Reversal Progress Update - Overcoming Challenges and Feeling Positive!

Here is an update for anyone following my progress. Operation 15th November 2011.

The Hartmans reversal, with mesh for repair of incisional hernia, went well, until my tummy got bigger and bigger and eventually split open, spilling 3 pins of exudate. On the 12th December, 2 days in hospital with IV antibiotics and then home on oral antibiotics and a stoma bag on the wound. Exudate output was quite high to start with at around 200ml a day. The wound loosely packed with Aquacell and a daily nurse visit. The antibiotics finished Sunday and the output was measured yesterday at 83ml.
This is all good news as my body has stopped being so irritated by the mesh. When it gets to 50ml a day, I can have the wound packed and the bag taken off.
The results came back negative for infection, so the promise of having another operation to remove the mesh and replace it with pig skin now looks unlikely. Just have to concentrate on getting well and keeping the wound infection-free now the antibiotics have gone.
In terms of the reversal, it has taken a while to get muscle tone back but I can now hold on to a poo for a good hour and feel in control in that area.
Had my first night out in 6 weeks on Friday and did not feel too bad. I am looking forward to the future and I am grateful for my stoma and the life chances it has brought me.
I know my posts have been graphic and a bit gruesome in places, but look how it has ended. Happy me and feeling positive.
Love to all and happy new year.
x

Hi Sunny, firstly I've been following your progress with such interest, so I know what problems you have been through and have been waiting to see how things are. I'm pleased that the reversal has been successful. So, for the hernia repair and mesh, it is another thing I know how much pain and stress it must be after going through all that you have. But it sounds like things are getting better for you as regards the fluid coming out. I once had an operation and had a big buildup of fluid but had to have it drained. It was odd, really, never knew where and why it came from. As the same as you, it was tested for infection and came back negative, but all went okay and healed well. I really hope for the new year things will go better onwards for you. Hope 2012 is a better year for health and happiness. You deserve it. Tc all the best, Ambies...

You don't know how much it has meant to me that you have been with me following my progress. It is difficult to cope without the tenderness of a kind word and empathy from people who know the pain all this brings.
Thank you so much xx

Hi Sunny, oh I am so, so happy that you've turned the corner with your hernia. Don't worry about being graphic with your descriptions... I much prefer to get the whole story, good and bad. It helps prepare for the worst. You've been a wonderful inspiration for those of us awaiting reversal. For this, I thank you! I'm not so sure whether I should try and insist on getting my hernia seen to at the same time as my reversal with my new surgeon though... will have to wait and see. I am relieved though that things are getting better for you and as Ambies says, here's wishing you better health for 2012! Well done and take good care, Colm

I'm so happy you're on the mend, Sunny. I'm waiting for my hernia operations (hernias x 2). Reading your update, graphic, no way! The more, the better. Pussyfooting around? Bugger that! I wanted to know if anyone actually has those hernias fixed. I have been looking up information, and to hear a real story is exactly what I want to hear. Just hoping I don't get to suffer infections like you did. That's the scary bit. Plus, my adhesion pain is always bad. So, thanks for the update. I'm not after a Cinderella story. You are honest and open, and that's what I like. Even though I might not have any problems with the operation, fingers tripled crossed for me. Sunny, enjoy your life. xxxxxxxxxxx

Words of Encouragement from Ostomy Advocates I Hollister

Sunny, I, too have been following your progress and setbacks and it does seem that you have finally turned the corner! But boy, what a time you have had! You have been in my thoughts and prayers and I will continue to keep you there. I am scheduled for a reversal on Jan. 18th.....nervous as one can expect....but am keeping a positive attitude and praying for a speedy recovery!
Take care, and keep us updated. Your information, perspective, and compassion are so very valuable to all of us!

Darla

Yay!!! Thank you for the update! Happy New Year to you!!

P.S. This is the place to be graphic!

