The Colon Club

I just had a lar colon resection on Friday 5-12-2017. I was discharged Monday 5-15-2017. I have 6 incisions. 4 smaller lap sites, 1 slightly larger, and one larger one where they removed the section of sigmoid colon. It was a rough couple days but I am feeling improvements daily. My system began working quite quickly after the procedure. I am having some issues finding things I can eat but the surgeon says this will just take time and adjustment. My procedure was done robotically and took 6.5 hours butt the surgeon was very pleased. They took 2 lymph nodes and we are waiting on pathology results for them. Hope this helps. Lots of prayers for you as I know how you are feeling.

There's another thing you might check on before Friday. This is whether they will have you using compression stockings while you are in surgery. If so, do they have a size big enough to fit you and provide the correct level of graduated compression?

http://www.webmd.com/dvt/tc/compression-stockings-for-deep-vein-thrombosis-topic-overview

http://www.webmd.com/dvt/tc/compression-stockings-for-deep-vein-thrombosis-references

What happened in my case was that they gave me a pair of these stockings just before surgery, but they were really too small for me and it was too late to go find a bigger size. Do you know if they are planning to use something like this during your surgery?

Congratulations on the surgery, sgost. It sounds like all went as well as could be.

Thanks again for the input, Jacques. One of the first questions I had for my surgeon weeks ago was whether they would be using compression during the surgery. The answer was yes.

I'm having terrible gastrointestinal upset from the protein shakes they are having me drink this week. The same reaction occurred two weeks ago when the surgery was scheduled for May 5th. I have to figure this out before this causes yet another delay.

mpbser wrote:...I'm having terrible gastrointestinal upset from the protein shakes they are having me drink this week. The same reaction occurred two weeks ago when the surgery was scheduled for May 5th. I have to figure this out before this causes yet another delay.

Do you know the composition of the protein shakes? There are many posts on the Internet relating to alleged protein shake allergies. Are you allergic to dairy products? To soy products?

It seems to me that the doctor should be on top of this if you have already had this reaction before. Maybe a different type of protein would work better.

What does your doctor say?

http://www.livestrong.com/article/250727-reasons-for-low-protein-levels-in-blood/

"Do you know the composition of the protein shakes? There are many posts on the Internet relating to alleged protein shake allergies. Are you allergic to dairy products? To soy products?

It seems to me that the doctor should be on top of this if you have already had this reaction before. Maybe a different type of protein would work better.

What does your doctor say?"

They are Ensure which is mostly corn syrup and whey protein. I also tried Body Fortress Super Advanced but that is also mostly whey protein and low sugar. I have the same reaction to both although it seems worse with the Ensure.

My wife just ran out to CVS (local pharmacy) and got a vegan based protein shake mix but it tastes so disgusting I want to vomit. So, she went back out and got Nestle ProNourish "for people with digestive sensitivities." It's gluten free, has no corn syrup, no sugar alcohols, and "is suitable for lactose intolerance." I am not lactose intolerant. These are still made with "milk protein concentrate" which is just a moniker for whey. They are our last option except for kefir which my wife touts and drinks on a regular basis.

The recurring problem only happened yesterday afternoon as yesterday was Day 1 of three days of the doctor's prescribed 4 shakes a day prior to surgery. I did not have a chance to call his office. My wife will be calling them this morning to explain what is happening and ask if kefir may be substituted if I continue to have an adverse reaction to the ProNourish.

Tomorrow, all I am supposed to do is have "clear liquids" and four of these protein shakes. I'm not sure what this could possibly mean besides water. I am on a low sodium diet due to edema and cardiovascular issues so it certainly can't mean broth which is nothing but salt water from a nutritional standpoint anyway. I'm hoping that I can have the kefir if everything else has failed, since I understand that having nourishment pre-surgery is quite important to avoid complications and for speedy recovery.

mpbser wrote:"...They are Ensure which is mostly corn syrup and whey protein. I also tried Body Fortress Super Advanced but that is also mostly whey protein and low sugar. I have the same reaction to both although it seems worse with the Ensure...

For your information, Forum member MissMolly has mentioned the Ensure problem in some of her previous posts, and she has proposed an alternative called Vegan Orgain, which is apparently available a certain grocery stores:

http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=53382&p=422401#p422401

http://www.orgain.com/

mpbser wrote:...My CT showed "irregular protrusions posterior medially which is concerning for tumor invasion into the pericolonic fat." Does this mean that the surgeon might have difficulty doing the separation laparoscopicly due to pericolonic invasion? My surgeon was very ambiguous on this issue. What has others' experiences been?

From what you have said about possible tumor invasion into the pericolonic fat suggests that you might be staged eventually as Stage III-C, which has the following description:

Stage III-C - The cancer has grown through the wall of the colon or rectum and is attached to or has grown into other nearby tissues or organs (T4b). It has spread to at least one nearby lymph node or into areas of fat near the lymph nodes (N1 or N2). It has not spread to distant sites (M0).

