Surgery Scheduled.

[Shan728]

I will be having a bowel resection in a few weeks. I am nervous and excited to finally feel good. It is going to be sureal, I don't even remember the last time I didn't feel tired or achy. I know I still have a small mountain to climb to get there but I am ready for the journey. I was really taken a back when the surgeon said that I would have to be in the hospital fpr 4-7 days. This is going to be the hardest part becuase I have a 3 year little boy that I don't want to see me like that. I hope that my husband and I can help him understand. Has any one had recent surgery any at all that can give me any advise on what to excpect and how to cope.

 

[Angrybird]

Hello there, I had a resection done back in Sept and for me it went really well. I was in hospital 4 days and it was no where near as painful as I thought it was going to be - compared to the pain of the stricure beforehand it was easy to deal with. I would say I was a typical textbook case. Ideally you need to get up as soon as you are able so you can get things moving again, sitting still for hours just means your muscles get set and it will only get harder and harder to then move. You do of course need to rest and what surprised me the most was how tired I was, just going up the stairs exhausted me initially. When you do get home you can do things for yourself like make a drink, get a sandwich but don't think you will be able to run the hoover around for a while - it took me 3 weeks to get to this stage. They usually advise a recovery time of 6-8 weeks, I did what I was told and was back to work after 6. Your little one will be able to give cuddles but they will just need to be careful for a while, just keep reassuring him that this is going to make mummy feel better. I hope this helps and please keep us updated on how you get on.

NB Welcome to the forum :bigwave:

 

[Jessi]

Hey, Shan. :hug: I hope ya don't mind I moved ya to the Surgery Subforum. You should get more attention here. Good luck with the big day.

 

[jlanier]

I just had surgery in November that was a reversal surgery for my ileostomy as well as a bowel resection. It really isnt all that bad. After the first day of the surgery, I didnt have any pain. The hardest part for me was the recovery time. It took 6 weeks, which was hard because I felt so well after having it done. I was in the hospital for 6 days. They most likely wont let you go home until your bowels move. It took mine 4 days to wake up. Then they went through the progression of diets to make sure everything was good to go.

 

[Kacey]

I had surgery in October, I also have a three year old boy. You are right, it is the hardest part (being in the hospital for that long). I didn't allow my husband to bring my son to the hospital. There were several reasons for this. Being on IV fluids-I felt that would be a little too frightening for him. Also, I was pretty well bed ridden for the most part, so I was worried he would want to lay all over me and having to say NO to that would break my heart. Also I worried that the short visit there would cause some BIG tears when he'd have to go back home. It was SUCH AN EMOTIONAL time for me. I won't lie, it was very hard on me. BUT I don't regret it. I was very focused on getting better, and that energy came from the thought of being home to my son and hubby. My husband explained to him that the doctors were fixing my tummy, as I complained quite a bit about it before going in lol...Although my husband would visit everyday for several hours, when he's get home he would call my hospital room and I would speak to my son. Your husband will likely step up to the role of mom and dad! I loved coming home and watching my boys together. It was really a great time for them to bond. They were both so helpful during recovery. I am sure yours will be too. Like I said, I really don't regret it. You can make it work, it's only for a short time. Good luck!!!! Wish you all the best in recovery and healing!