Colon Resection Recovery

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Luis

Re: Colon Resection Recovery

Postby Luis » Thu Nov 10, 2011 10:00 pm

I had colon resection surgery on 7/28/11 and spent 5 days in hospital. I also had my apendix removed. After being home for a week I developed an infection and was admitted for another 8 days. It is now 13 weeks since surgery and I feel a bad sensation in the area of the scar (I had open surgery) and I feel very sensitive in that area. I feel a pulling feeling and I am unable to button my pants or wear a belt. I would like to know if anyone has had similar problems. I also feel like a cold feeling or sensation on my private parts. Please respond if you are feeling the same so that I can know its a normal process.

jarrod
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Re: Colon Resection Recovery

Postby jarrod » Fri Nov 11, 2011 9:06 pm

I had my resection on 8/24 (took me 8 days to be released) and, like yourself, was admitted about a week or two later because of a very high fever due to an infection. However, I am not experiencing any of the sensations that you are describing. I hope I am not hurting more than helping by replying, but I do think everyone deals with the surgery differently? I would definitely describe those feelings to your doctor.

Luis wrote:I had colon resection surgery on 7/28/11 and spent 5 days in hospital. I also had my apendix removed. After being home for a week I developed an infection and was admitted for another 8 days. It is now 13 weeks since surgery and I feel a bad sensation in the area of the scar (I had open surgery) and I feel very sensitive in that area. I feel a pulling feeling and I am unable to button my pants or wear a belt. I would like to know if anyone has had similar problems. I also feel like a cold feeling or sensation on my private parts. Please respond if you are feeling the same so that I can know its a normal process.
Jarrod, 30, Disciple of Christ
08/03/11 Dx Sigmoid Carcinoma
08/24/11 Sigmoid resection
10/07/11 Port install
10/11/11 FOLFOX begins (2 wks for 6 mo)

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Craig B
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Re: Colon Resection Recovery

Postby Craig B » Sat Nov 12, 2011 5:21 pm

Luis,

I had my resection in December - by the beginning of February I was back in a - get this, yeast infection at the resection. WHich at the time I thought was funny and suggested they treat it with Vagasil - the doctors weren't laughing, after clearing up I was told that it was a deadly serious thing. Neither here nor there - again it's almost a year and my belly is still sore to the touch. It's such a delicate area and sooooo long to heal. I bought a lot of loose fitting pants - but then gained 29 pounds back since the resection. Just keep your doctor updated since we all heal differently - if S/he isn't concerned, then revert back to my statement. All the best to you!

Craig
DX 2a @ 46 12/27/10
T3N0M0 WD 0/17 LN
12/30/2010 Colon Resec
PwrPt 2/2011
3/28/2011 Started Folfox 5 BiW.
10/27/2011 Finish Chemo
11/10/2011 Scope CLEAN! 11/16/2011 CT/PET CLEAN NED!
11/13/2013 3 Yr Scope Ulcerative Colitis Discovered, inflammation NED
10/30/2014 Polyp Discover in UC area, at first thought to be Cancer, biopsy negative NED
11/04/2015 ??????

Jachut
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Re: Colon Resection Recovery

Postby Jachut » Sat Nov 12, 2011 5:33 pm

Surprisingly, out of all the elements of our treatment, I found the recovery from the resection and dealing with an ileostomy the easiest part. Physically, I found this a much less painful surgery than the iloestomy reversal, less painful than my relatively minor lapband surgery, and much less painful than a c-section. I virtually felt NO pain after the first day. I didnt wake up in recovery in any pain at all and I had a pain pump, which I kept getting told to use, but I honestly didnt need it.

