Question about Sigmoidectomy

OtherShoeFell
OtherShoeFell Member Posts: 37
in Colorectal Cancer #1
Okay - this is comming up soon. I was told 4-6 days in the hospital, then home. Is it reasonable to think I might "go back to work" by the beginning of the 3rd week post surgery?

I can't see the forest through the trees at this point - so here's a poetic contribution to the boards for today:

"A family is like a forest, when you are outside it is dense, when you are inside you see that each tree has its place" Ghana, Akan Proverb

Cheers!

Comments

  • Buckwirth
    Buckwirth Member Posts: 1,258 Member
    #2
    OSF
    Without knowing the extent of the surgery it is a hard question to answer. My entire rectum was removed on January 10th, and what I heard the doctors and nurses say was 4 weeks to heal, well it turned out to be 8 weeks before I could even think about sitting upright in a car!

    Then there was the whole thing about getting used to the colostomy...

    Looking it up on google yours does not seem as radical, so you may heal much faster.

    Yours,

    Blake
  • Buckwirth
    Buckwirth Member Posts: 1,258 Member
    #3
    Buckwirth said:

    OSF
    Without knowing the extent of the surgery it is a hard question to answer. My entire rectum was removed on January 10th, and what I heard the doctors and nurses say was 4 weeks to heal, well it turned out to be 8 weeks before I could even think about sitting upright in a car!

    Then there was the whole thing about getting used to the colostomy...

    Looking it up on google yours does not seem as radical, so you may heal much faster.

    Yours,

    Blake

    Bump
    Anyone else been through this?
  • OtherShoeFell
    OtherShoeFell Member Posts: 37
    #4
    Buckwirth said:

    OSF
    Without knowing the extent of the surgery it is a hard question to answer. My entire rectum was removed on January 10th, and what I heard the doctors and nurses say was 4 weeks to heal, well it turned out to be 8 weeks before I could even think about sitting upright in a car!

    Then there was the whole thing about getting used to the colostomy...

    Looking it up on google yours does not seem as radical, so you may heal much faster.

    Yours,

    Blake

    Buckwirth
    The sigmoid is just up from the rectum. I don't think (at least at this point) they are planning on removing any of that part of me, but of course they can't guarantee "Once we get in there" kinda thing. The plan is laproscopic resection, but of course they said, if they run into difficulties, then there would be additional incisions. One just never knows where the road will go, huh?

    I do know that it took "practice" (10-15 minutes a try) for me to be able to sit up after my ependymoma resection, and that wasn't the abdominal muscles, so this will be a new experience for me. Of course I didn't know (or don't remember having been told) that I would feel differently after that surgery, so it's always a guessing game or a gamble.

    Thanks for trying to help me out.
    :-)

    Bev
  • Lovekitties
    Lovekitties Member Posts: 3,364 Member
    #5
    Hi
    I don't have personal experience with this surgery as mine was like Blakes.

    I would guess that your ability to go back to work would depend on your doc's instructions about care, rest and driving restrictions. Even with small external incisions, there is still all the internal work to take into consideration. Most patients also have to work at learning how their diet now works since part of the intestinal process has been removed. Some have little problems and other's seem to need to be close to the bathroom. Each person and surgery is a bit different.

    I wish you the best. Please keep us posted on when the surgery is so we can send up prayers, good vibes, etc. for the surgerons to do their best work.

    Hugs to you,

    Marie who loves kitties

Discussion Boards