06/13/22: Diverticulitis of large intestine with abscess. Underwent sigmoid colectomy with end colostomy.
11/01/22: Colonoscopy Flexible Sigmoidoscopy completed to determine if reversal was possible. Approved to proceed.
11/14/22: Pre Op visit with the Dr. / Surgeon. He schedules only one surgery per day due to the complexity and time it takes. Talked about potential risks (apparently they are low risks) and what to expect after surgery. Received a pamphlet called "Enhanced Recovery After Abdominal Surgery". What to expect each day in the hospital.
11/21/22: Pre Admission Testing at the Hospital - Registered, Blood work, Urine sample, blood pressure, ECG - all passed. Received a soap that I have to use the night before and the morning of the surgery.
12/07/22: Prep day 2:00 pm Potassium (1 pill). 4:00 pm Neomycin (2 pills – 500 mg) Metronidazole (1 pill – 500 mg). Mix 238 g Bottle of MiraLax with 64 oz. Gatorade in a pitcher. Drink 8oz glass every 15 min. until gone. 5:00 pm Neomycin (2 pills – 500 mg) Metronidazole (1 pill – 500 mg). 6:00 pm Magnesium Cirtate (1 Bottle). 8:00 pm Potassium (1 pill) Dulcolax Tablets (2 pills) 11:00 pm Neomycin (2 pills – 500 mg) Metronidazole (1 pill – 500 mg)
12/08/22: Surgery for the reversal. Arrive at 9:00am. Surgery at 11:30am Delayed till 2pm. 4 plus hours In surgery. Woke up around 7pm and transferred to my room. Surgeon told my wife that he was going to sleep well tonight. He was very happy with how it turned out.
12/09/22: No major pain. Belly seems full. Dr concerned about the drop in my H H. Could mean blood loss somewhere. Retesting at 11am to see if it changes. Training Nurse gave me a Magnesium drip too fast! Emptied in about a minute. Felt dizzy and strange..
Had my first bowel movement 12 hrs after the procedure. Small and bloody but normal they said. Had about 10 bowel movements the first day. All diarrhea but only eating soft foods right now. Just discomfort in the belly. Feel bloated but fine.
12/10/22: Breakfast was bacon, eggs, breakfast potatoes, and a couple other things. Had not eaten solid food since 12/6 so it tasted so good. Surgeon came in and said everything will get disconnected today and treat me like I am at home. Possible discharge tomorrow. Lunch: Lasagna Dinner: Chicken Pot Pie. Blood work showed my H H dropped again and blood in the BM (which is still diarrhea and small). They did disconnect everything and I walked a lot today. Farting but no solid BM yet.
12/11/22: Bloodwork at 5am to check CBC (H H) again. Hoping to go home today if all is normal. Just need to know how to handle wound care for where my stoma was located. Still watching my H H levels so discharge tomorrow. 5 full meals now and no BM. Feel like I have a "food baby" :-). Turns out I've not drank enough water. So today goal is drink lots of water and walk around (laps). They count them and I wanted to poop. Turns out the 20 laps and drinking lots of water did not help. Then 4 cups of coffee and the last one with MiraLax, still nothing!
12/12/22: Bowels started waking up this morning. First BM (soft but no blood). Going to get discharged today... very happy!
12/13/22: Bowels working slowly back to normal. In bathroom at least once an hour. Taking prescribed meds: Gabapentine (Nurontin) 300mg capsules 3X day for 7 days - nerve medicine Methocarbol (Robaxin) 500mg tablets 4X day for 7 days - muscle relaxer. Working from home keeping my mind off the procedure and any discomfort. Passing a lot of gas and spending a lot of time in the bathroom.
12/14/22: The muscle relaxer was making me dizzy so I stopped that (after knocking the shower curtain down in the bathroom) and just taking the nerve medication. Today, not as much time in the bathroom but not solid either.
12/15/22: First solid continuous poo. Very happy. One week from surgery.... Today it feels like a week's worth of eating is finally coming out today. Happy
12/16/22: Still feeling dizzy so I'm going to stop the nerve medication to see if that was it. Still spending a lot of time in the bathroom.
12/17/22: The feeling of having to poop is non stop. Hope that slows down soon. One of the five incisions is bleeding and discolored around it. Sent a message to the doctor. No pain, just curious...
12/18/22: Solid Poop first thing in the morning. As it's been everyday. But urges to poop every half hour while standing. Laying down like at bedtime minimum urges.
12/19/22: Appointment with Surgeon today. He reminded me that he had to remove a portion of my anus that was bad to make the reconnection. So basically the length of my anus is half what it was so it holds less. It may take time for it to operate normally. So basically I have to live with this for awhile and hope the frequency and urges slow down. Also, he cauterized the opening that was bleeding. Next appointment in three weeks.
Any specific questions, please don't hesitate ask!
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12/29/22: 3 weeks after reversal update. Starting taking Fiber Capsules a week ago. Today was my first journey out of the house with no pads or concern for pooping. It seems to be more stable now. Feeling good about the reversal (last week I thought it was a mistake because I spent so much time in the bathroom). I guess it just takes time so be patient. That is my only council right now.
Happy New Year! Thanks everyone for the support!
03/03/23: 3 months after surgery and final appointment with my Surgeon. All is good and I'm released from his care. He did remind my that I still need to be careful with heavy lifting as I'm not completely healed for six months. Still a chance for a hernia... well I have been active for the past month and loving it. I'll just be careful for another three months.
Thanks everyone on this forum for your guidance and support. It really did help to know you're not alone.
Final photo...
12/08/23 One year anniversary from the reversal. All working as expected with no issues The only thing I’m struggling with is losing the last bit of belly fat around the surgery. It’s like the muscle that were cut will not tighten up? No matter how many sit-ups. But I have no complaints really… I valued this group for the support it gave me. It was really helpful to read about other’s journey. Take care everyone and happy holidays coming up!
Take care all!
John
