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- Oct 18, 2012
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- 4,557
Some of you might have read in my previous posts that an ileostomy is something I've considered for a long time. Now my surgeon has put me on the waiting list, which means the surgery should be scheduled for a few months time. Some of you might also have read about my problems eating enough and my inability to gain enough weight to reach the healthy range. My surgeon prescribed more supplement drinks, and although he said he didn't think the surgery would cause that much weight loss, he agreed to arranging for a feeding tube if I need it.
Is it true that you don't lose much weight after the surgery? I won't be losing any small bowel, so it won't affect my ability to digest, but when I have had major surgery before, I lost a lot of weight because the anaesthesia made me feel so sick, but my surgeon said I shouldn't feel sick. He said that it sounded like with my past surgeries the anaesthetists hadn't taken into account how small I am and had given me too large a dose. Or do you think I just have an unusually strong reaction to anaesthesia? Even after minor surgeries I felt extremely nauseous for a couple of days, and have always had the nurses inject anti-nausea meds because I couldn't keep a thing down without them.
I'm still very wary of having a feeding tube - I'm a wimp and the idea of having it put down my nose makes me worry I'll pass out when they try to insert it, like I do with every other invasive procedure. And I'd rather eat real food! So hopefully by being careful about the anaesthetic and using anti-nausea meds I will be able to avoid it.
You might have gathered I am far more concerned about the actual operation than the prospect of living with a stoma. I honestly don't think I'll mind it that much as long as it functions well. I've had so long to get used to the idea and have met others who already have one, and of course I've read many of your posts about how you overcome the challenges of having stomas.
My surgery won't be for a while yet, but I'll probably be updating as I go through all the pre-ops and meetings with the stoma nurse in preparation. Thanks for listening.
Is it true that you don't lose much weight after the surgery? I won't be losing any small bowel, so it won't affect my ability to digest, but when I have had major surgery before, I lost a lot of weight because the anaesthesia made me feel so sick, but my surgeon said I shouldn't feel sick. He said that it sounded like with my past surgeries the anaesthetists hadn't taken into account how small I am and had given me too large a dose. Or do you think I just have an unusually strong reaction to anaesthesia? Even after minor surgeries I felt extremely nauseous for a couple of days, and have always had the nurses inject anti-nausea meds because I couldn't keep a thing down without them.
I'm still very wary of having a feeding tube - I'm a wimp and the idea of having it put down my nose makes me worry I'll pass out when they try to insert it, like I do with every other invasive procedure. And I'd rather eat real food! So hopefully by being careful about the anaesthetic and using anti-nausea meds I will be able to avoid it.
You might have gathered I am far more concerned about the actual operation than the prospect of living with a stoma. I honestly don't think I'll mind it that much as long as it functions well. I've had so long to get used to the idea and have met others who already have one, and of course I've read many of your posts about how you overcome the challenges of having stomas.
My surgery won't be for a while yet, but I'll probably be updating as I go through all the pre-ops and meetings with the stoma nurse in preparation. Thanks for listening.
