let the clenz begin, All reversals please respond, updated

WinneyPooh

I have such respect for all of you and how you all are handleing such a difficult time in our lives, We all are facing many challenges and I just wanted to say this,

I am clenzing for yet another look see and after tomarrow i will know how good my surgery are healed and if the reversal will take place as planned on next wednesday.

My surgen says it is not a very difficult proceedure and i should only expect 2 -3 days in the hospital,

Any experience with the reversal and afterward how you pooped would be welcome,

soon to be doing the potty dance,

Live, Laugh, Play
Penny

reversal has been post poned, surgen wants to do both the liver resurection and ileo reversal at same time so we have post poned the proceedure. I will know more monday.

soccermom13

Hi Penny,
I had my ileostomy reversal 7 weeks after my chemo was finished middle of June last year. I had had a bulging hernia the whole time I had it in so my surgery went well but the recovery was a bit longer. Do take it easy! Support the sore area when you move around for the first week or so. I hear it is similar to having a Cesarean? I am still having some issues with gas and sometimes the bowels are a bit weird. I am trying to drink lots of water, eat more yogurt and take probiotics. I am also trying a more Mediterranean diet. I was big on exercise before this journey and still am, I truly believe this helps as well. Good luck and remember to go easy!
Shanna

TxKayaker

soccermom13 said:

Hi Penny,
I had my ileostomy reversal 7 weeks after my chemo was finished middle of June last year. I had had a bulging hernia the whole time I had it in so my surgery went well but the recovery was a bit longer. Do take it easy! Support the sore area when you move around for the first week or so. I hear it is similar to having a Cesarean? I am still having some issues with gas and sometimes the bowels are a bit weird. I am trying to drink lots of water, eat more yogurt and take probiotics. I am also trying a more Mediterranean diet. I was big on exercise before this journey and still am, I truly believe this helps as well. Good luck and remember to go easy!
Shanna

I had my ostomy reversal at
I had my ostomy reversal at the end of December. I spent 8 days in the hospital and two weeks at home before I came back to work. I just took it easy for 6 weeks and not lifted anything over 5 pounds. As far as the pooping question I have had no issues but I don't miss the bag. Good luck to you.
Mike

kristasplace

Anastomotic Stricture
Hi Penny! I don't know if you remember my story at all, but i had an ileostomy reversal back in May of last year. It was difficult for me because i have a stubborn anastomotic stricture that doesn't respond well to dilations. So it's still very difficult to pass stool, and if i decide to drink a lot of juice (which i sometimes like to do for health reasons), i have incontinence. If you don't get a stricture, you'll probably be fine. As far as the ostomy wound...it was a walk in the park, especially compared to the resection surgery. I had a wound vac for six weeks which healed it right up, and hardly any pain whatsoever in the surgical site. I was in hospital five days, just until i was able to eat, and pass something.

Good luck with it! I know how exciting it is to finally get a reversal!

Hugs,
Krista

khl8

I had the reversal last
I had the reversal last Septmeber about a month after chemo ended. I spent 2 days in the hospital and was off work for a week. It went remarkably well, the only issues I had were retraining of the sphicnter muscle. Start working it now, clenching and releasing. I needed to stay close to a bathroom the first week and to be honest I did have a few accidents. Since the reversal i only go about every 3 days and when I start it takes awhile,however every month is seems to be getting better and better. Just listen to your body and note the foods you eat and what they do to you.
Kathy

Shayenne

khl8 said:

I had the reversal last
I had the reversal last Septmeber about a month after chemo ended. I spent 2 days in the hospital and was off work for a week. It went remarkably well, the only issues I had were retraining of the sphicnter muscle. Start working it now, clenching and releasing. I needed to stay close to a bathroom the first week and to be honest I did have a few accidents. Since the reversal i only go about every 3 days and when I start it takes awhile,however every month is seems to be getting better and better. Just listen to your body and note the foods you eat and what they do to you.
Kathy

Penny...
I just wanted to say good luck with your reversal, you're a strong, wonderful woman and you'll do great! I am too chicken to even get a reversal on my colostomy, and just think living with my nagging nellie will be alittle easier for me then trying to retrain my bowels, I'm just scared, and kudos to you! You'll be in my prayers!

Hugsss!
~Donna

khl8

Shayenne said:

Penny...
I just wanted to say good luck with your reversal, you're a strong, wonderful woman and you'll do great! I am too chicken to even get a reversal on my colostomy, and just think living with my nagging nellie will be alittle easier for me then trying to retrain my bowels, I'm just scared, and kudos to you! You'll be in my prayers!

Hugsss!
~Donna

Donna,
Retraining is not
Donna,
Retraining is not that bad, it takes some patience, but it worth it. I noticed in another post about intimacy and you not wanting to take off your shirt, reversals can bring that part of your life back to you. We hear so many talk about the hard part about a reversal but there are those of us out here,who did not have it bad at all. If it is just the retraining stopping you, it is not that awful!
Kathy

TxKayaker

khl8 said:

Donna,
Retraining is not
Donna,
Retraining is not that bad, it takes some patience, but it worth it. I noticed in another post about intimacy and you not wanting to take off your shirt, reversals can bring that part of your life back to you. We hear so many talk about the hard part about a reversal but there are those of us out here,who did not have it bad at all. If it is just the retraining stopping you, it is not that awful!
Kathy

Donna, I have to agree with
Donna, I have to agree with Kathy nothing to it as far as getting the bowels back working. Now the surgery and the time to heal was no picnic but that's the price I paid but being free of the bag is worth millions to me.
Be well
Mike

Patteee

I had a colostomy take down
I had a colostomy take down 13 months ago. Maybe different than the illestomy reversal, don't know.

I was in for 7 days- very very similar in many ways to the colon resection- actually went into it not knowing if the ends would fit perfectly so didn't know if I would come out of it with a healing place on one side and an illestomy on the other. (the surgeon warned me that if the colon did not fit together perfectly she would still reconnect, but then I would need an illiestomy for 6 months while the other part healed- fortunately that was not an issue!)

The reason I was in so long, was needing to poop- they won't let you go until you do- takes awhile for the colon to wake up when it has been manipulated- I am sure you remember that from the initial resection. Had an NG tube in for 24 hours- then clear liquids for a few days, then semi-solids (yeah, oatmeal and vanilla shakes) and then finally we woke up and did what needed to be done to spring me from Mayo Clinic- love that place, but really a week is way too long to be in! Pain was not an issue- I was on advil and the like within 2 days. Up walking within a few hours post-op. The entire experience was a breeze in comparison- it for me was the end of my cancer treatment- it was my way of regaining my life again, truly the feeling that life was just beginning was right there in my heart and soul.

The retraining of the colon didn't take long- but it was a strange time period- feeling the urgency of having to go and then nothing. I have only had issues with a very large hernia at the site, which was repaired last July.

Good luck and congrats on getting to this point. Everything will be fine, you will see!