Newbie to surgery-need advice

[Vkramer]

Hi. I'm a 36 year old female about to have my first resection surgery. I am scared and nervous. I am having my terminal ileum, cecal valve, part of my colon & appendix removed next week. I have read on other posts that some people out there have chronic diarrhea & trouble maintaining weight. I have lost 25+ pounds in the past few months & am scared to lose anymore. To make matters worse, my mom is anorexic. I know people are beginning to see my reluctance to eat as me "inheriting" her condition. And advice would be much appreciated.

 

[afidz]

Hello, and welcome to the forum!
I personally don't have experience with re-sections, but I am no stranger to surgery as I approach lucky number 15. The Best advice I can give you is to take it one day at a time. Talk with your nurses about what you expect from them and how you would like to control your pain; talking about your pain tolerance is very helpful. Follow your doctor's after care instructions very closely, turns out they know what they are talking about. I am sure someone will be along to give advice on the re-section, sorry I couldn't help more with that part

 

[Jennifer]

Hi Vkramer, removing the Ileocecal Valve can cause diarrhea. Talk to your surgeon about possibly reconstructing it. "It's removal can cause a variety of issues including chronic diarrhea." http://www.crohnsforum.com/wiki/Ileocecal-Valve

That's the type of resection I had but I'm not sure if they reconstructed the valve or not. All I know is that I don't have diarrhea all the time. Sure sometimes but something like Lomotil usually gets rid of it for me. Also I have no problems maintaining my weight. If anything I'm trying to get it down right now.

You should have blood work done every now and then to test your vitamin levels after having a resection especially B12 when the ileum is involved. I get B12 shots every other month now as I don't seem to absorb it even in pill form or the kind that dissolves under your tongue.

Advice from me would to be to watch out for symptoms of a infection after surgery such as vomiting, fever, incision site that's puffy and hot to the touch (not that you should be touching it mind you).

Feel free to check out some surgery stories in here (mine's in there too): http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=30212

Good luck and let us know how it goes. When is it by the way?

 

[Clash]

I don't have any experience with surgery and CD but just wanted to send my support. Sadly, no matter our circumstances people will make judgements without knowing all the facts. I think it is important that you don't let others thought or judgements become an obstacle of stress that impedes your progress in healing and taking care of yourself.

 

[UnXmas]

I was wrongly diagnosed with anorexia when I got sick and was losing weight. Being a teenage girl at the time didn't help.

You will at least be in a position where medical professionals will recognise that you have another cause for the weight loss - they should take the surgery into account, depending on how big an operation it is and how you're affected by the aneasthetic (can make you feel sick for a while after) and the healing (stomach pain can interfere with eating).

I would try to gain as much as you can before the operation, and speak to your doctors about ways to keep your weight up during and after surgery. They will probably ask you about this anyway - weight and nutrition should be assessed in your appointments leading up to the surgery as a standard part of assessing you before the operation. They may be able to provide you with supplements, a dietician, or a meal plan. You'll probably be on soft foods for a while after. Some weight loss will be expected, and the doctors should be making sure it's a safe amount for you.

Diarrhoea doesn't necessarily mean weight loss. E.g. the colon absorbs water but not calories, so if you have it removed you have more water in your bowel movements, but it won't affect the amount of calories you absorb.

Is it family whose judgements you are worried about or doctors or someone else?

Hopefully if the surgery fixes things in the long run maintaining weight - and feeling better - will be easier.

 

[Adam1971]

Hi there. I am recovering still from the same surgery you describe- mine was on Dec. 11th. My experience is that yes, I lost a bit of weight in the weeks right after the surgery, but I am already gaining it back because I can eat again! The surgery gave me back the functioning of my bowels, so now I can actually eat a bit more normally, not so tentatively like before the surgery. I hope it goes well for you. Feel free to ask more questions. One surprise for me was the post-op period when the anaesthesia was wearing off...ask your surgeon or the nurses for info about how they will ease you back into consciousness without pain.

I hope this is heplful.

Adam