Recovery from laparoscopic ileocaecal resection

[Trotman10]

Hi this is my first post!

I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in sept 2011 after MRI and colonoscopy.
After lots of different medication and never ever feeling at all normal my GI suggested that I should go for surgery.

I went in for surgery 16/05/13 and the surgeon said that all went well. After surgery I had issues with pain but these were resolved after a few days with help of a PCA and other painkillers.

I was released after 7 days, and discharged with dicolofenac, paracetamol and tramadol. I have been continuing the latter two since and trying to reduce the dosage slowly.

For the first 2.5 weeks my stomach felt good and I was eating solid foods and opening my bowels what felt like normal but since then I have taken a down hill slide.

It feels like I am having a bad flare up even though the surgeon and doctors said that I should be fine and I have been taken off all medication. I have diarrhoea, feel like I can't eat much and severe energy deficiency.

I am just looking for some help or advice to whether this is normal or the fact that it has taken a turn for the worse is a step in the wrong direction.

Any advice or help or 'your story' would be great

 

[Grumbletum]

Hi Trotman and a big, warm welcome to the forum. Glad you found us I'm guessing as you've found the Surgery subforum, you'll have read some of the other stories here?
I'm sorry you're not feeling good. It could be that it is still early days. You're body has been through a lot and needs time to recover. I was released 7 days post op too and found that I still needed to nap during the day for a couple of weeks after that. I had Tramadol too and found that it made me feel a bit dozey, so gradually weaned off it before I went back to work.
The D is quite common post op too, as the bowel settles down. What part of your bowel and how much did they remove? I had about 30cm small bowel, my IC valve and cecum. I have to go as soon as I wake up, and I have issues with D occasionally - like, I find if I eat foods that are fatty, they are not tolerated well.
Have you had or are you due a post op check up?

 

[nogutsnoglory]

May I ask how much and what was resected? It's possible that the diarrhea is a consequence of the surgery. This may resolve over time or require treatment through drugs like questran.

As for pain it's not normal at this point, I know most doctors dismiss that disease can return so quickly but it did for me.

 

[Trotman10]

Hi Helen, yes I have had a read of other peoples stories and found that a lot of peoples reactions to slightly different surgeries vary greatly so thought i'd create this thread!

Yes I also have to nap quite a bit, but this was getting better before I got ill again now i have been napping maybe twice a day.

I am not too sure how much was removed but the procedure was 'right hemicolectomy' so the removed my ileum and a part of my small bowel. I go straight when i wake up as well then it is mostly just after eating foods throughout the day which is annoying as it makes me not want to eat!

I have a follow up appointment in a few weeks with my surgeon but can contact him before if I feel i need to x

 

[Trotman10]

May I ask how much and what was resected? It's possible that the diarrhea is a consequence of the surgery. This may resolve over time or require treatment through drugs like questran.

As for pain it's not normal at this point, I know most doctors dismiss that disease can return so quickly but it did for me.

I'm not sure how much was resected but it was from my ileum and a small part of small bowel. I'm hoping the diarrhoea will pass if not I will go to the doctors for some help.
Yes the doctors said that I shouldn't have any pain anymore but I still get it if i come off all my painkillers (which i quickly went back onto)

 

[DustyKat]

Hey Trotman10,

I can't speak from first hand experience, only what my children have been through.

They have both had right hemicolectomies but their's were open procedures due to complications. My daughter was in very poor condition and her recovery took quite some time but for my son I found that it took about month before he was able to move freely and without pain.
They both have issues with bile salt malabsorption diarrhoea that they manage well with psyllium husks. My daughter in particular, she had quite a large resection, has issues with oils which always leave her needing the toilet ASAP!

Have you had bloods done lately? If not it might be an idea to have the following tested:

Full Blood Count - this will test your red and white cell counts including haemoglobin.
Liver Function Tests - a good baseline test.
Urea, Creatinine and Electrolytes - again, a good baseline test.
ESR & CRP - inflammatory markers.
Iron Studies - will test iron and folate levels, anaemia.
B12, Vit D, Zinc, Magnesium - You have the potential to be deficient in one or all of these due to to having ileal disease and now a resection.

How often are you taking the Paracetamol and Tramadol?

Dusty. xxx

 

[Trotman10]

Hi Dusty, Thanks for sharing! How old are your children?
I haven't had my bloods tested since discharge from hospital so that might be an idea, thanks for the info on what the tests are for.
I'm taking 1G of paracetamol 4x a day and I have just weaned myself off tramadol but i started on 100mg 4x per day and slowly reduced that up until last week.

 

[DustyKat]

My daughter is 21 and my son is 19.

My daughter had her surgery when she was 14 and my son when he was 17, so 7 years and 2.5 years ago respectively. For them surgery has been very successful as they have both been in remission since it was done. They both take Imuran as a maintenance medication.

How are you going on the Paracetamol alone?

Dusty. xxx

 

[Trotman10]

Good to know that they are in remission after the surgery that's what we are all aiming for! Hopefully once this all settles down it'l be okay.

I'm going to see a doctor today to see if i can get any different pain relief, as paracetamol is not doing the trick unfortunately. x

 

[nogutsnoglory]

It sounds like its possible the area they resected is responsible for bile acid absorption. If it doesn't reverse you will likely need a bile acid sequestrant.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bile_acid_malabsorption