Surgery on the horizon

[drew_wymore]

Well my GI called me today with the results of my second capsule endoscopy and its not looking good for the home team. After 8 hours, which is the time I wore the wireless receiver for the camera, the capsule had not left my stomach and since I was allowed to eat after swallowing the camera he saw food begin building in my stomach along with the camera.

I have an xray next tuesday to see if its still there or if I've passed it. I've been having to take laxatives which of course is giving me the D but its better then being constipated or worse yet getting a full obstruction and having to be hospitalized all unscheduled like.

If its there, then we definitely have to go in and fish it out. I'll get a good solid definitive diagnosis then and probably have a re-section if there is stricturing which we both believe is whats going on right now.

If its not there, we're going to discuss surgery options anyways because again all signs point to some point of constriction in my lower small intestine.

I'm happy that one way or another I'm going to find out what the hell has been bothering me for so long (my doc still is sticking with his crohns dx and not moving to something like small bowel cancer) but I'm not looking forward to the surgery. I'm by no means scared, I've had plenty of different surgeries but I'm just hoping they can do it laprascopically to reduce my downtime.

I know we're all different but for those who have had surgery for re-section what was your recovery time like? Pain levels?

 

[D Bergy]

My resection was not done with a scope, so it took longer to recover. I think it was six weeks off of work. The pain right after I woke up was intense. I rated it an eight out of ten. They just cranked up the pain killer and it was gone for the most part. I felt better after that, then I had for a long time. It went far longer than it should have due to my original doctors inability to diagnose me correctly.

To tell the truth, the catheter was the thing I hated the most. Since I had a spinal, that was art of the deal. They did not mention that ahead of time.

The Oxycodone took care of the pain quite well. I was walking around the next day, because I can't stand laying around very long. Most people wait another day I gathered from their surprise I wanted out of bed. I was walking out to the parking lot for a smoke that same day. They were not too happy about that.

The pain was not much of an issue for me, as the pain killers worked as they should. The boredom in the hospital was far worse, and that catheter. Once I got home I just took it easy and recovered. By that time I was 45 lbs under my normal weight and needed the rest for more than just the surgery.

I would guess if they can use a scope, the recovery time would probably about half that time or less. The guts heal real fast, but the muscle they cut through takes longer.

Hope they can resolve your problem. It sucks being plugged up.

Dan

 

[drew_wymore]

Good to know. I figure I'll be sufficiently doped up. I wasn't sure whether there was an option to do it via lap or not though. I really hope to high hell I don't need a cath. I have had my gall bladder removed and also had a hernia where I was cut down in the belly region as well and I remember the muscle pain and recovery took a few weeks.

Very very good to know the guts heal fast. I'm just wanting answers and I'm finally going to get them.

 

[Sojourn]

I think they install the catheter for your surgery, and then leave it on until you're fully back up and in control. I think they removed mine the second day. The worst part was walking with it. They got me up and walking about five hours after I came out of anesthesia.

The hospital was the worse part, not the boredom necessarily, but not being able to sleep. I was on constant I.V.'s of different medicine and antibiotics, and whenever a bag ran out, the machine would start beeping. The final nurse check of the night was 9-10pm and they were back taking my vitals again at 4-5am. Usually once or twice between those times, my I.V. machine would start beeping and wake me up and I'd have to page the nurse to change it. And they weren't always that quick to respond. There was also a morphine pump hooked to the I.V. that I could inject myself with, with the press of a button. I made good use of it the first couple of days.

Usually they will do it laparoscopically if they can. Sometimes they plan on it, but then during the surgery they discover something that leads them to go open. Mine was done lap, out of hospital in five days, back to work in three weeks. But it can vary from person to person.

 

[D Bergy]

Yeah, I forgot about the lack of sleep. It was terrible in the hospital I was in. One lady wailing all night. My heart monitor going off. (My heart beat slows to below 50 at night normally). But they did not believe me.

Then I programmed it myself, and later my wife squealed on me. Finally got mine working and everyone else's woke me up. Then I had the night owl room mate who couldn't hear. TV at full volume and he would be asleep.

I correct myself. The lack of sleep was the worst. Boredom second.

