BRHMichigan

I responded to another thread but not sure it published.  Thank you kindly for remembering, Kim!  I ended up with a permanent colostomy and I am mentally fine with it.  Am managing pain pretty well with Dilaudid.  They anticipate I will be here until Sunday or Monday.  Sat up day after and will be walking today. Back is hurting so I will be so ready to be mobile again.  My spirits are good.  Was just pleased to be alive after a 5-hour surgery.  

Trying not to dwell on the 2 tumors I need to tackle next.  One step at a time.  Lots of family support is helping too. 

i am glad the surgery is over and your pain is not too bad. goof luck with getting up and walking I am sure you will be great and on the road to a fast recovery!! 

betula said:

Home health nurse?

Hi there Beth,

I posted in response to you on another thread about my husband having had certified ostomy home health nurse after being discharged. Not sure if you saw it so just wanted to say I would really recommend that.  They knew more tricks of the trade so to speak than the hosptial ostomy nurses...or maybe just more time to explain them.  They were very knowledgable about the different bag options, ordered more samples for him and then placed his first official order.  Cannot recommend their service enough! 

If you want you can private message me if you have any questions...certainly not an expert by any stretch but might be able to help.  Again, United Ostomy Assoc is a great resource too!

Thinking of you,

Betsy

Yep, I'll be getting a visit at home.  Must be universal.  I am so very relieved to have the permanent.  A few months ago it was my worst fear.  Amazing how strong we human beings can be.  

Thanks for all your great suggestions.

Cindy225 said:

Hug Me Pillow

Beth -  So glad the surgery is over and you are in recovery now.  After my surgery the nurses made me a "Hug Me Pillow" for coughing and sneezing which was so helpful to minimize the pain. I used it in the hospital and at home during my recovery. I had an ileostomy and saw both a home care wound nurse and an ostomy nurse.  Both were great for different reasons. Make sure you ask the hospital ostomy nurse before you are discharged for a card/letter that you can carry with you in case you have an issue requiring medical attention for your ostomy.  Not all hospitals are familiar with it and the card/letter is very specific about how to handle.  I also had one for my port while on chemo as well.  I kept both in my wallet. Another tip a fellow ostomate told me which I did was to buy stretchy tube tops (can buy on amazon) to wear over the ostomy area to smooth it out and hold everything in place under your clothing.  I thought it was effective and also wearing an ostomy belt.  Several weeks into recovery I was surprised to learn that as I was feeling better and wanted to get more active the nerve endings in my belly were finally waking up and letting me know it.  So be patient as the healing process takes time... 

Hugs. Cindy   

For the useful information.  I will not rush into going back to the gym.  I definitely want a belt or some sort of support to keep it in place.  Mine is positioned nicely.  This is going tobe quite an adjustment, but I am ready.

I'm glad you're though the surgery and that you've made your peace with it. I was going to ask how long the surgery takes and now I have a ballpark for it which explains the recovery period. I meet with the surgeon on Tuesday and then the surgery is two to three weeks from there. I'll be watching for your posts of course. Now, where is Jim?

My bowel prep & liquid diet were only one day prior.  Go figure.  I could have left the hospital today (5 days post surgery) but chose to stay one more.  I'd like to give you a few more details on my experience if you're interested.

My surgery was estimated for at least 3 hours.  They needed 5 hours because they ended up cutting me open instead of the smaller laparascopic cut.  I have a small incision just at my belly button they used for a camera, and a larger incision under that so they could ' get in there.'  As a result they were able to save my uterus.  And the tumor didn't enter my vaginal wall so no cuts or stitches there!  Praise to God.

They removed a small tube that acted as a drain just to the right of my navel.  That was today.  Relief.  No fun to walk around with that thing and I didn't want to go home with it.  

The surgeon said they spent a lot of time creating my stoma which is kind of lower ledt part of my abdomen.  I ate solid food yesterday and today.  The bowel is working well.  I will get a visit from a stoma nurse 2 or 3 times at home.  

I want to tell you my surgery was at 1pm and I was soooo nervous.  My hubby and mother in law were able to be with me during pre op.  Such a comfort.  I met the entire surgical team.  They were so friendly and open to last minute questions.  The nurses were amazing.  Once they gave me some oral.pain meds and hooked up I.V.'s in both arms, I felt at peace.  The meds helped so much.  Said my goodbyes to family and was wheeled to a smallish operating room with 2 sets of big lights that weren't turned on yet.  They put an oxygen mask on me....next thing I knew the clock read 7:30pm.  My family went home as I was out of it.  Brought me to a private room and it was suddenly 11pm.  I slept thru a lot!  I woke up next day feeling so happy to be alive.  My spirits have been really good since.

Jim (and Mike), your outcomes may be different than mine, but I can assure you, this was worth it.

My prayers are with you both.  You will be smiling & laughing & enjoying your families in no time.

Love, Beth 

lizard44 said:

Thanks for the info, Beth

It's aways good to get info from someone who has  already gone through it.

I start the liquid diet and  prep tomorrow for APR surgery on Tuesday.  The surgeon told me  that he plans to do laparoscopic surgery but there's always the chance  he'll have to  switch to open surgery, and since my  tumor is so low he won't be able to save the anal sphincter we already know going in that I'll have a permanent  colostomy, so I'm hoping that everything goes as planned and that my surgery and recovery go as well as yours, although I'm hoping  the surgery doesn't take  quite as long and I can go home  a little sooner, which is why I'm keeping my fingers crossed that  we can go the laparoscopic rather than open surgery route.

I already told the surgeon  to make sure he gets a good night's sleep Monday night. I probably won't sleep a wink myself in between the bowel prep tomorrow evening and  needing to be at the hospital at 5 A.M. Tuesday morning.

Thanks again for sharing your experience. I hope you continue to recover well and stay in good spirits.

Cheers,

Grace/lizard44

Apologies as I forgot your surgery parallels Jim's.  

I will be thinking of you & praying for a great outcome.  You all have been wonderful companions to me through this horrible experience.  It's nice not to feel so alone.  I was also relieved to know my surgeon perform 3-5 of these surgeries every week.  They make good decisions.  They really want the best for us.  

I hope and pray you get to have the simpler robotic procedure too!

--Beth

Ladies:

Tuesday Resection Club - The only prereq to join is rectal cancer and surgical response. 

That publicity statement might cause interested people to turn away.  Need to think of something more appealing.

Tuesday Resection Club - A guaranteed medically supervised method of losing 10 pounds in 7 days.

Thanks for the update Beth.  I can tell from the tone of your message that you have found some peace.  Good for you.

Grace: I was not aware of your surgery date either.  May we both enter and exit in a better condition!

One last humorous comment.  Beth, perhaps the reason that my bowel prep is two days in length is because the surgeon thinks that I am really full of it!?!

Jim

Jim, I passed a 12" rope-like clot that looked like my small intestine was coming out!  Had to call my surgeon at 7:30 night before surgery.  It was nothing to alarm him.  Soooo you're not the only one full of it. 

Cheers to fewer bowel issues!!!!

you did so well with your surgery.   Wishing you a really speedy recovery.

and good luck to all the Tuesday Surgery folks!  

pam