Ten days after my resection, I went out for a gentle run. Before that, I'd walked a few miles daily. I think we're all very different, I do tend to have a fairly high tolerance for pain, well, not to be facaetious but I dont think childbirth hurt very much, so I guess I"m really lucky on that score, and I was extremely fit and my cancer was discovered before it had made me actually feel unwell or begin to deteriorate physically, so those are all factors. I had laparascopic surgery too which of course is a huge factor in how much pain you're going to be in.

for a week or two afterwards, I had a lot of trouble just walking around, holding a handbag. Shopping and being on my feet for hours was torture, I just HAD to sit down, yet I could run, which is weird, but I've always found being on my feet for hours cooking or shopping or whatever quite tiring in a way that exercise isnt. It took me about four weeks to really run properly and really by that stage chemo knocked me around so that five months after chemo finished, I dont feel I'm back to my phsyical best yet in terms of fitness and strength.

smoothielover
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Re: Colon Resection Recovery

Postby smoothielover » Fri Nov 25, 2011 8:53 am

Luis wrote:I feel a pulling feeling and I am unable to button my pants or wear a belt. I would like to know if anyone has had similar problems. I also feel like a cold feeling or sensation on my private parts. Please respond if you are feeling the same so that I can know its a normal process.

Hi Luis. I felt an odd sensation at my scar site (laproscopic but my incision was much larger than normal). It felt like my insides were going to spill out. That went away. I wore drawstring pants every day until it did (a few months maybe).

I had other weird sensations too that went away.
---------
My biggest complaints were--

1) Not enough time on disability--dr. said NY Disability won't approve more than 2 weeks for a colon resection despite my serious complications. Disability only paid for 5 days, and I had to fight for months to get them to pay even for that. I was in the hospital for week 1 and was prescribed narcotics for weeks after I returned to work. Had I taken them I would have been driving under the influence and fired....1 reason I didn't take painkillers.

For the next 9 months, I was in the bathroom every 10 minutes for months at work and embarrassingly excessive/untimely gas. I conduct meetings--I am the center of attention. You can imagine how it was. :oops: I also had post-cancer fatigue a few months in and could not stay awake. I fell asleep at work and almost fell asleep at the wheel while traveling for work. Dr. said oh well, it will go away, Disability won't approve any time off for this.

My coworker who had a planned pregnancy had an uncomplicated birth & went out on disability the same exact day I did. She was given an "automatic" 8 weeks on NY Disability (paid) and kept talking about how she felt great after 3 days and spent the rest of the time taking care of the baby. (NY Disability is just to cover one's own illness--it's not FMLA.) She got her check right away w/o a fight. (wishing there was a WTF emoticon :twisted: )

2) Very inaccurate recovery expectations. Treatment team said recovery is 2-3 weeks & back to normal. I am now on year 3 and I would say I became as 'good as it's going to get' at about 2 years. Had bouts of diarrhea and dangerous constipation for a few yrs. Dr. said oh yeah, some people have that experience but b/c you are young and skinny I didn't think that would be you. :?

I am still not 'back to normal' but it's under control. If I eat a big meal, eat rice or cheese, too much of 1 food, not enough fat, too much sugar/alcohol/salt, I am in excruciating pain the next day and am swearing like a pirate. :mrgreen: I have a high pain threshold but, I'm telling ya, this causes my eyes to go black it's so bad. But it's do-able--I only have that for 10 minutes a few times per week.

3) Dearth of info about what to do/expect. Had I been given some basic nutritional info I would not have had to find it out by trial and error. I asked if I could get a referral to a nutritionist and dr. said it's not necessary. I have since realized I need a lot of vegetable fat in my diet or I will have constant constipation followed by diarrhea. I noticed I functioned better when I ate more fattening stuff! Then I looked it up and lo and behold, the part of my colon removed is the part that digests fat. I probably would have felt better MUCH quicker if I knew even that 1 piece of info.

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Re: Colon Resection Recovery

Postby dezysmith » Fri Nov 25, 2011 11:16 am

I had a colon resection in April 2010 -- left colonectomy and complete hysterectomy -- 7 hour procedure, open incision naval down. I was back to work in 4 weeks part time and was up and walking around the day after my surgery, even went to the grocery store and was doing laundry a few days after I was home. I was in the hospital 4 days. I stopped the pain meds about 4 days after being home. Once the bloating was gone I started to feel better. My incision did open up, twice though and had an infection that took a long time to heal. That was the worst part of it for me. I had no appetite at all and ate very little. My bowels were like soft mush and I had a lot of gas that was very uncomfortable to pass. But by 6 weeks I was back to my regular routines, but like I said the infection took months to go away. I lost about 17 lbs. from the surgery and gained it all back in due time. Good luck with your recovery.

