Eating after bowel resection.

Your nausea will resolve I'm sure . Its a big change for the body. I didn't have that ( had everything else though lol) Its now I'm having problems with food. I don't think it's acid i think its more my bowel trying to cope with different

Foods. Its one step forward and two steps back at the moment.

hi,

just wondered was it your sigmoid colon they removed from , and was there a big bit removed .i had severe

diverticular desease . . and did you have to go through many tests before the reversal .

just wondered . hope you dont mind me asking .

pat .

Hi Pat. I don't mind at all. I'm happy to help. It was the sigmoid, and about 8 inches if i remember correctly. I had an abscess and it was stuck all sorts of things. I only had to have one test before reversal. A special xray where they put dye into the bowel through the rectum with a tiny tube. It was painless and quick. It's to see that everything has healed nicely and there are no leaks. I was able to have it reversed after 3 months. Please feel free to ask anything else. If i can help with anything, i will.

hi,

thank you i will .

pat

Hi

This Tuesday I am getting a descending colostomy to let my bowels rest. Have 4 abscesses and an ulcer in my rectum, that have been treated with 5 antibiotics, 16 days in the hospital etc. since July 9th to no avail. So now doing surgery and then in 6 months when things have calmed down they will cut out the portion of the sigmoid giving me issues.

When you say you had a reversal does that refer to the removal of the bag? What kind of colostomy did you have? Any insights appreciated.

Thank you,

Rhonda

Goodness Rhonda you poor thing. You've been through a lot. My bag was an iliostomy on my right side, due to an abscess on my bowel stuck to my ureter, bladder etc. I was really worried about how i would manage the bag, but i was taught how to empty, change it etc after my op. I managed fine. I looked up what yours is and i think yours is on left? My reversal went very well. My bladder is a bit of a problem now though, i am seeing several doctors about that. I am happy to help you with any questions.

Hi Rhiannon,

Your response brought tears to my eyes. To have understanding from someone who has been through a similar experience helps emotionally.

I have suffered from chronic migraines for over 15 years but I know approximately how long they will last. This has been a series of thinking I was healing to ultimately learning I am not..

You are right mine will be on the left and I will have it for 6 months. I am glad to hear you didnt have any issues with your bag ! I keep reading about people with them some trying to be funny and some being honest about the challenges! I have always struggled with self esteem and dressing properly and this is just going to be one more battle!

Did you have yours on to let things rest? Did they have to cut out any of your intestines?

Did they tell you that you might have some bladder issues after the reversal?

Lastly I just want to say thank you for taking time to respond to me and I am sorry for the pain you had to endure. I hope your doctors get the bladder thing figured out asap!

Take Care,

Rhonda

Hi Rhonda. I'm here whenever you need to get advice, worry, or if i can help at all. I had about 6 inches takes from my bowel ( i think, i can never remember) to let it rest while I healed. I too worried about self esteem, because I'm very particular about what being well groomed, smelling nice, just vanity really! Lol. But i was feeling lousy because of the abscess, so i felt better when it was gone. After the first few days in hospital, I was able to dmchange it myself with supervision and i managed fine. I had a few issues during the 3 months, dehydration being one, because with iliostomy the stuff coming out is very watery. Yours won't be i dont think. But i felt pretty good. I wasn't told if there would be bladder issues, but I'm 63, so menopause, as well as hysterectomy probably contributes to that. Actually, it has been great this week, so maybe it just needed time. But it comes and goes so we'll see. But my bowel works perfectly. Its been a year since my reversal. I came through both surgeries really well. Let's face it, they are big surgeries, especially the first, but it's surprising how quickly you heal. I hope I've helped. I'm in Australia, I don't know where you are or when you'll see this, but i will answer any questions as soon as i can. You are not alone. This forum is great for helping each other. Hear from you soon. Take care. Rhiannon.

Rhiannon,

I live in the US, Australia looks beautiful. I hope to visit some day.

To clarify the steps of your surgery they gave you the iliostomy first and let your bowels rest and abscess heal and then cut out the troublesome intestine; correct?

Has it taken you over a year for your bowels to feel normal?

Did you have any prep to remove waste in your bowels before surgery?

Are you still working? If so how did this affect your work?

Thanks again:-)

Rhonda

Hi Rhonda. In my case, the bowel resection, removal/cleaning up of abscess and iliostomy was done in one surgery. I had that for three months, and then i was lucky enough for bowel to be healed enough for reversal. Had that done August 2017( the reversal) It has taken me a year to get back to feeling like my old self, but we had a house move in that time, very stressful, but planned before i had all these problems, so couldn't postpone it. It probably set me back a bit. I am retired luckily. My husband still works full time. I had no bowel prep before any surgeries. It may be different in the US . Some people bounce back a lot quicker than me, although i was very fit before any of this happened to me.

Sorry Rhonda. Meany reversal done august 2018.

Thank you for the clarification. I am glad to hear you weren't alone to deal with all of that. It has opened my eyes to how quickly your life can change.

I will let you know if I have any more questions and update you on my progress.

Thanks again for your help and support!

Yes life can change very quickly. I lost o child to cancer in 1990 so i havent had it easy. I have raised 3 more. I have health anxiety already, so I found it all very challenging. But I'm still here, and ready to help any way I can. You can private message on this forum too if you need to. I'm glad I can help someone. I would love if you can keep me posted. The very best of luck, and remember, your not alone in this. Rhiannon.