Dealing with Adhesions - Surgery Experiences and Advice?

Hello all.

Long story short, I had emergency surgery for a ruptured colon about a year ago. I lost a foot of my colon and woke up with a colostomy for 3 months. I had reversal surgery at the end of June 2020 and have had problems since. The reversal surgery was supposed to take 1.5 hours, but it took closer to 4 due to adhesions. I have been hospitalized 5 or 6 times since the reversal and am currently facing surgery for adhesions.

After my reversal surgery, I developed C. Diff and struggled with that for 6 months. Eventually, I had a fecal transplant that cured my C. Diff. I have had suspected IBS for the last 4 months and have bounced around from GI to hospital ER/admissions. Recently, I got a second opinion and was advised that I needed to have my suspected adhesions surgically addressed.

Has anyone had this surgery? Was it laparoscopic or open, outpatient vs inpatient? I have been advised that there is a possibility of having an ostomy again. I am fine with it as I adjusted well with the help of my wife. I have been so desperate that I have considered a permanent ostomy if it will make me feel "normal".

Any advice or experiences are appreciated!! Stay safe and be healthy.

Clint

Hi Clint, I have not had any problems like you mentioned, but I am sure you will get some feedback. I noticed you posted at two different times. Sometimes with people from all over and different time zones, it may take a little time to get a response. Hope you get things settled soon. Best wishes and stay safe.

Thanks Lovely, I always appreciated any info!  I realized too late the double post, I could not find the first so I reposted in another section, sorry for the double!  Be safe and stay healthy

Clint

Hi Footie, I have Crohn's and with that is inflammation and scar tissue. I had resection surgery 3 years ago after having an ostomy for 30 some years. The surgeon tried to do laparoscopic this time, but I had too many adhesions, so it was fully open surgery. What should have been a couple-hour surgery was almost five, but I'm glad it was done as I, like you, was in and out of the hospital with blockages and on pain meds, which I don't like. Good luck.

I haven't had such an experience. I just wanted to wish you well.

Mike from Lakewood, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland.

Words of Encouragement from Ostomy Advocates I Hollister

Hi Footie, adhesions as you know are scar tissue and every time they open you up you get more. Like trimming a branch, every place you cut will have five, six new ones. One time the surgeon had me opened up so decided to cut out all scar tissue possible. It was agony for weeks but seemed to work. Last year the surgeon wanted to remove my rectum, etc., and sew it up. They opened me up without doing scans. After they got a look in there, they closed me up again. The scar tissue had covered every organ like a blanket of "vines" intertwined and impossible to work around. No more surgery for me! A good cleanup of your scar tissue might work if you don't expect surgery in the future.

All the best

Magoo

Hey Footsie, I am contemplating reversal, but will have to research a whole lot more and feel a whole lot better. I was on pain medicine, I was in the emergency several times and all they did was give me stronger meds than morphine and send me home with Norco and Percocet. No scans or x-rays, etc. were taken. I got sick with a lot of pain 11 days after my first Covid shot. I didn't know if that was the cause of my horrific pain or if it was my back. Long story short, I had emergency surgery and guess the pain meds blew two holes in my intestines. If that wasn't bad enough, the surgeon didn't pay attention to family members telling him I was on Prednisone for my PMR (Poly Malgia Rheumatica) and didn't give me any, so a few days later they had to open me again as all heck broke loose and they had to clean me up. It was then they did a colostomy. I almost died. I had small brain seizures and caught pneumonia. As soon as they took me off of the four antibiotics, the seizures stopped. That's another thing people need to be aware of is certain antibiotics you get after surgery do cause brain seizures. They're usually small and once taken off the antibiotics they stop. Thank God. So you can see why while I want to be able to have a normal bowel movement, but I hesitate to get the reversal. All I can suggest is research everything, doctors, the subject matter, get nurses' opinions, etc. And most of all PRAY. HE will give you guidance. God Bless You and I will keep you in my prayers. Believe it or not, better days are ahead.

Be careful, slow down

All that pain and no scans!!! That's not cool!!! Pain can be from a twisted bowel, but if you had that, you would know it by now. I got that for years from scar tissue, like a fist gripping and twisting my insides. Think long and hard about reversal, an informed patient is a living patient!!

That is nuts that you were in the ER and they did no scans, just increased pain meds. I am nearly a year out from the adhesion surgery and overall I am improved. I recommend doing a lot of research on reversal. Especially if you have PMR and have been on steroids long term. Good luck to everyone with their health!!

Clint

Hope everything works out for you. You mentioned the COVID shot. I remember when I got my shot. I immediately had diarrhea both times I got the shot. Makes me wonder if it did something to my intestines. I never had a problem before... just got a pain after eating one afternoon and started feeling faint and weak. Called the ambulance, ended up in emergency surgery because the doctor in the ER told my family it could be fatal if I didn't get the surgery... but life goes on 🙏🏽