Two weeks ago I had a right hemi-colectomy operation, removing a very large part of my small bowel and some of my large bowel. Unfortunately, since then I have had a severe case of the runs and chronic pains (which I've put down to wind). I just wondered if anyone else has had this op and have this happened, if so how long did it last? This is exactly how I was before (if not worse) with my crohns.
Due to see my Crohns consultant tomorrow, who may be able to enlighten me but not seeing the surgeon for another 6 weeks.
I had the same op as you 4 months ago. I too had terrible pain from wind and was running to the loo as often as before the op. Was a bit annoyed at the time coz I thought the op would have helped with all of that! I figured what I was eating wasn't helping, as that had been a long standing problem anyway, and cut out fruit and veg and anything with wheat in it, which calmed it down a lot.
4 months on i'm not running to the loo much at all, although still get incredible pain if I eat any fruit or veg or wheat products. Apparently being sensitive to fruit and veg is quite common for a few months after a hemicolectomy so I've got my fingers crossed that things will settle in time and I'll be able to eat a more varied diet. Also, my surgeon said that running to the loo is expected for the first 6 months!
Did your consultant give you any helpful information about it when you saw him the other day?
Thanks for your input. Yes, I saw my Crohns consultant on Tuesday, who confirmed it was normal to have the runs due to having a shortened bowel and the bit that's been removed was responsible for absorbing bile/preventing diarrhea etc. He's given me something to drink (thickening solution) and will try me on anti-diarrhea meds if it doesn't work.
To be honest, it has been so bad over the past 24hrs that I have stayed in bed all morning until now as when I move the diarrhea starts and wont stop. (staying in bed is not like me at all, so I must be bad!) My stomach is extremely swollen on the right hand side, can't even fit into my largest trousers but apparently this is due to water...? I haven't eaten much fruit or veg, haven't got much of an appetite but I will watch what I'm eating. My scar is also very sore and inflamed today. I'm reluctant to call my gp as I really don't want to go back into hospital and I suspect that's what they'd do - put me on IV of steroids again.
Do you work? The reason I'm asking is that I'm signed off work until January but my consultant thinks I may need longer. As things are at the moment, I couldn't contemplate working, infact getting out of the house in the mornings is pretty impossible due to the diarrhea but I guess it will get better.
Thanks so much for your comments at least I don't feel like I'm the only one.
God, i forgot how bad it can be at the start! I was in hospital for 4 weeks after the op and for the first 16 days I had nothing to eat at all. During that time, i managed to retain one and a half stones of fluid and could only fit in to very loose pyjamas, and developed an abcess. Felt I was never out of the toilet as well. I was about one week out of hospital (which was 5 weeks after the op) before my appetite returned. Didn't start to put weight on for another month after that tho. It's really slow to start with, but then all of a sudden, you'll realise that you are all healed up and back to normal eating and a normal weight again and hopefully not going to the loo nearly as often! Took me until about 3 weeks ago to feel that.
I do work. Although it's been 4 months since the op, I just got another sick line from my doctor two days ago for 6 weeks, which will take me up to the end of december. Not sure I'll be back to normal even by then. Not too many problems physically if I watch what I'm doing, but mentally exhausted, absolutely no concentration and no energy for doing anything at all. I never thought it would take this long. My surgeon had said before the op that it would be at least 3 months recovery, if everything went according to plan and I was out of hospital and eating normally within a week. The husband of one of my colleagues had a similar op (different part of bowel tho) for Crohn's last year. His op went well and he was eating normally again within 2 days of surgery and was home after 5 days. He didn't return to work for 5 and a half months, and still felt as if he went back too early, so this has reasurred me a bit. Not seen consultant since I left hospital so don't know if my experience is usual or not. Seeing him next week tho, so hopefully will get some reassurance and stop beating myself up about not being back at work yet!