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horizon
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Re: Colon Resection Recovery

Postby horizon » Fri Nov 25, 2011 8:43 pm

kdee wrote:I had my resection on Oct. 2. 2011. I had sigmoid diverticulitis, ruptured and 6" was removed.
I'm in my 5th week of recovery. I still have some discomfort. I get a burning or pinching pain.
I think this is from my abdominal healing.
Before my surgery I was very active, running, weight lifting,etc. I'm certainly not up to that yet.
I can see from the posts that everyone seems to heal differently and at a different pace.
This forum was very helpful.


I ended up taking 3 months off of all physical activity after my resection. They told me to take two months off and then I got a port installed, which meant being benched for 3 more weeks. I started back slowly and after 2-3 months back at it I'm really starting to feel like my old self again.
I'm just a dude who still can't believe he had a resection and went through chemo (currently 13 years NED). Is this real life?

Deluxepackage

Re: Colon Resection Recovery

Postby Deluxepackage » Sun Dec 04, 2011 9:33 am

dezysmith wrote:I had a colon resection in April 2010 -- left colonectomy and complete hysterectomy -- 7 hour procedure, open incision naval down. I was back to work in 4 weeks part time and was up and walking around the day after my surgery, even went to the grocery store and was doing laundry a few days after I was home. I was in the hospital 4 days. I stopped the pain meds about 4 days after being home. Once the bloating was gone I started to feel better. My incision did open up, twice though and had an infection that took a long time to heal. That was the worst part of it for me. I had no appetite at all and ate very little. My bowels were like soft mush and I had a lot of gas that was very uncomfortable to pass. But by 6 weeks I was back to my regular routines, but like I said the infection took months to go away. I lost about 17 lbs. from the surgery and gained it all back in due time. Good luck with your recovery.



Wow! Sounds like my story! Just had 12+" of my colon removed and a total abdominal hysterectomy on November 16. Feeling pretty good overall, haven't had the need for pain meds since first night home, have had 2 or 3 bm's a day, but now feel pressure very low in my colon every time I stand up. I assume it's just gas, but it's a bit unnerving. No fever, no nausea, no vomiting, which is good. Have not walked much this week due to Seroma issues, so I hope starting
walking again will help. did you ever experience this?

michaelonH2O

Re: Colon Resection Recovery

Postby michaelonH2O » Sat Dec 31, 2011 11:23 am

kdee wrote:I had my resection on Oct. 2. 2011. I had sigmoid diverticulitis, ruptured and 6" was removed.
I'm in my 5th week of recovery. I still have some discomfort. I get a burning or pinching pain.
I think this is from my abdominal healing.
Before my surgery I was very active, running, weight lifting,etc. I'm certainly not up to that yet.
I can see from the posts that everyone seems to heal differently and at a different pace.
This forum was very helpful.

I had same sugery via laparacopy 12-19-11. My surgery went well and the recovery has been better than I expected. BM's are somewhat normal. the only significant pains are well described in your note, burning pinching pain well below the incision, by my scrotum. Entire groin area is numb below the incision. Other pain which i find odd, is serious discomfort when my bladder empties, where the pain increases as I am finished peeing. I was discharged after 2.5 days, and have been mobile since with several days of bed rest.

I was wondering if the pain in groin is a hernia related, everything seems to be improving well, except the pinching with simple leg movments which has not improved.

I was also very active prior to surgery, and struggling with activity limitations.
I feel incredibly fortunate for everything so far, I was simply wondering if a incisional hernia is something to be concerned with or if it is typical recovery.

Get a B.C.I.R. !!

Re: Colon Resection Recovery

Postby Get a B.C.I.R. !! » Mon Feb 13, 2012 11:42 am

I've always joked with people who've had lost either part or the whole of their colon, saying that they are now officially able to join my PERSONAL 'Colon Club!' How SHOCKED I was just now to see that there is 'Colon Club' online!! :o Thank you for this site! I struggled with Ulcerative Colitis for 25 years and FINALLY did something about it--my insurance qualified me for a B.C.I.R. surgery, and it was the best thing I ever did!! I'll post the link for it...