Dan

 

[Kev]

I was on the pump... and saved my pump shots up till bedtime.. Needed it as in one of my surgical forays I ended up in the ladies surgical ward post op. On that basis, one might imagine being surrounded by a bevy of hot young gals in johhny shirts... The reality... A roomful of elderly women who weren't pleased with my prescence, and who all snored like longshoremen/lumberjacks at nite.. Ah, the sweet smell of oil of olay and ben gay ointment... the rafters reverbating from their sonabulistic snores..

That's when I hit the pump button on the morphine. Thank god for drugs!!

 

[crohnsmom]

surgery

I can share with you my son's resection experience last May. Since I am a nurse as well as a science teacher I accompanied him and spent the entire hospital stay with him as well as the 12 days after surgery. If there is someone that can be with you for the majority of your hospital stay, both as an advocate and a companion I recommend it. It not only cuts down on boredom, but keeps the entire medical staff on their toes when there is someone looking over their shoulder at everything!
He could not have laparscopic due to the nature of his condition-he had a large abcess that has to be removed along with several inches of strictured intestine and his appendix which was also inflamed and infected. Actually, the surgery and post op period was a breeze compared to the months of pain before the procedure. He opted not to have the epidural pain meds after surgery and was on a morphine pump for 24 hours. I can tell you that the sooner you are up and walking the faster your recovery! His pain was only significant for the first 48 hours, and he was eating in less time than that and having food pass normally through his digestive system in less than 2 days. He was out of the hospital in 5 days using only an occassional percocet for discomfort, and even this was not necessary after less than a week. 10 days after surgry he was given the all clear to resume normal activities with the exception of heavy lifting. His life quickly returned to normal and he was off to Europe for a well deserved vacation less than 6 weeks later-with his docs blessing.
Now, I attribute much of this amazingly quick recovery to youth-only 19, and other than Crohns he was in good health. The bodies recuperative abilities are truly amazing as compared to us older folks!
I wish you all the best-hope your procedure goes as smoothly as his.
If you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask
Sincerely,
Ramona

 

[soupdragon69]

Drew all the best for the op. Have managed to avoid surgery to date but certainly sounds like a decent option for you and as you say better planned than in a hurry down the line!

 

[drew_wymore]

Thanks for the positive outlook Ramona. I think I'll heal quickly. I've had various surgeries in the past and have kicked back pretty quick.

Jan - I hoped to avoid surgery too but since the cam got stuck we're sure there is stricturing and if surgery can alleviate it and perhaps add to my quality of life then I'm all for it.

 

[SumCiA]

Hi Drew. You have pretty much the same sentiments i have with regards to resection surgery. I am having a ileocolic resection on Friday. It's not so much the surgery itself but the post opp i am not looking forward to i.e Pain, Catheter, Stomach drain, etc.

I asked my Surgeon if it could be done laproscopically and he said it could be done but he would only decide once i was under and he could have a proper feel around. In my case i have a large and long stricture with alot of inflammation and he says he can't really do it laproscopically if the diseased bowel is too big to remove through the small lapro incisions. I have faith in him so told him to do what he thinks is best at the time.

I have been told to expect about 7-10 day stay in hospital. I'm 27 years old and have been told that recovery should be fairly straight forward for someone my age, weight and general health. I think we are in a very similar situation, although hopefully you will not require surgery, so if i can help in any way let me know I'll do my best to answer any questions you have. Post them on this thread.

I'll probably post an overview of how the surgery and post opp goes anyway. I found reading other peoples accounts very helpful during the past few weeks and hopefully i can help others like yourself who have worries.

Take care.

 

[Kev]

If he doesn't go the lapro route, I wouldn't worry about it too much. I had my g/b out laproscopically, but my resection was done the old fashioned way. For whatever reason (perhaps because the g/b is in the upper abdominal cavity) I had a much easier re-coup from the resection than from the g/b lapro surgery.

course, the scars are totally different.. and I had to be careful showering. I used plastic wrap... (looked like really old leftovers).. but otherwise, I realy found the resection a cakewalk. I dunno if there are any multiple resection vets on here, ones who've had it both lapro and old fashioned, to give their 'experienced' take on which is milder/easier... but the old fashioned was OK by me.. I was really surprised/amazed/relieved at just how easy it all went.