Well, that all depends on how much rectum/colon they had to cut out. Frankly, I never had any accidents. They took about 3" of my rectum and 7" of my sigmoid colon for a total of 10". For the first month, I had to go a lot but I could hold it without an accident pretty good.
NOW, for the frank truth...it takes a long time for the colon/bowels to heal up and function properly. My doctor told me it could take up to 18-2 years before everything stretches out and the colon learns to function properly.
I will liken it to your arm, say for example it was tied to your side for 1 year and then untied again...it would take your arm a while before it learned to function properly...well, our insides are a lot worse.
The problem I have most now after 8 months is the pain in my rectum itself and the dumping syndrome which happens only about twice a month. It used to be every day but now it is down to twice a month and eventually it will totally go away.
By dumping, I mean my colon will have spasms and completely empty out (sore butt for sure). It used to take about 30 minutes but now it is down to about 15 minutes and it ALL comes out!
I am finding that Metamucil every day helps to regulate if you can stand the gas for the first few days.
As far as the swelling, it took me about 1 month before my tummy was down.
Unfortunately, with any surgery on the bowels, you have to be patient. I made myself so sick with stress trying to speed things up. When I finally stopped worrying about it and let my body do the healing, I started to heal. Everybody is different though...good luck with everything and keep the questions coming!!
Nora