pain after surgery

Kathleen808
Kathleen808 Member Posts: 2,342 Member
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Hi,
Can you share with us what it is like in the days after initial colon surgery. As I mentioned **** had 75% of his colon removed on Tuesday. He tried some liquid yesterday and then threw everything up about 15 minutes later. Then he was allowed nothing by mouth the rest of the day. He drank some tea this morning and started to feel the pain again about 10 minutes later. How long did it take for you to be able to drink/ eat with no or little pain?
Thanks.
Kathleen and ****

Comments

  • CherylHutch
    CherylHutch Member Posts: 1,375 Member
    #2
    Hmmm...
    I don't think I can be of too much help here, Kathleen. Since I was admitted to hospital 3 weeks before my surgery with perotonitis (infection of the abdomen), I had to be on IV feeding (nothing by mouth). I can't remember but I don't think I was even allowed to have water, except to brush my teeth... but that's a little fuzzy now.

    I do know, after the surgery, I think I was still on the IV feeding for a couple of days and then they slowly changed me over to a clear liquid diet (along with the IV feed, then the wonderful diet of hospital "mystery" broth (they say it was a soup broth but I beg to differ) and jello. The first solid meal I had was the day I was released from the hospital... 7 days after the surgery but after not eating solid foods for a month, I think I could only take a bite of toast and a bite of scrambled egg and then I was full.

    Now, I only had 18 inches of my colon removed, so I don't think I was anywhere close to having as much removed as **** did... so it's quite possible that it will take him a little longer to expect the 25% of colon to be functioning normally. Remember... when you are under a general anesthetic, basically all your organs are put to sleep... and it does take them some time to "wake up". From what I was told, the intestines are one of the slowest organs to wake up and function normally again... so add that to the fact that 75% of his colon is gone and it doesn't come as any surprise that he's having trouble keeping things down, even water. It's only been a couple of days... so no need to panic. Everything will settle down, but he has to take very little baby steps so that he doesn't overwork an already traumatized area.

    Hang in there... every day it will get better!

    Huggggs,

    Cheryl
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #3
    This comment has been removed by the Moderator
  • rrob
    rrob Member Posts: 158
    #4
    After resection
    I had a laprascopic resection on Dec. 12. They started me on a clear liquid diet, maybe on the day after surgery (I can't remember), but I threw everything up, so they restricted me to ice for another day. Then I was able to do clear liquids and keep those down. After that I had a regular diet and once my bowels were working, I went home on the 16th. I know that as soon as possible, I walked quite a bit. Walking helps your bowels start working and my goal was to go home as soon as I could, so I was a champion walker! Of course, having the surgery done laprascopically helped things go a little quicker, too. Good luck!

    Rebecca
  • Kathleen808
    Kathleen808 Member Posts: 2,342 Member
    #5
    that helps
    Thanks everyone, that helps. **** has been up and walking and then he comes back and sleeps for an hour or so, I think it is the pain meds. Believe it or not we went to the path lab and they laid his colon out before us and we looked at his bowel and the cancer. I think it helped him to see what he's up against. The good news is that tumor is not in his body anymore.
    Thank you for being so faithful and answering our questions.
    Aloha,
    Kathleen
  • msccolon
    msccolon Member Posts: 1,917 Member
    #6
    Kathleen808 said:

    that helps
    Thanks everyone, that helps. **** has been up and walking and then he comes back and sleeps for an hour or so, I think it is the pain meds. Believe it or not we went to the path lab and they laid his colon out before us and we looked at his bowel and the cancer. I think it helped him to see what he's up against. The good news is that tumor is not in his body anymore.
    Thank you for being so faithful and answering our questions.
    Aloha,
    Kathleen

    You got to see the colon?!!!
    I am TOTALLY jealous! I can't even seem to get a picture of the last tumor they removed from me! I will try again when I go back to the hospital next week! Sounds disgusting, but I'm with you, I want to see what that ugly bugger looked like!
    mary
  • funnyguy
    funnyguy Member Posts: 89
    #7
    Kathleen808 said:

    that helps
    Thanks everyone, that helps. **** has been up and walking and then he comes back and sleeps for an hour or so, I think it is the pain meds. Believe it or not we went to the path lab and they laid his colon out before us and we looked at his bowel and the cancer. I think it helped him to see what he's up against. The good news is that tumor is not in his body anymore.
    Thank you for being so faithful and answering our questions.
    Aloha,
    Kathleen

    cool
    That is sooo cool that you got to see the tumor. I'm jealous too!
    What a great way to really be sure it's out.

