Reversal Thread

Please feel free to read, share your thoughts, your stories and connect with others!
Lee
Posts: 6207
Joined: Sun Apr 16, 2006 4:09 pm

Re: Reversal Thread

Postby Lee » Sun Sep 24, 2017 2:11 pm

Basil wrote:
Lee wrote:Good luck tomorrow, I hate prepping. And all the best on Monday.

Lee


My prep consists of no solid food after midnight tonight and nothing after 7:30 tomorrow morning. Surgery is 11:30 a.m. Much more agreeable than the LAR prep.


Wow you are so lucky. I've never had a reversal, butt had a hernia repair a few years back. Had to go through the same process as prepping, butt I was allowed to drink/eat red items.

Less than 24hrs now.

Lee
rectal cancer - April 2004
46 yrs old at diagnoses
stage III C - 6/13 lymph positive
radiation - 6 weeks
surgery - August 2004/hernia repair 2014
permanent colostomy
chemo - FOLFOX
NED - 16 years and counting!

C2WAVE2
Posts: 25
Joined: Sun Apr 23, 2017 3:22 pm

Re: Reversal Thread

Postby C2WAVE2 » Sun Sep 24, 2017 5:33 pm

Good luck Basil.
I sort of similar situation,but stage 1, so no radiation or chemo, had most rectum removed
temp bag for two months. Its been about 6 weeks since the reversal. Im doing well but still having
bathroom isuues. I been eating just about everything what I used to eat, except nuts. I cant say i see a difference in food intake and output.
I have good days and bad days.
Major problem i am having is constipation , although stool; is not hard like a rock, it takes a long time to exit, only a little comes out at
at a time, and
can take hours to get completely empty. . It was worse at first, where I might not go for three days, now I am going almost every day
but still having problem getting empty all at once.

I had blood in stool and diharia first two days home from hospital, I was a little concerned, but that is probably normal and went away .

Best of luck there, Chuck
4/24/17. 55yr Male, Dx RC near Retcum/Sigmoid junction
O4/28/17 Ct
O5/04/17 MRI
Prelim. T1 N0 M 0 CEA 3.2
O5/23/17 Surgery, LAR 4.5" incision to remove tumor Temp Ileostomy
6/1/17 Pathology report 6.5 x 4.3 x 1.7 cm tumor, Adenocarcinoma,
Moderately to Poorly Differentiated , 0/27 Lymph, T2N0M0
08/02/17 Ileostomy Reversal

Basil
Posts: 275
Joined: Thu Mar 16, 2017 12:33 pm

Re: Reversal Thread

Postby Basil » Sun Sep 24, 2017 7:12 pm

susie0915 wrote:Oh that's not too bad. When I had my reversal was in the hospital for bowel blockage with an ng tube in my nose to my stomach, so I didn't have to prep. I guess I assumed it would be like the prep for resection. But makes sense only dealing with the small bowel right? Good Luck again. Think this time tomorrow no bag. I remember waking up from surgery and the first thing I did was feel to be sure the bag was gone.


Funny, my surgeon said it was 50/50 whether I'd have a bag after LAR. Others on the team said it was well less than 50% given past surgeries like mine. First thing my drug-addled brain did was reach down there. "Motherfucker, no!" Was my first thought.

Oh well, I'm not is a position to complain too much.
40 y/o male (now 46), kids 11 & 14.
Dx 3/16/17, rectal cancer s3,t3,n1,m0
PROSPCT trial (FOLFOX in lieu of chemorad)
FOLFOX 4/5/17 - 6/26/17
LAR 7/31/17, temp ileo
pathological complete response
Adjuvant chemo cancelled (IDEA Study)
Ileo reversed 9/25/17
NED
1 year scans - clear
2 year scans - clear
3 year scans - clear
4 year scans - clear
5 year scans - clear (considered cured)

Basil
Posts: 275
Joined: Thu Mar 16, 2017 12:33 pm

Re: Reversal Thread

Postby Basil » Sun Sep 24, 2017 7:14 pm

JJH wrote:
Basil wrote:... My surgeon said I can eat whatever I want from the get go...

That's the same thing that my doctor told me after my reversal, but he was wrong.