This should all be clarified once you get the pathology report from the surgery,

Orgain tasted awful. I can't drink it or else I will vomit. That's what my wife picked up this morning as a possible alternative when I mentioned "vegan" protein drink.

The Nestle stuff isn't as bad as Ensure but is still giving me mild cramping.

My wife asked the surgeon's nurse if kefir would be an acceptable substitute. Of course, the nurse was unfamiliar with it (it's only one of the most nutritious sources of calcium and protein in the world) but when wife gave her the ingredients "milk, pectin, vitamin D, and probiotics" the nurse said OK. I can also have apple juice so wifey picked up some, organic of course (that's my wife).

For your post-surgery recovery you might want to invest in an abdominal binder to prevent an incisional hernia at the incision site where they remove the resected length of colon. You can check with your doctor to see if this would be appropriate in your case. If so, maybe you could find a local medical supply shop where they sell these sorts of things.

http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=53704#p426283

Thanks, Jacques. That link directed to O Stoma Mia's helpful comment about how to be careful about getting out of bed. I will definitely keep this all in mind.

Good luck with your surgery tomorrow--even if you are anxious about it, and who isn't before such an event, just know that you will have a mental weight lifted as well as the physical loss of the tumor. Keep us posted on how it goes!

Good luck hope it all went smoothly..

I was in the hospital for a week. The surgery itself went perfectly. My issue was that my kidneys decided they were going to take a nap for three days. No particular reason why. Docs couldn't figure it out. Had some ultrasounds of my kidneys, nothing. After a nap, they decided they'd join the party and start working again. Typically I'm told 3-4 days for a colon resection. It also depends on what surgery you are scheduled for, mine was robotic. Good luck!!

Hi everyone,

This is mpbser's wife, CV. It's funny that beck1965 should mention the kidneys going to sleep. That's exactly what happened to husband yesterday (20 hours after surgery or so). His creatinine level is elevated (1.9) and albumin level is low (3.2). The surgeon came in yesterday morning and told us this and expressed his mild concern about his congestive heart failure (CHF) as kidney functions often reflect heart function. Then, yesterday afternoon his blood pressure was dropping and he experienced dizziness when standing up to go for one of his walks. He is also close to hypothermia, another symptom of CHF. He hasn't been on his blood pressure medication since Friday morning so all these factors together caught attention.

We are hoping he just is having lower than normal (for him) blood pressure due to the tramadol he is on (every 6 hours). The kidneys are probably exhausted from dehydration as he did not drink nearly as much water as he should have during the day before surgery plus the pre-surgery antibiotics cleared him out via diarhhea. His catheter is still in and his urine was looking much more normal by last night when I left the hospital. Low body temperature could be due to exhaustion as he was up most of the night Friday night, the night of surgery, chatting with my aunt who is head of nursing for a large hospital network throughout the southeast U.S. I learned through the grapevine that at one point the night nurse accused them of "sounding like they are having a frat party" in his room.

His spirits are up although the surgeon saw a "scar and spot" on his liver so took those out. We should know in a couple days whether they are malignant or not. Praying they are not.

mpbser wrote:Hi everyone,

This is mpbser's wife, CV. It's funny that beck1965 should mention the kidneys going to sleep. That's exactly what happened to husband yesterday (20 hours after surgery or so). His creatinine level is elevated (1.9) and albumin level is low (3.2). The surgeon came in yesterday morning and told us this and expressed his mild concern about his congestive heart failure (CHF) as kidney functions often reflect heart function. Then, yesterday afternoon his blood pressure was dropping and he experienced dizziness when standing up to go for one of his walks. He is also close to hypothermia, another symptom of CHF. He hasn't been on his blood pressure medication since Friday morning so all these factors together caught attention.

We are hoping he just is having lower than normal (for him) blood pressure due to the tramadol he is on (every 6 hours). The kidneys are probably exhausted from dehydration as he did not drink nearly as much water as he should have during the day before surgery plus the pre-surgery antibiotics cleared him out via diarhhea. His catheter is still in and his urine was looking much more normal by last night when I left the hospital. Low body temperature could be due to exhaustion as he was up most of the night Friday night, the night of surgery, chatting with my aunt who is head of nursing for a large hospital network throughout the southeast U.S. I learned through the grapevine that at one point the night nurse accused them of "sounding like they are having a frat party" in his room.

His spirits are up although the surgeon saw a "scar and spot" on his liver so took those out. We should know in a couple days whether they are malignant or not. Praying they are not.

Please tell him that I am thinking and praying for a speedy recovery! I too was very dehydrated... low uterine output and that awful preoperative regiment! Felt better the next morning after drinking tons of water!

Beckster