    As far as your initial question about after surgery...I was like others...It was a several days before they allowed anything beside sips of water. They wanted to be certain to hear bowel sounds first. Otherwise your bowels (or what's left of them) are still asleep and unable to process....


    cheers and good health to you.
  • tootsie1
    tootsie1 Member Posts: 5,044 Member
    #8
    slow and easy
    I was on ice chips and then a liquid diet until I left the hospital 4 days after my surgery. For a few weeks after that, I still had a very small appetite and consumed more soups than anything. I hope **** will be feeling much better soon!

    *hugs*
    Gail

    P.S. That's awesome that you got to see the colon!
  • Joy1216
    Joy1216 Member Posts: 290 Member
    #9
    Nothing to eat or drink
    My resection was on a Wednesday and until Monday morning I was not allowed to have anything to eat or drink, not even ice chips. I kept begging for ice chips because my throat and lips were so dry, but the nurses kept saying "no" because that's what the surgeon ordered. My IV was disconnected on Monday morning and I was given jello and other soft foods that morning and then released from the hospital Monday evening. I started eating small amounts of solid food the next day with no pain from eating. My pain was every time I stood up or sat down. I was OK as long as I didn't move. Two weeks later when I went to the doctor, I could barely walk. Guess I'm a wuss. A gal at church had a colon resection and was at church a couple of days after she got out of the hospital. She's 20 years younger than I am. Granted, she was walking slowly and hanging on her husband's arm, but she wasn't in much pain. My point is that everyone is different. I'll be praying that ****'s pain will lessen as he heals.
    Joy
  • MoonDragon
    MoonDragon Member Posts: 183
    #10
    funnyguy said:

    cool
    That is sooo cool that you got to see the tumor. I'm jealous too!
    What a great way to really be sure it's out.

    As far as your initial question about after surgery...I was like others...It was a several days before they allowed anything beside sips of water. They wanted to be certain to hear bowel sounds first. Otherwise your bowels (or what's left of them) are still asleep and unable to process....


    cheers and good health to you.

    I got to see mine too. I had
    I got to see mine too. I had a colonoscopy done about 5 days before the surgery and the next time I went to my gastro he showed me the pictures. Aside from the tumor the whole area looked like ash. I had the tumor, 2 polyps that were becoming cancerous, the colon perforation and all the tissue around the cancer was ashy looking. Very scary and made me very glad it was gone! It had sprung up in just a year. I'd had my check-up colonoscopy from my initial cancer in 2000 just a year prior to the whole 2nd shebang. Yukk
  • MoonDragon
    MoonDragon Member Posts: 183
    #11
    This sounds really bad but I
    This sounds really bad but I don't remember. I was so out of it after my surgery that I can't remember eating for at least 3 or 4 days. I might have but I just don't remember, sorry!
  • impactzone
    impactzone Member Posts: 555 Member
    #12
    MoonDragon said:

    This sounds really bad but I
    This sounds really bad but I don't remember. I was so out of it after my surgery that I can't remember eating for at least 3 or 4 days. I might have but I just don't remember, sorry!

    After my colon surgery, I
    After my colon surgery, I did so much walking and listening to an ipod. I believe that helped a lot. The pain pills that I got post hospital were all opiates that for me caused constipation which was HORRIBLE. I felt better with the pain that that so I quickly went the Motrin way instead of those pills. It will get better.
    Chip
    Stage 4

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