Today marks 1 week from my colostomy reversal, woooh! Felt like a long week LOL. The trips to the restroom are down to 4 times a day so far since ditching the Ensure. I've been supplementing protein with my normal vegan protein powder, and I wonder if things would have gone much differently without the Ensure. The muscles in my abdomen feel tight now, still sore but a different kind of sore… more like stiff, I guess. It's like when you do too much legs at the gym, and the next day it feels like you have an extra 50 lbs on each leg when you walk. It feels like that. That soreness I only feel when I try to walk upright and not a little hunched. My bum still hurts too but not as bad since trips to the toilet have decreased, so hopefully in another day or two it will be gone. My belly does hurt to laugh and cough, but I can finally take a deep breath without it hurting. Overall, I still have a ways to go for complete recovery, but I think I'm doing well. A few times, I thought the reversal was a mistake, but after ditching the Ensure, that hasn't crossed my mind again. I also have a twinge of pain throughout the day at the stoma site, in my lower abdomen, sometimes around my pubic/pelvic area and on my left hip. The hip pain, I was told, was from swelling in the mesentery, some fan-looking part that connects the intestines to the stomach or something like that. I'm familiar with that because when I got my stoma, I had bad side pain for 5 months, and a CT revealed that's what it was. I still feel like there is air in my belly because I can feel it sometimes when I move (not all the time). It's just not as painful as when I left the hospital. The tape has not come off of the incisions yet, and I still have not gotten the staples removed from the closure of the stoma site, hopefully on Wednesday.
I do want to share something that my surgeon said when I was in the hospital. So, I asked my surgeon after surgery if my diet would eventually return to normal and without risk of blockage. She said yes. So my follow-up question was, “Why do I risk a blockage from fibrous food with a stoma versus without one?” Not sure if anyone on here has asked their medical team/doc, and I'm sure every professional out there has their personal answer backed by medical science or experience, but I did want to share her response in case anyone was curious or wants to compare this with what they received. Her response was this: Our intestines expand to accommodate digested and undigested food. When the stoma is put in, it goes through the abdominal wall. The abdominal wall does NOT expand; it's a muscle, and muscles contract, not expand, so when there is food in that part of the digestive tract, it makes it hard for the intestines to do a job without being able to expand and having limited room for movement, thus causing a blockage. Interesting, so I thought I would share.
I won't do any more daily updates; I think 1 week is good. There are a few things that I will post later, like questions I asked pre/post reversal, etc. A big thank you to all for your support, well wishes, and prayers. I'm so glad I stumbled upon this site. All of your stories, advice, and experiences are no match for anything the doc could have helped me with. I thank all of you so much. Thank you for helping me through one of my darkest times. This is the best group of people I have never met LOL. Be well, my friends!! Take care!
Edit: I forgot to mention that I am still experiencing nerve pain in my shoulders, and I can now sleep pretty comfortably on both sides.
