endometriosis is right against my internal sutures which may be cause more extreme pain. They were also suspicious of a uti but my urine was fine. It hurts to pee like a uti does so I'm going to go ahead and treat my body like I do. Cranberry juice. They said they could admit me for a better control of my pain of go home and take the full dose of meds for longer. Also said I was dehydrated. So more liquids,more pain meds,relax and stop pushing to be better to fast. I'm an impatient patient.

if you are dehidrated it means you drinks way to little water - my surgeon told me to drink 3 liter per day - water or tea, there are cranberry pills, juices were forbidden after surgery for 3 months.

I'd go to the hospital or at least call your surgeon. take care of yourself.

I would not be comfortable waiting with: stabbing pain, fever, blood in BM.

I had some pain and distress with BMs, especially as the stools became firmer. Stool softeners (not laxatives) helped that a bit. Keep an eye on your temp. I was taking Lortab which includes tylenol. I had a post op infection, it turned out the tylenol was holding my temp down to 99 or so. When I went a few xtra hours without the meds my temp shot up to over 102. Readmission to the hospital followed.

justjessica wrote:So I had my first bm yesterday. It was very painful. Lots of stabbing pains,I could barely stand to get to the bathroom. It was softish with a fair amount of blood. I had two other bm later in the day that were liquid mostly and not as painful. All night and early morning,its3am right now,I have had a lot of gas pains,I can feel stuff moving in my intestines. Every movement inside feeling like a knife. My stomach is swollen and hurts from the slightest touch. I also feel as if I can't empty my bladder. That pain you get when you really gotta go or you've held it to long,that's constant. I've had a slight fever, adegree or two above average the last two days with it breaking while I sleep,covered in sweat. I'm just wondering if this amount of pain and discomfort is normal after a colon resection? Do I just tough it out?

Hi Jessica, what your feeling is normal. My husband had his resection two days before you and had horrible stabbing pains/bloating/watery stools....everything you described when he came home fromt he hospital (day 6 after surgery). It was so awful to watch him be so miserable. He also had a slight fever as well. Everytime he ate anything..just a few bites of something it would get so much worse. This is what helped him recover VERY fast (he is now one week home from the hospital and eating very normal again and feeling great)

1. eating a low residue diet. Please refer to http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/low-fiber-diet/my00744
The minute we started feeding him like this, he was like a new person and his appetite got back to normal very quickly.
2. Taking his pain pills. His surgeon had given him pain pills but he refused to take them at first (because he does not like pills) but he started taking them because I suggested they may actually help the pain in his colon...and they certainly did! He took just one, not two (Loratab) every 4-6 hours for a few days and now he is just down to one when he needs it (which is not that often). I think the colon is inflamed/in pain from the surgery and the pain meds took the edge off quite a bit but CAUTION, take them with food (he would eat two saltines or something like that) or you can get quite nauseated.
3. Gas X (chewable gas medication you can get at any pharmacy, contains SIMETHICONE). Really helped take the edge off of all of the gassy air in his stomach. He took that for just a few days but now no longer needs it
4. lots of walking and lots of water. As much as both of these you can take
5. I made a special smoothie for him that is low residue. It has anti-inflamatory properties,probiotics, and electrolytes. It has seemed to REALLY help and also stimulate his appetite again. The basic recipe is:
1/2 cup of fat free organic greek yogurt
11 oz. of coconut water (I use vitacoco, you can read about it here if you dont know what it is http://vitacoco.com/)
2 TBSP of Flax seed oil (helps with inflamation inside the colon and is very soothing)
Protien powder-vanilla flavor (I use this one http://plantfusion.net/ and I got it at whole foods but you can also buy it online, I also think just any good quality whey protien powder with a vanilla flavor will work as well)
handful of ice
I give him two of these a day and his energy level has gone through the roof, his appetite has gone up, and pain level gone down quite bit! I would try it if you can.

He is like a new person right now and you will be too! Good luck!

Thanks for a place to come and talk, vent, and get information. My 88 y.o. mother just had a right hemi-colectomy, this past week. Although she is a strong individual, this surgery has really gotten her down. It will be a week on Monday, and she is still on IV drip, with lots of gas pain, and very little bowel movement. They have her on pain meds and iron , which slows down her bowel process. I was wondering if anyone has heard or was given any simethicone ( liquid form) ( while still on IV line drip line) to help pass the gas, and in turn would decrease her pain and discomfort. I was going to speak to her Dr about this.

It pains me to see her in such pain.

Tumor : 10cm
Ascending Colon
Biopsy: 1 node out of 37
Stage: IIIA