Bowel surgery advice please.

[K-Endo]

Hi lovelies,

I hope you are all well.

I’ve got my surgery date for bowel resection (YEY) can anyone advise what I should take into hospital with me please and for those who’ve had the surgery what is recovery time etc like please?

TIA xx

[plotments]

Hi....I can't really help with your question relating to bowel surgery, but just wanted to wish you all the best and hope everything goes well for you.Have you been told how long you might be in hospital for?

Slippers, nightdress and dressing gown are a must.

wash bag/ flannel.

Comfy knickers and loose clothing to go home in, nothing that's tight around you waist.

Phone and charger, maybe a book. Ear plugs and eye mask can help you sleep a little better, hospitals are noisy and bright at night!!

Take a bottle of water or something to drink and maybe some little snacks for after op. Boiled sweets come in handy as well. I'm not sure if you will be able to have them or if you have to eat particular things while bowel is recovering.

Good luck

Take care

[K-Endo in reply to plotments]

Aww that’s so kind of you to have responded - thank you 😊 I have my pre-assessment on Thursday so hopefully I will find out more then.

Thank you again , hope things are ok your end x

[plotments in reply to K-Endo]

You'll have to let me know how you get on.I'm up and down...you know what it's like!!!

I'm waiting for a total hysterectomy with removal of bowel endo.

You should find out on Thursday, but make yourself a little list of questions you want to ask them......Your mind always goes blank when you get there!!

xx

[K-Endo in reply to plotments]

I do and it’s cruel and unfair. I’ll be thinking of you too, hopefully not much longer for you to wait.I nearly burst into tears when the appt. came through I’ve been waiting 2 years since my lap.

Thank you, I was thinking of doing that.

Lots of love to you 💛

[plotments in reply to K-Endo]

It's crazy to think we're actually looking forward to surgery. I'm not surprised you cried, it is all so overwhelming at times, you must have felt so relieved.

I had my second lap Feb 2020, hopefully I won't be waiting too long now.

Fingers crossed all goes well for you Thursday

xxx

[K-Endo in reply to plotments]

I know I think it speaks volumes though, it shows how much we struggle and how desperate we are.

I hope your not hun, got everything crossed for you.

Thank you Xx

[Denisa_2]

Hi, i had bowel surgery back in September last year. They took out 10 cm where rectum joins sigmoid colon. I was fitted with stoma (ileostomy) - which is bringing loop of my small intestine to belly surface with opening to alow stoll to leave body to stoma bag. That disconnected my large intestinse from digestion track, allowing it to heal. That is temporary and i have reversal next friday. I was advised recovery tim 8 weeks, but unfortunately i had infections, been readmitted to hospital and was over 3 months off work. This was my 5th surgery so thought i was 'used' to surgeries. But one hit me like tons of bricks. I'm won't lie, it was hard - but i had this infection complications which is not for everyone. What to bring to hospital - robe, slides shoes, long charging cable or battery bank, pen ( you will have to mark your lunch/dinner choices), nightshirts ( always better than pyjamas as you don't want any pants to push on your belly), and then toiletries....

[Wilder_ness]

Hi - I had a bowel resection (as well as a whole host of other things relating to endo). Surprisingly it was the easiest to recover from. I think because it’s all internal & you can’t see it - it takes away the psychological factor of seeing it! I had small scars and a small wound around my belly button that healed well.

It wasn’t all pain free but a lot worse than I imagined it would be . I hate the prep beforehand with the enema/ sachets! I drank lots of the Shloer clear grape drink just to give me some sugar to keep me going (you’d have to check that this is still allowed).

I didn’t poop for a few days afterwards and when I did I passed large blood clots, which I was told was normal but still tell the nurses. If you haven’t pooped make sure you have some Laxido/ Movacol sachets in, as you want to make it as soft as possible, so you’re not straining. If you’re at home at this point you don’t have to worry if they make you too loose, as long as you’re near a loo.

Have lots of big comfy knickers - cheap ones that you can throw away. Did have the odd accident in the first couple of weeks & gas that you can’t control, not gonna lie!! Just accept the embarrassment factor that goes along with it all and laugh it off!

Good luck 💜

[Greenblue55]

Hi - best of luck for your op, great you've got a date. I had a bowel resection in 2017 to remove infiltrating endo around the rectum and other nearby areas. On top of the things everyone else has said, comfy clothes etc. I found mint tea hugely helpful to sip on (I drink a lot of it anyway!). You'll need to drink plenty but in sips rather than gulps to help get everything moving after the surgery. I was in hospital for about four days, and off work for six weeks. My recovery was pretty straightforward as I didn't have any infection and the stitches were all well behaved. I had a spinal block injection before the anesthetic and op, so don't really remember the day after my surgery to be honest! The bit I found most painful was my bowels "waking up" a couple of days after the surgery, ahead of a first bowel movement, quite a griping stomach pain. The nurse gave me some peppermint oil which really helped though. Best of luck and as others have said, ask any and all questions you want to at your pre-op and on the day to the surgeon.

[Violet89]

Hi there, wishing you loads of luck for your surgery! I had a bowel resection for stage 4 endo in Nov 2019. I found I was the same I didn’t know what to expect there didn’t seem to be much info! Sorry for the essay but hopefully it will help: Firstly - the sachets the day before, you will feel empty (excuse the pun) it is a long old day, keep close to the toilet and have you favourite shows lined up ready to watch. Sorry if TMI make sure you have some Sudocream & soft toilet paper! I had a sore bottom with constantly going to the toilet!

Day of the surgery I felt exhausted mainly from the day before. I was also nervous about waking up with an ileostomy.

After the surgery I was completely out of it for about 2 days I would say, catheter in and drugged up, didn’t eat anything just had fluids through a drip. By the 3rd day I was allowed soft foods, so mashed potato, porridge, jelly & ice cream.

I ended up staying in hospital for 10 days which I wasn’t prepared for. All because I couldn’t go to the toilet! I felt ok-ish by about day 6 and ready to go home.

Take lots of puzzle books if you like those sorts of things, audio books, tv programs downloaded, headphones. A dressing gown, lots of baggy T-shirt’s (night dresses) baggy pj trousers and shorts as you will be bloated from the gas. I also took my sliders to wear around if I went for a ‘walk’. Some nice shower gel to make you feel nice if you have a wash at some point.

Ear plugs and eye mask! Hospitals come alive at night! These were my saviour (I always wear them anyway!)

Hope this helps - sorry for the essay. Feel free to private message me I know I had loads of questions!good luck! Xxxx

[Violet89 in reply to Violet89]

Sorry I forgot like Greenblue mentions above I also had an epidural before my general anaesthetic which I wasn’t prepared for / didn’t know I was having! But I think that all helps with the pain afterwards xx

[EllieR1992]

Hi, I had a big excision surgery with bowel resection last summer, what to take to hospital has all been covered below I think!I was advised that it might take up to 6 months for things to go back to normal properly, I didn’t have many problems bowel-wise but I did end up wearing a sanitary pad for a while because every now and then I’d pass some poo without knowing. This wasnt often and improved with time so I’m not saying that to worry you, just a heads up that I think its a common thing after a bowel surgery. I was advised to take probiotics (I buy the purple box of ProBio7) and still take them now. Hopefully youve had advice for a low fibre diet before surgery? And just dont rush yourself, they gave me a good plan of how much excercise i should be doing in the weeks afterwards so hopefully youve been talked through that, but just take it super easy. Sending you very best wishes, hope it goes well xx