Hope that you don't end up back in hospital. That would be a nightmare. If I were you, I would be aiming to be back at work by easter!
hey everyone, Im new to the forums but had this operation about 18 months ago. I must have been one of the fortunate ones as I was back at work after 3 weeks and found the toilet visits relatively manageable (I was a driving instructor at the time). I dont know if any of you found this, but weirdly after the operation I immediately didnt crave certain foods anymore. So since my hemicolectomy I have not wanted pasta or red meat. I now mainly eat chicken or fish and veg although I rarely crave fruit. I can drink alcohol but only red wine,. I used to suffer a lot with indigestion and constipation before the op but all that has gone now. I am seeing my specialist tomorrow but am hoping to stay off the meds and manage it with diet. Reading all these reports makes me feel relatively lucky as my symptoms seem so minor in comparison. I really feel for you! How are you doing now by the way?
hey ya'll, i had the op in september 2004, my consultant did warn me i could suffer with the runs for anything up to a year after but once it settles down i could get up to 15 years symptom free, now for the funny part, im still waiting for a symptom free period, ive tried every drug they have to offer and a recent colonoscopy show the inflamation is completly rife from my rectum straight through to my small bowl, there next course of action ( that the hospital wants to take ) is an ileostomy , i myself at 27 am not keen on this idear, the only other option is to see a professor in nottingham whos testing a possible form of treatment called stem cell therapy, in other words a bone marrow transplant, which im also not relishing the prospect of, its very long , drawn out and apparently very painfull , my own consultant has warned me its not a decesion to be taken lightly as he would recomend it to people with nothing to lose, i currently have alot to lose as my girlfriend and i are trying for children. i think the surgery is the best bet, i wish you all the best, take care ,
Glad to hear that you've made it back to work - how are you finding it? I'm actually due to go back at the end of the month but I don't think I'm going to be able to. I feel a right wimp but I am so tired and have no energy, the stomach pains are back and the runs are just as bad as before. I do wonder sometimes if it is all in my head as this op has got rid of the bad bit of bowel so surely this shouldn't be happening. I feel very pressured to go back to work but it has only been 9 weeks so far since the op and I know that once I am back I will be put under a huge amount of stress and need to be on top form to operate properly. Seeing my gp again next week, so will see what he says. Also, I'm due for a B12 injection so I guess that could be making me feel low, who knows!
Hi Lou, sorry to hear you are still feeling so unwell. Callum is 3 weeks away from stopping the Pred and he is feeling the effects, on the days he doesn't take any, he can be so tired. He has put on mountains of weight, its frightening. We are due back at Treliske on 25th Feb to get the results of xmas eve's barium and be told if an op is possible. I am scared stiff.
Sorry you're still feeling lowsy. Recovering from the op takes such a long time. I went back to work 6 months 1 week after the op. There's no way I could have gone back any earlier, even although I felt I should have been back by the time it got to 4 months and felt really guilty for still being off. Only doing 2 days for the first month to use up my annual leave, but still finding I'm knackered after. And my brain is mush!! Don't be pressured into going back too soon. Your health is way more important. If my GP had had her way I would have been back to work a month after the op! (I found another, more understanding GP.) My surgeon did say to me the last time I saw him that it generally takes about 6 months. I felt completely unable to do anything and had absolutely no energy until the 5 month mark and took another month to get up to speed. They say Vit b12 helps, although I didn't notice any difference!! You will be knackered because you've had major surgery and were probably very unwell for a long time before that too. Don't let anyone make you feel like a fraud. I still have minor toilet trouble, although just started eating normally last month and my insides are still adjusting to it! Surgeon says toilet trouble is because so much of the large bowel is lost and what is left is struggling to cope with digesting all this food. You have to retrain bowel by eating normally - it will happen, but takes time.
Whatever you do, don't go back too soon. Having time off to recover is your best chance of getting better. I felt really low and frustrated at points too, but I think it was due to exhaustion. It will pass once you feel better, and that will be a sign that you are ready to go back to work.