I get the impression that mine is fine with trial by fire, so to speak. I'm going BRAT.
40 y/o male (now 46), kids 11 & 14.
Dx 3/16/17, rectal cancer s3,t3,n1,m0
PROSPCT trial (FOLFOX in lieu of chemorad)
FOLFOX 4/5/17 - 6/26/17
LAR 7/31/17, temp ileo
pathological complete response
Adjuvant chemo cancelled (IDEA Study)
Ileo reversed 9/25/17
NED
1 year scans - clear
2 year scans - clear
3 year scans - clear
4 year scans - clear
5 year scans - clear (considered cured)

Basil
Posts: 275
Joined: Thu Mar 16, 2017 12:33 pm

Re: Reversal Thread

Postby Basil » Sun Sep 24, 2017 7:18 pm

C2WAVE2 wrote:Good luck Basil.
I sort of similar situation,but stage 1, so no radiation or chemo, had most rectum removed
temp bag for two months. Its been about 6 weeks since the reversal. Im doing well but still having
bathroom isuues. I been eating just about everything what I used to eat, except nuts. I cant say i see a difference in food intake and output.
I have good days and bad days.
Major problem i am having is constipation , although stool; is not hard like a rock, it takes a long time to exit, only a little comes out at
at a time, and
can take hours to get completely empty. . It was worse at first, where I might not go for three days, now I am going almost every day
but still having problem getting empty all at once.

I had blood in stool and diharia first two days home from hospital, I was a little concerned, but that is probably normal and went away .

Best of luck there, Chuck


I would absolutely take that result, at least short term. I've never had constipation issues. I'm more concerned about clustering with looser stools. Anyway, we'll have some results in 24 hours or so.
40 y/o male (now 46), kids 11 & 14.
Dx 3/16/17, rectal cancer s3,t3,n1,m0
PROSPCT trial (FOLFOX in lieu of chemorad)
FOLFOX 4/5/17 - 6/26/17
LAR 7/31/17, temp ileo
pathological complete response
Adjuvant chemo cancelled (IDEA Study)
Ileo reversed 9/25/17
NED
1 year scans - clear
2 year scans - clear
3 year scans - clear
4 year scans - clear
5 year scans - clear (considered cured)

rockhound
Posts: 113
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:00 pm

Re: Reversal Thread

Postby rockhound » Sun Sep 24, 2017 7:54 pm

Basil wrote:
JJH wrote:
Basil wrote:... My surgeon said I can eat whatever I want from the get go...

That's the same thing that my doctor told me after my reversal, but he was wrong.


I get the impression that mine is fine with trial by fire, so to speak. I'm going BRAT.


Doing Low residue diet but told no restrictions. Took till Sat evening night to pass gas and poop- my bowels were sleepy!
Last edited by rockhound on Tue Sep 26, 2017 2:44 am, edited 1 time in total.
45 yr old male
Diagnosed December 2016, age 41
Stage 1/IIA rectal cancer - T2/3N0M0 via MRI (MRI indicates stage 1; onc/surgeon = stage 2a)
Lynch syndrome, MSH6 mutation, MSI
2 to 3/2017 Xeloda + Radiation
5/10/17 - Robotic LAR with temp. loop illeostomy, 0/20 lymph nodes
6 to 7/2017 - Six cycles Folfox @ full strength
9/20/17 - Ileostomy takedown
10/17 - CT, NED
5/18 - CT, NED
11/18 - CT, NED
5/19 - CT, NED..moving to yearly CT scans
5/20 - CT, NED
5/21 - CT, NED (4 yr. scan)

User avatar
susie0915
Posts: 945
Joined: Wed Aug 02, 2017 8:17 am
Facebook Username: Susan DeGrazia Hostetter
Location: Michigan

Re: Reversal Thread

Postby susie0915 » Sun Sep 24, 2017 8:06 pm

Basil wrote:
susie0915 wrote:Oh that's not too bad. When I had my reversal was in the hospital for bowel blockage with an ng tube in my nose to my stomach, so I didn't have to prep. I guess I assumed it would be like the prep for resection. But makes sense only dealing with the small bowel right? Good Luck again. Think this time tomorrow no bag. I remember waking up from surgery and the first thing I did was feel to be sure the bag was gone.


Funny, my surgeon said it was 50/50 whether I'd have a bag after LAR. Others on the team said it was well less than 50% given past surgeries like mine. First thing my drug-addled brain did was reach down there. "Motherfucker, no!" Was my first thought.

Oh well, I'm not is a position to complain too much.

