Surgery ?

qwe
qwe Member Posts: 124
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Any one with rectal cancer how long were you in the hospital and
when could you start eating food?

Comments

  • pamness
    pamness Member Posts: 524 Member
    #2
    I had colon, not rectal cancer but
    two friends of mine had rectal cancer and started eating a very short time after surgery. It does depend on your stage and what type of surgery.

    I am sure if you provide more information, others on the board can comment. With a colonectomy - I went three days on liquids - 7 days on soft foods and then - it was whatever with discretion.

    Pam
  • Annabelle41415
    Annabelle41415 Member Posts: 6,742 Member
    #3
    Surgery
    So surprised you got a date so soon. Thought mine forgot about me. I am one day ahead of you. Good luck!

    Kim
  • Buzzard
    Buzzard Member Posts: 3,043 Member
    #4
    Annabelle41415 said:

    Surgery
    So surprised you got a date so soon. Thought mine forgot about me. I am one day ahead of you. Good luck!

    Kim

    Here ya go qwe.....
    Surgery 7/15/08 at 7;30am
    out of surgery at 1;30 pm.
    Laproscopic surgery. tumor was in one spot and no nodes involved.
    Got clear margins but lost my rectum and anus and now have an ostomy in my sigmoid colon.
    I went completely off pain meds (morphine) Thursday and ate 5 cups of jello to make my ostomy work . I also had my catheter removed at 0800am Thursday morning and urinated 400 centimeters at 10am. I was dismissed from the hospital to go home at 11;30 am Friday morning.
    I stopped at McDonalds and ate a fish sandwich on the way home but no fries....I have had no problems at all with my ostomy.
    The intestine has no nerves so the only pain you should feel is (if you have a colostomy) is the stitches around the intestine where it is sewn to the stomach. That still isn't much pain at all.
    I had my rectum sewn shut, that is where most all of my pain came from. There tends to be a little fluid buildup on the backside after surgery and I had pain with that but I squatted down one morning to pick up something and it was like I peed in my pants, it was the scar draining off and it was an immediate relief. It did this a couple of times then I guess the body started to absorb it again. It was however a slow process in my ability to sit down and be comfortable enough to stay sat down. It felt as though a pair of socks had been sewn up in there with everything else.
    After about 5 weeks it all started to come together and I have no more difficulty sitting or standing. It will be tender for a while and you will find yourself protecting the tender areas but all in all it was a rest between treatments, and a welcomed one at that. It gives you time to take a breath and get ready for the last path. The post op chemo regimen....Good luck to you qwe and God Bless......
  • tiny one
    tiny one Member Posts: 465 Member
    #5
    hospital stay
    I had my resection on Feb 19,07. I woke up with an ileostomy, this was not expected. My cancerous polyp was lower than they expected. I was told upon waking up and finding out I had a bag that I would need chemo and radiation. My hospital stay turned out to be 10 days. This was because every time I would try to eat I would have heartburn and everything would come back up. They took me back into surgery to stretch my stoma, this was on the 24th. After this I could eat, it took me awhile to eat normal amounts. I lost at least 10 pounds while in the hospital. I had an epedural put in before I was taken to surgery and was on a morphine drip. If you can have an epidural it's a godsend. This isn't an easy surgery, it takes awhile to heal from this. They usually start you on liquids fairly soon one or 2 days after. They'll get you up soon too. Remember the sooner you walk the stronger you get. You get stronger by eating. I was surprised that when I got up to walk a day or two after I could walk fairly easily by myself. The day after I got home from the hospital I was doing laundry. Carrying small amounts to the washer. I was doing dishes. I just did a little at a time. This made me feel a little stronger each day. Don't vaccuum though. I think I waited at least 2 months to do this. God bless. Any more questions let me know.
  • tiny one
    tiny one Member Posts: 465 Member
    #6
    Buzzard said:

    Here ya go qwe.....
    Surgery 7/15/08 at 7;30am
    out of surgery at 1;30 pm.
    Laproscopic surgery. tumor was in one spot and no nodes involved.
    Got clear margins but lost my rectum and anus and now have an ostomy in my sigmoid colon.
    I went completely off pain meds (morphine) Thursday and ate 5 cups of jello to make my ostomy work . I also had my catheter removed at 0800am Thursday morning and urinated 400 centimeters at 10am. I was dismissed from the hospital to go home at 11;30 am Friday morning.
    I stopped at McDonalds and ate a fish sandwich on the way home but no fries....I have had no problems at all with my ostomy.
    The intestine has no nerves so the only pain you should feel is (if you have a colostomy) is the stitches around the intestine where it is sewn to the stomach. That still isn't much pain at all.
    I had my rectum sewn shut, that is where most all of my pain came from. There tends to be a little fluid buildup on the backside after surgery and I had pain with that but I squatted down one morning to pick up something and it was like I peed in my pants, it was the scar draining off and it was an immediate relief. It did this a couple of times then I guess the body started to absorb it again. It was however a slow process in my ability to sit down and be comfortable enough to stay sat down. It felt as though a pair of socks had been sewn up in there with everything else.
    After about 5 weeks it all started to come together and I have no more difficulty sitting or standing. It will be tender for a while and you will find yourself protecting the tender areas but all in all it was a rest between treatments, and a welcomed one at that. It gives you time to take a breath and get ready for the last path. The post op chemo regimen....Good luck to you qwe and God Bless......

    ostomy
    Just wondered did you know before surgery that you would have your ostomy. How are you doing managing yours? I had no idea that I would wake up with mine. I had an ileostomy and learned to manage mine very easily. Mentally it was hard to accept, but mine was temporary. I had my reversal but had no idea how hard it was going to be, and how painful it was. God bless.
  • Buzzard
    Buzzard Member Posts: 3,043 Member
    #7
    tiny one said:

    ostomy
    Just wondered did you know before surgery that you would have your ostomy. How are you doing managing yours? I had no idea that I would wake up with mine. I had an ileostomy and learned to manage mine very easily. Mentally it was hard to accept, but mine was temporary. I had my reversal but had no idea how hard it was going to be, and how painful it was. God bless.

    Yes........
    I had mine dotted on my abs so that I knew exactly where it would be...I had a 30% chance of saving my rectum and not having a bag but I told the surgeon that I didn't care whether I did or not. I have been let down so much in this journey I decided to not expect anything to go as planned and it turns out better or it is at least easier to get through. I have no problem with my ostomy at all except for free farting which I don't even try to control. I just let er rip (unless Im in church)..........

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