bowel resection

I had my pre op with my DR today and I am going to have to have bowel resection done due to endo. Can anyone shed some light on this for me? What can I expect? Will I have a vertical or horizontal cut? I already have a horizontal cut from a previous endo surgery. Thanks for any help or advice!

Hi LuLu:

I'll do my best to answer any questions you have about having a bowel resection. I had a TAH BOS and a bowel resection because of endo a little over a year ago. They even threw in an appendectomy. I had two separate endometriomas – places where the endo had eaten into the bowel, and had about a foot of my colon removed.

The night before, you’ll have to do a thorough bowel prep. It’s not fun, but not that bad. Make sure it is well chilled – that helps.

That first night I had a catheter, a drain, a gastro-nasal tube, and a couple of IVs. (I must have been a vision!) The pain medication did its job, though, so they weren’t a problem. Don’t be shy about asking for medication when you need it. Since I couldn’t have anything by mouth until my bowel function returned, the IVs stayed in for five days.

The worst pain is from the incision. You’ll be amazed at how still you can lie. Your abdominal muscles do not appreciate being treated with such disrespect, and they get even by going into occasional spasms. They gave me pills made from belladonna that helped. The pain is sharp but always passed by the time I counted to five, so hang in there. The scariest part is getting out of bed for the first time. There is definitely a technique, so make sure you let the nurses help. The pain gets noticeably better every day.

You will be sleeping on your back for quite while. You get used to it, though. It was several weeks before I could sleep on my side and three months before I could sleep on my stomach.

My incision is vertical. It starts right below my naval and is about 6 inches long.
I had no bruising around my incision, but I did not have stitches or staples. They used surgical glue. I don’t know if that makes a difference.

I have no way of knowing what internal pain resulted from the hysterectomy, the bowel resection, or the appendectomy, but it seemed that the worst post-op pain I experienced was in the appendectomy area, strangely enough.

I was in the hospital for six days and went back to work after five weeks, so I don’t think my recovery time was appreciably extended by the bowel involvement. I lost almost twenty pound, which was the silver lining of this ordeal. Tough way to loose weight, though!

If your ovaries are removed, you will be in instant menopause. Your body has enough estrogen reserves to keep you going for awhile, but it will eventually run out. It took about two months for it to hit me with full force. They kept me off HRT for several months in an effort to kill off any remaining microscopic endo, and I had a rough time. The hot flashes, night sweats, and mental fuzziness were awful, and they were exacerbated by the fact that I was also on a medication called Evista. Evista was supposed to ward off osteoporosis until I could start HRT, but it has the side effect of making all the unpleasant symptoms of menopause worse. Once I finally started on HRT (Premarin), I felt better within a couple of days. It was a very happy day. They will pry my hormones out of my cold, dead fingers.

I can’t think of anything else right now, but please write back if you have any questions and I'll do my best to answer them. I’ll check back on Friday.

Hang in there!

Annaleigh

Annaleigh,

Thanks so much for the info. It has helped!

Hi, i agree about the sleeping on your back. the best thing I did pre surgery was get a recliner lift chair. i am five weeks post op and still sleeping in it. i also am having the most problem where my appendix was.

Hi annaleigh,

i had a bowel resection and appendectomy along with my TAH as well as a tummy tuck. I am currently battling a staph infection and had some other complications. since you had three of the four things that I did, i am wondering if you would be willing to share more about your experience. thanks so much. nancie