Get your rest. Tomorrow is a big day
58 yrs old Dx @ 55
5/15 DX T3N0MO
6/15 5 wks chemo/rad
7/15 sigmoidoscopy/only scar tissue left
8/15 PET scan NED
9/15 LAR
0/24 nodes
10/15 blockage. surgery,early ileo rev, c-diff inf :(
12/15 6 rds of xelox
5/16 CT lung scarring/inflammation
9/16 clear colonoscopy
4/17 C 4mm lung nod
10/17 pel/abd CT NED
11/17 CEA<.5
1/18 CT/Lung no change in 4mm nodule
5/18 CEA<.5, CT pel/abd/lung NED
11/18 CEA .6
5/19 CT NED, CEA <.5
10/19 Clear colonscopy
11/19 CEA <.5

Basil
Posts: 275
Joined: Thu Mar 16, 2017 12:33 pm

Re: Reversal Thread

Postby Basil » Mon Sep 25, 2017 9:44 pm

Reversal went well. Bowel sounds are present but I have no solid food in my system so we're waiting. I had a catheter and the surgeon wanted to take it out at midnight but the wife did me a solid and got the dr. to have it removed while I was still out. Problem is they apparently removed it like they were trying to pull start a lawn mower because it feels like razor blades when I try to pee.

Tomorrow will hopefully be the day to get this journey going. For those just tuning in, here's the low down on the thread. I'm had my ileo reversed with some unique variables, which may or may not give me a less problematic transition and future:

1. First and most significantly, I had no radiation and my tissue is in good condition.

2. Temp ileo was of short duration - just shy of two months.

3. I only have 10% of my rectum left.

4. I'm relatively young, 40, and I'm otherwise in good health.

5. All the doctors who have enjoyed inserting things in my butt tell me I have very tight sphincter elasticity.

Those are the variables so we'll see. One other slightly interesting thing, the swelling below the stoma site feels amazingly similar to a gas-filled bag. I keep reaching down there with a frown to ascertain how full and start thinking about where I can empty it before remembering that it's gone forever (hopefully, fingers crossed).
40 y/o male (now 46), kids 11 & 14.
Dx 3/16/17, rectal cancer s3,t3,n1,m0
PROSPCT trial (FOLFOX in lieu of chemorad)
FOLFOX 4/5/17 - 6/26/17
LAR 7/31/17, temp ileo
pathological complete response
Adjuvant chemo cancelled (IDEA Study)
Ileo reversed 9/25/17
NED
1 year scans - clear
2 year scans - clear
3 year scans - clear
4 year scans - clear
5 year scans - clear (considered cured)

AbbyDoo
Posts: 134
Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2016 2:25 am
Location: So.Ca.

Re: Reversal Thread

Postby AbbyDoo » Mon Sep 25, 2017 10:03 pm

Whoo hoo, plumbing reconnected. WTG
Not sure if I would do a brat diet. But diffently a low residue diet for a while.
Soon you will be able to put this all behind you and you live a normal life again.
Congratulations on kicking cancer ass.
53 yrs old
4/30/15 colonoscopy Mass found
5/21/15 staged 3 C rectal cancer
7/3/15 finished xeloda and radiation 28 rounds
9/30/15 LAR
10/29/15 picc line installed
11/2/15 start chemo 5 fu Oxaliplatin
3/7/16 Finish Chemo
4/29/16 Ileostomy Reversal.
7/13/16 colonoscopy clear.
CRC survivors know there Sh%t

88kaw88
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Sep 24, 2017 7:41 am

Re: Reversal Thread

Postby 88kaw88 » Mon Sep 25, 2017 10:22 pm

Great news on surgery...hope all goes well from there. I thought having the catheter (and removal) was the worst part of my first surgery.

Basil
Posts: 275
Joined: Thu Mar 16, 2017 12:33 pm

Re: Reversal Thread

Postby Basil » Tue Sep 26, 2017 4:31 am

Had my first BM about 12 hours after surgery. It was small and watery as was expected not having any solid food going on 30 hours now. The good news is there was no pain whatsoever and very little urgency.

On a side note, urinating is incredibly painful. They messed something up removing the catheter. No blood but the pain is almost severe enough to bring me to my knees.
40 y/o male (now 46), kids 11 & 14.
Dx 3/16/17, rectal cancer s3,t3,n1,m0
PROSPCT trial (FOLFOX in lieu of chemorad)
FOLFOX 4/5/17 - 6/26/17
LAR 7/31/17, temp ileo
pathological complete response
Adjuvant chemo cancelled (IDEA Study)
Ileo reversed 9/25/17
NED
1 year scans - clear
2 year scans - clear
3 year scans - clear
4 year scans - clear
5 year scans - clear (considered cured)