Thank you so much for your lovely reply. I have actually been signed off again for another month and my GP was very sympathetic and pointed out that I wasn't a fraud. But he is a bit concerned that the Crohns may be back already and may be sending me to hospital next week for more checks (depending on what has happened this week). I don't think this is the case, I think it's as you say, it takes time to recover from a major op. As far as work is concerned, they are sending out someone from HR to see me as I've been on long term sick. I've had my B12 injection and feel no different, infact possibly even more tired! Been for a walk today in the sun but had to turn around half way as my hips and joints were hurting so much. By the time I got back home I could hardly move, the friend I was with was quite shocked and couldn't believe I was like this but this is a daily occurrence again, all my joints hurt. As for the weight, I'm ballooning, my arms are very puffy. Gp says it's fluid and not to worry about my weight but it's making me lose confidence.
Well I hope you continue to recover well and don't work too hard.
I'm new to the forum, and forum's in general so you might have to bear with me a bit!
I have also just had a right hemicolectomy (aged 25) and it all came as a bit of a shock to me. I was diagnosed with Ulcertaive Colitis about 6 years ago and had since had only 2 major flare ups since then. However last November I started to get really painful cramps on the lower right handside of my body which gradually increased in severity and was followed with extreme vomiting and stomach gurgling.
When I first went to see my GP (in Jan) he was convinced that it was excess stomach acid, then on the second visit was convinced that it was my colitis flaring up despite my protests that none of the symptoms were the same as any previous flare ups, for example my normal toilet habits of 5 - 7 times a day had been cut down to once at best and almost everything that I was eating I was vomiting up within an hour.
For a long time I believed that all the symptoms were in my head and that the worry and the stress was causing the vomiting rather than an actually problem. Eventually I went to the colitis clinic at my local hospital who arranged for a CT Scan. After a week or so I was called back and informed that I didn't have colitis but crohns disease and that part of my small and large bowel were damaged beyond repair and that the only option was surgery to remove to diseased area, not only was the area badly diseased but part of the bowel had fused to my bladder and falopian tubes causing further pain and complications.
3 and a half weeks ago I had the surgery, which unfortunately couldn't be performed via keyhole surgery and had to be done via a large cut across my lower abdomen. Thankfully the surgeons were able to re attach the bowel so I haven't needed a stoma but now I'm unsure how long I should rest and let myself heal before going back to everyday life and work.
The whole ordeal has taken me a bit by surprise and has knocked me a little for six as I never really thought I'd have such major surgery so early in my life. Its been a total of three and a half weeks since my surgery. My appetite is good and I don't feel too tired most of the time. The scar is healing well but is still very uncomfortable when I walk or move around too much and when I do try to do something 'normal' such as a small amount of groccery shopping I'm exhausted after. I'm still staying at my parents house as I live alone and although I'm itching to get back to my normal life I'm scared of making anything worse or pushing myself too hard.
For people who have had this surgery before how long did you rest for and how was it first going back to work, my concern is that its takes alot out of me to get up and get dressed in my own time on a day never mind having to get up at 6am and get dressed and into work for 8am when I've not done it for so long and still fairly delicate!
If anyone is able to give me some guidence it would be much appreciated,
Sorry to hear that you've been through so much. I had a right-hemi back in November and I'd say it took me until end of Feb before I was over the op, however my crohns returned and I have remained off work. I'm actually going back to work tomorrow, which is going to be a huge ordeal for me but I'll just have to see how it goes. As you didn't have key hole surgery, I believe the recovery time is between 3- 6 months as it is a major op. Try to be patient and don't over do it. I ended up with an infection 3 weeks after the op and I think it was due to doing too much.
Let us know how you get on and best of luck with it all.
Do not alter or start any medications or other remedies without first consulting a medical professional. Remember that we are not medical professionals, but merely fellow sufferers offering the benefit of our collective experience.
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