Ileocecal resection 4/19

[jjhaston]

Well I have been having some pain and a huge lump on my right side small intestine and I have been in the hospital for 3 days. Just got my CT scan back and the doctors say surgery is the next step, so I have questions!

- What kind of pain will I have after? Lots of soreness?

- How long will I have to stay on liquid/soft food diet? Or will that be up to the doctor?

- How long before I can go back to normal activities like golfing/skateboarding?

I am pretty nervous about getting this done, Ive seen people saying that the recovery time is very long, I am just hoping Im good to go before summer!

 

[Jim (POPS)]

Hay there, I'm sorry that you are going through this. I have had a resection and it takes about 6-8 weeks to get to where you will be able to do things. The thing is, you need to take it slow to make sure you heal well before you try and do anything like golf or skateboard. If you do that before your healed you will make things worse, so take your time.

In regards to your food, you should be able to eat normal in about 2 weeks, you will be on a low res. diet for the first two weeks or so.

After the surgery you will have some pain but they will contro that in the hospital and when you go home you should be ok with the pain in 1-2 weeks. BUT, take your time and let the wound heal well before doing anything. If you get an infection in your wound you could be down for much longer than if things go well.
You'l be ok, just take it slow, there will be plenty of time to rip it upwhen you are all healed up

Jim (Pops)

 

[jjhaston]

Thank you Jim for all that info!

Anyone know about how long my intestine will take to heal, I am kind of worried about going to school and one of my buddies picking me or just playing rough with me as teenagers do! I have a bad image in my head of walking down the hall way and my intestine tearing open lol.

 

[sdexter]

My doctor told me no lifting more than 10 lbs for 8 weeks, which seems is the usual advice. When I asked about even doing yoga--nothing intense, just stretching--he also said 8 weeks. The problem with doing anything too strenuous on your abdomen is that your risk having an incisional hernia; and the last thing you want is another surgery to correct it. It also takes about the same amount of time for your bowels to settle in to a "normal" routine again. This is major surgery, so don't kid yourself. I read posts prior to my surgery, but figured I wasn't as wimpy as most people, so I would probably be back to normal and full of energy a lot sooner than most. I was wrong. Though I went for my first outside walk two days after I got home from the hospital, I only made it to the house next door, lol. It is going to be frustrating for you because you are young and active, but if your doctors say you need the surgery, you will be amazed at how much better you will eventually feel. And, that "growling" will go away...it is everything trying to make it through your stricture...which will be gone in a few days! Here is my original post one week after surgery:

http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=44414

Ask me anything!! The very best of luck to you jj!

 

[Steven]

I just had this surgery 7 days ago... Pain wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be... The biggest thing I can't stress enough.. Is to listen to your body.. For instence I am taking the diet very slowly while getting back into the swing of things.. Small walks have been very important to get things moving again... If you have any questions feel free to ask me.. As they are all fresh in my mind.... Hope everything goes well!!

 

[ttowntiger87]

jj, hope everything went well for you. I am going to be following this thread very carefully, as I am going to a surgeon on April 25th. I am hoping to have surgery very soon, and welcome all the info. I can get about recovery!

 

[carlysy]

I had the surgery 4 and a half weeks ago. I did have a lot of pain but I had two very infected wounds afterwards (infection wasn't discovered for weeks) and this set my recovery back a lot. A few pieces of advice I can give you is to make sure you watch out for any signs of infection - my symptoms were lots of swelling around 2 of the incisions and some redness, also burning up/getting hot sweats and having a temperature. Ask your surgeon about anti-biotics to prevent it as well. Also just let your mates know about your surgery and ask that they be careful around you, the last thing you want is someone picking you up or pushing into your tummy, it will hurt!
As far as eating goes everyone is very different. It has been very difficult for me, I can only eat very small quantities and am very limited in the foods I can tolerate without heaps of pain. I've lost 12kgs! But everyone is different and I've been very unlucky.
All the best, hope it went well and listen to your body