C2WAVE2
Posts: 25
Joined: Sun Apr 23, 2017 3:22 pm

Re: Reversal Thread

Postby C2WAVE2 » Tue Sep 26, 2017 5:13 am

I had hard time urinating after reversal, they measuring my output and not much there for a day or
So, I think I heard mention of maybe having to put catheter back in, and thought of that got me going.
It will gradually get better. Good luck
4/24/17. 55yr Male, Dx RC near Retcum/Sigmoid junction
O4/28/17 Ct
O5/04/17 MRI
Prelim. T1 N0 M 0 CEA 3.2
O5/23/17 Surgery, LAR 4.5" incision to remove tumor Temp Ileostomy
6/1/17 Pathology report 6.5 x 4.3 x 1.7 cm tumor, Adenocarcinoma,
Moderately to Poorly Differentiated , 0/27 Lymph, T2N0M0
08/02/17 Ileostomy Reversal

User avatar
susie0915
Posts: 945
Joined: Wed Aug 02, 2017 8:17 am
Facebook Username: Susan DeGrazia Hostetter
Location: Michigan

Re: Reversal Thread

Postby susie0915 » Tue Sep 26, 2017 7:22 am

Congrats. I know you've been waiting for this day.
58 yrs old Dx @ 55
5/15 DX T3N0MO
6/15 5 wks chemo/rad
7/15 sigmoidoscopy/only scar tissue left
8/15 PET scan NED
9/15 LAR
0/24 nodes
10/15 blockage. surgery,early ileo rev, c-diff inf :(
12/15 6 rds of xelox
5/16 CT lung scarring/inflammation
9/16 clear colonoscopy
4/17 C 4mm lung nod
10/17 pel/abd CT NED
11/17 CEA<.5
1/18 CT/Lung no change in 4mm nodule
5/18 CEA<.5, CT pel/abd/lung NED
11/18 CEA .6
5/19 CT NED, CEA <.5
10/19 Clear colonscopy
11/19 CEA <.5

rockhound
Posts: 113
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:00 pm

Re: Reversal Thread

Postby rockhound » Tue Sep 26, 2017 12:07 pm

Awesome that you passed stool so fast. Nice not having the bag also!

Now I'm just trying to get the diarrhea/clustering under some kind of control and get an appetite back. Guess I need to be patient, it's only been a few days.
45 yr old male
Diagnosed December 2016, age 41
Stage 1/IIA rectal cancer - T2/3N0M0 via MRI (MRI indicates stage 1; onc/surgeon = stage 2a)
Lynch syndrome, MSH6 mutation, MSI
2 to 3/2017 Xeloda + Radiation
5/10/17 - Robotic LAR with temp. loop illeostomy, 0/20 lymph nodes
6 to 7/2017 - Six cycles Folfox @ full strength
9/20/17 - Ileostomy takedown
10/17 - CT, NED
5/18 - CT, NED
11/18 - CT, NED
5/19 - CT, NED..moving to yearly CT scans
5/20 - CT, NED
5/21 - CT, NED (4 yr. scan)

benben
Posts: 324
Joined: Fri Apr 28, 2017 3:18 pm
Location: Washington State

Re: Reversal Thread

Postby benben » Tue Sep 26, 2017 1:20 pm

Basil wrote:Had my first BM about 12 hours after surgery. It was small and watery as was expected not having any solid food going on 30 hours now. The good news is there was no pain whatsoever and very little urgency.

On a side note, urinating is incredibly painful. They messed something up removing the catheter. No blood but the pain is almost severe enough to bring me to my knees.


I had the same experience after surgery. I had a training nurse from the local college remove it. I think she did something wrong because it hurt like hell, and was bleeding a day or two when I urinated.

Of course nurse also told me after surgery they had a problem inserting the catheter, as they went down the wrong pipe. End result is a bit of retrograde ejaculation. Maybe 10% of normal fluids.
UGGh.

I had about 40% rectum removed, takes quite a bit of time to come back to normal bowel movements. I'm still not normal in that dept, but usually about 2-4 movements a day with sometimes up to 8.
But that to me is vast improvement than first few weeks after surgery with 12-20 movements a day.
----------------------
3/29/17 diagnosed CRC - 44 y/o Male
4/17/17 ULAR - Straight anastomosis - no ostomy.
Path: low grade T3n1m0 - moderate diff.
KRAS - NO, MLH1/PMS2/MSH6/MSH2 - Normal.
5/3 med port install
5/22 folfox - first treatment.
3rd treat, delayed - low ANC - reduced to 90% OXI
zarxio all treats
Treat 7 - 75% OXI
Treats 8-12 - NO OXI, Luke & 5FU
10/20/17 CT- NED
3/18 Scope - Clean
11/8 PORT OUT!
7/22 CT - NED (5 years!)


Return to “Colon Talk - Colon cancer (colorectal cancer) support forum”



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 99 guests