I have a question from my sister in law now-though. She had a 6" part of her colon removed 2 weeks ago and STILL has REALLY, REALLY BAD GAS PAINS. They're SO PAINFUL!!! I've read the last 20 posts and see that nobody's really had this problem. She didn't have the laproscopic type--she has a large incision. She said that she'd be feeling really great if it wasn't for the debilitating GAS!! Gas-X isn't working either...
Does anyone have anything to say about this?? I'm telling her to totally NAG her doctor, as he seems to busy to even care... :(

B.C.I.R. site:

http://www.palmspasadena.com/services/bcir/

heather123

Re: Colon Resection Recovery

Postby heather123 » Wed Feb 29, 2012 8:54 pm

I had 14" of my colon removed 6 weeks ago laparscopically. The gas pains can be very painful the first few weeks as you introduce more food into your system I drank alot of peppermint tea which quickly helps relieve some of the discomfort. My doctor told me that it can take a few months for the lower pain in my abdomen to subside because they have to move the other organs around and they need to heal. The colon itself and pain in the incision area can take up to a year to heal completely and for the first 6-8 weeks can till be quite swollen so to eat small meals and stick to softer foods. I assure you all the pain and discomfort does get better and you will get your energy back. I can finally almost work a full day without having to go home and take a nap - and my body aches less after he work day. It just takes time and patience. Good luck to all.

Older chick

Re: Colon Resection Recovery

Postby Older chick » Wed Mar 14, 2012 6:56 am

Some people who say proudly that they didn't even need pain meds are very fortunate, some of us who have had more extensive surgeries perhaps or lower threshold for pain require pain meds in order to heal. But with meds comes constipation as a side effect & then it's necessary to take colace (docusate sodium stool softener). Some people also take fiber, citrucel was recommended to me since it's more natural than the "plastic" miralax, etc.

Don't feel bad if it takes many weeks to get a little normalcy in any area of your life. Open surgery is major. People who have laparoscopy only might heal quicker. Takes about a year for the body to heal completely esp with open surgery.

Thanks for this website.

PS. Some people who have symptoms of gallbladder trouble or who think they have pancreatitis or small bowel obstruction
Might be having gallbladder trouble. Best to get a sonogram with the doppler wand to see if there is flow. If not, esp if there are stones, get it out laparoscopically soon. Mine burst & the pain was awful. It took a long time to recover, if elective, the surgery would be much easier. Best wishes to all, hope everyone feels better soon. Be patient!

notsogood

Re: Colon Resection Recovery

Postby notsogood » Fri Apr 06, 2012 7:32 am

I had an open incision resectioning (because of adhesions) done in Aug 2011, I was in the hospital 11 days due to not functioning as quickly as I should have. I had visiting nurses for 2 wks to change dressings. All went well with healing. My problem now is being able after 8 months post op, to digest foods that were no problems for me before the surgery. Is anyone out there having problems with what seems to be a blockage due to different foods you eat. I've experienced vomiting, terrible pains in my abdomin twice since the surgery, once after eating peanuts and another after eating coconut macaroons. It seems nuts are my enemy. Is anyone have these types of digestion problem after several months of recovery? :(

marksedik@aolcom

Re: Colon Resection Recovery

Postby marksedik@aolcom » Wed Apr 11, 2012 3:36 pm

My father had sigmoid resection due to a blockage last week and is suffering from bad diahrea. How long will this last?

Kompressor
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Location: Texas

Re: Colon Resection Recovery

Postby Kompressor » Thu Apr 12, 2012 6:09 am

marksedik@aolcom wrote:My father had sigmoid resection due to a blockage last week and is suffering from bad diahrea. How long will this last?


It can take weeks or months for the diahrea to stop. Fiber pills were the answer for me. (I buy the wal-mart generic equivalent of Citrucel, much cheaper, works exactly the same as name brand.) My surgeon wanted me to wait 4 weeks before I started taking them, I waited 3. Within 36 hours of getting back on fiber, everything firmed up. I take fiber daily now, have been for one year since my 2nd resection.
33 Male
3 Colon Resections over 6 years
Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis
Feb 2012 DX Stage IV CC with peritoneal mets
Start FOLFOX 04.11.12
Stop chemo after 4 treatments due to complications
Cytoreduction, HIPEC, colectomy, ileostomy scheduled for July 6


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