Severe Pain and Emergency Surgery: A Stoma Update

So very near after my stoma's 1-year anniversary, I woke up in the morning with absolutely crippling stomach and then back pains. Words cannot describe the intensity of it; I was vomiting up the painkillers my dad's girlfriend gave me and screaming at the top of my lungs non-stop. I was like this, and I have a ridiculously high pain threshold.

So after a night in A&E on a trolley in the corridor with trainee doctors getting snotty, I had surgery to remove 60 cm of my intestine, which had tangled and knotted itself into almost a ball. I woke up with a new stoma and another scar on my stomach.

I'm just back home now, 8 days later (I'm a speedy recoverer :P), and I think I have once again been seriously underappreciating my bed. So here I am all snuggled up with a cup of tea and my cat purring away in my lap, just letting you guys know:

If your lips go blue for a full day (mine were for 2) - CALL YOUR DOCTOR.

Au Revoir!

Noodlepip x

Dear, I am so very sorry for your difficulty. Among the many difficulties seems to be the lack of compassion from the medical profession. A bit of caring goes a long way when things get really difficult. I am glad you have your cat. dawneagle

Hi Noodlepip, so sorry to hear you have been through even more pain and surgery, and on the anniversary of your first op... Take care and rest well. I too think that the doctors could have been more sensitive towards your discomfort and pain... tc ambies...

Noodlepip,I am sorry to hear of your problem. Hope you are recovering well. As for the med profession, I wish these MDs could be forced to endure for ten minutes what most of us in here have gone through. They would change their tune quick enough.

Dear noodlepip (fab name by the way!!), I am so sorry to hear you've had more surgery. I wish you a speedy recovery. Mrs O xx

My Ostomy Journey: Jearlean | Hollister

Hey little friend. I thought you had gone on holidays or something. So sorry to hear what's happened. And you were just starting to feel good again. :-( . You keep yourself in bed for a while and you will be flying again in no time. Take care little one. Chat soon.

Hello Noodlepip,Your experience sounds like a nightmare. Sometimes the medics can be more than a little insensitive to other people's pain and suffering. Sometimes I think that it is due to their own inability to know what to do when people are in pain and they just want it to go away! I'm glad that it sounds as if they have sorted the problem now and that you are on the road to recovery. Best wishesBill

Holy cow! I'm just in awe of your ability to face the obstacles, demand a remedy, accept the solution, and get 'er done attitude! Then you bounce back with such incredible determination and positive outlook... You're my hero! Wishing you continued speedy recovery and thanks for the inspiration, BEG.

That definitely sucks, Noodlepip. That happened to me after I had a stoma revision, I think. I was home, recovering pretty well, and then became completely blocked. I hate when that happens! I ended up back in the hospital, and it was probably a kink that needed to work its way out. I don't know if it's true, but my brother, who is a doctor, told me that during abdominal surgery they sometimes manually and visually examine the whole intestinal tract and sort of just plop it back into your abdominal cavity. (Sounds gross, doesn't it?) That's what can cause kinks. It needs to settle. Anyway, glad you're doing better.

PJT - Your brother's description sounds disgusting -- but, sadly, true! We never know what actually went on in the O/R in our bodies! I had a colostomy due to anal cancer -- and thought I'd have a neat scar where my asshole used to be -- not! I've told the surgeon every time I see him how upset I am with the result. I even asked him if he had his worst student do the job! He insists he did the job; it is only due to scar tissue that I have the issue I have. Hah! I don't believe him.

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I appreciate it a lot! Browneyedgirl, I have to single you out; that is just such a lovely thing to read! I think it's just my mule-like stubbornness and impatience, to be honest! But I really loved your comment, so thanks, and hope you're well :)