relief from after effects of colon surgery

nicksgirl

My husband had colon cancer surgery in February. The entire right side of his colon was removed. It was Stage II, and nothing was in his lymph nodes. It appears that they were able to get everything. Since his surgery, of course, it's been a struggle for his system to get back to normal. He's much better now than he was, however, he still has days when he feels bad. I was wondering if anyone has any advice they can pass on for remedies to make him feel better. He doesn't really have diarrhea as much as he used to. But he still doesn't feel 100% better. I realize it can take awhile after surgery. I had been reading about yogurt, or acidophilus supplements. He hasn't been able to really tolerate any other dairy products. What has worked to help balance out your digestive system?

spongebob

Ahoy -

Sounds like he and I had similar surgeries - I had the right side and the transverse removed from me. It will take a couple of years to "retrain" the colon - the right side removes much of the water in the waste stream and purifies and "recycles" it. That's why folks with a right hemicolectemy have such a problem with diarhea (or however you spell that word).

He may also encounter "gurgles" where the two ends of his colon were sewn back together - this is gas cause by the different sizes of pipe that come together at his anastoma. Often there is accompanying gas that is pretty acute.

I stay away from red meat, otherwise I have always eaten a pretty normal diet. I have heard tell that people who follow a diet similar to the Atkins diet alleviate some of their symptoms.

Good luck!

- SB

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nicksgirl

Thank you SpongeBob and Babs211 for your encouragement. I am going to stop by the store tonight and get him some yogurt. Sometimes it's hard to be patient, but we are thankful for where he's at right now!

HisJoy

Hi! I also had the right, ascending colon removed, as well as about 8 inches of small intestine. My cancer was stage 3C, and so I am in chemo, as well. The tenderness, achy and "pulling" feeling in my abdomen is still with me, even 7 months after surgery, plus the ubiquitous diarrhea and gassiness. (probably not a real word, but you get my meaning)

I was able to tolerate small amounts of food after surgery and could supplement my diet with Glucerna, the Ensure product designed for diabetics. I ate a lot of jello, and yogurt is good, plus I ate Cream of Wheat about very morning. I also took a daily multivitamin. I seemed to be able to tolerate saltine crackers, a few at a time, and kept some by my bed so that if I became nauseous or hungry, I could nibble on some crackers and water and that seemed to settle things down.

I imagine everyone is different on what they can and can't eat after this surgery, and so have your hubby just try different foods he enjoys in small amounts and see how he can tolerate it. Best wishes!
Bonny Buffington

kangatoo

HisJoy said:

Hi! I also had the right, ascending colon removed, as well as about 8 inches of small intestine. My cancer was stage 3C, and so I am in chemo, as well. The tenderness, achy and "pulling" feeling in my abdomen is still with me, even 7 months after surgery, plus the ubiquitous diarrhea and gassiness. (probably not a real word, but you get my meaning)

I was able to tolerate small amounts of food after surgery and could supplement my diet with Glucerna, the Ensure product designed for diabetics. I ate a lot of jello, and yogurt is good, plus I ate Cream of Wheat about very morning. I also took a daily multivitamin. I seemed to be able to tolerate saltine crackers, a few at a time, and kept some by my bed so that if I became nauseous or hungry, I could nibble on some crackers and water and that seemed to settle things down.

I imagine everyone is different on what they can and can't eat after this surgery, and so have your hubby just try different foods he enjoys in small amounts and see how he can tolerate it. Best wishes!
Bonny Buffington

I am 18 months NED after stage 2(decending colon/sigmoid) and 6 months chemo. So thats one bit of encouragement. As you can see there are a variety of answers for you and it is true to say everyone is different in recovery but it takes time....it will improve. The advice I received way back after surgery was to eat small meals more often rather than 3 square meals a day. Babs is quite right in her advice in that regard.Also, avoid anything spicy.It took me over 12 months to get back to what I would call normal BM's but even now they are more frequent than before surgery. Noting topics posted here over the past 2 years it is clearly different for everyone.
cheers, kanga n Jen