Finally had to do it....surgery

[nny'er]

finally had to do it....surgery

Hey all - it's been awhile since I was on here last. I think the last time I was on bed rest which was a year ago. Since then I have had numerous tests done and Remicade infusions. It wasn't until earlier this month, my latest flare up, that my CT scan revealed I had a fistula that had formed from my ilieum to the colon. I had my surgery on the 9th and was in the hospital until this past Saturday. They ended up having to cut my open to safely get everthing out that they needed. Right now, I'm just trying to rest and walk around when I can. I have lost sooooo much weight and I hate looking at myself in the mirror - I look like a skelton. I'm trying to eat as much as possible, but I have noticed that foods taste very differently to me right now. Do you think thats normal?? I'm still taking some naseaua meds just to calm my stomach. Has anyone had surgery and have any advice with wound care, diet, what to do??......I appreciate it!

 

[Katrina]

I hope you start feeling better soon

 

[tiloah]

Wow that's rough! I know for me, when I was on Metronidazole I was constantly nauseous, but I would start vomiting if I went too long without food. I found that pretzels were an absolute life saver! They were neutral enough that they didn't offend my taste buds, but they did allow me to feel like I was "eating."

Hopefully this is just a temporary effect and you go back to "normal" soon. It is probably worth giving your GI a call to let them know this is going on... and maybe they will be able to make some recommendations. At this point it's probably pretty important that you get good nutrition.

I hope you start feeling better soon!

 

[Keona]

hey nnyer
I hope you feel better soon as well :rosette1:
Please take good care of yourself
Wendy

 

[Terriernut]

Hi nnyer. Sorry you had to have surgery. I'm still recovering from major surgery myself. Food did taste funny while I was on all sorts of meds. Tastes better now!

As for wound care, I dont know where you are, if in the UK your district nurses or GP's nurse should be coming out to see you for the first few weeks.

Misty

 

[SwtNdSpcy]

I think it's the anesthesia that causes food to taste off for awhile. It does eventually go away and things start tasting normal again.
As for wound care, unless it gets infected I don't believe there is anything special you need to do. They recommend sponge bathing for awhile, and regular check ups to make sure it healing OK.
A low residue diet might help with the nausea and also be gentle on your tummy.
The best advice I can give however is to wear a tummy support! It does help a lot with the pain after surgery, coughing, laughing, moving in general was so much easier for me while wearing a support. It also reduces the risk of incisional hernia after surgery.

 

[lamor32twigs]

Sorry you ended up having to have surgery.
I had lots of issues with nausea after surgery too... try eating small meals very frequently and use the nausea meds about a half hour before you eat.

tummy support is a great idea...laughing and sneezing can be painful, but easier with support.

Hope you heal quickly

 

[nomad]

Dear nny'er, Hope all is better now. The weird tasting food, in my experience, seems to be due to the anesthesia... When I had to chop off a section of my intestine, all food seemed to have a sort of metallic taste for a week or so... Same happened again the first time I underwent general anesthesia for seton placement.

Recovery from major surgery is always slow and gradual... Make sure you're easy on yourself. After a week of full rest I gradually began my usual routines, but it was quite a few months before I felt I was fully back.