Hi, Bag and Drag! Love your angel fish, especially the blue one. So pretty.
Quick update.

Turned out it was never infected. As you may remember, 3 weeks after the reversal, the wound split open about a centimeter and 3 pints of exudate fell out of my tum. I had 2 days in the hospital where they took a swab (which they promptly lost) and put me on IV antibiotics.
When I got home, I have had the nurse visit daily to put a wick of Aquacel in the hole and slap a stoma bag on it. '(Will I never be rid of the bag?) The following list is a record of the exudate I have lost, which I have been meticulously measuring since the 17th December.
I would welcome any thoughts on what might happen, as my fear is that the surgeon will say I am rejecting the mesh and he will want to get me in to whip it out and replace it with the pig skin.
I am quite pleased with the hernia repair as it stands, and one side of my tum is now flat and the other just a little rounded, nothing like the big melon I had sticking out before.
On the poo front, things are great. I now have no pain at all with a poo, and it is quite solid. The only difference I did not have before is if I have a wee, a small poo comes out which I was not aware was waiting, but I have not had any accidents or trouble holding on if I need the loo, so that is always encouraging. I am having a bit of a Crohn's flare-up and have had to modify my diet to almost all fiber-free, but no bloating or wind when I take that action.
So for my exudate output measurements, it is like turkey gravy in color and thickness, yuck, but no odor.
From the 17th: 130ml
125
110
137
120
110
107
98
101
86
52
62
71
45
98
55
67
. If they start to pack the wound rather than keep it open, will I be able to absorb this level of exudate? Or will I just blow up like a balloon and pop again?
What is the likelihood of the output reducing? And by how much? Over what period?
I have asked my surgeon all these questions via email, but he just said he will see me in clinic on the 9th January. Will update you then.
Also, if I was a normal person with a hole in my tummy, how much exudate would I expect to lose out of my tum even if I had not had anything done?
The reason I am sounding frantic is that I will run out of sick pay in April and really don't want another operation.
It is just the not knowing.
Saying all this, even knowing what I know now, I would have had it done. It is really worth it.
Big love to all xx Happy New Year.

Hi Sunny! Thanks for the kudos on the Angels. We raise angels as a hobby....the blues are some of our favorites. It is so much fun to watch them ....going from eggs to adults who lay their own eggs and become parents. Sometimes they eat their own fry; but many of them turn into loving, nurturing parents who have little "clouds" of their young swimming all around them!
Thank goodness your tum is now starting to turn the corner....SOOO weird that it was not infection that caused this (although a blessing!) but to think that this may be an allergic reaction to the mesh? Do folks have less of a problem with pig skin?
On the poo front all I can say is YAAAAAAAAY! I can only hope to be half as fortunate in this area when I go in for my reversal on Jan. 18th.

Sunny you have MANY good questions and you deserve some straight answers from your doctor regarding your prognosis and WHY some of these things happened! I would be raising hell on Jan. 9th and would not leave that clinic until you have some of the answers you seek! I know that docs aren't Gods and sometimes there are no real answers in certain situations, but essentially blowing you off is not an option here! As you say it is the not knowing that gets you....you can deal with ANY KNOWN as you have demonstrated time and again!

So you would have still had everything done. Wow. What a testimony to your resilience, lady! You are one of the strongest and bravest I have seen on here!

Love and Prayers to you! Happy New Year and blessings for 2012!

Darla

Hi - update.
Still wearing the bag which is collecting around 40ml of exudate a day. The wound looks about the same. I did too much last week and had a setback when I felt the internal stitches split on one side. The pain has been like the first day post-op. I am on some strong painkillers, back to not driving, not bending, and wearing the girdle. Hoping this is just a blip!
I have read that the mesh they use can shrink after it has been sewn in, and I am wondering if this has happened. It has been very wet in the tummy and is drying up. If this has happened, it will represent quite a problem for surgeons to allow for shrinkage!
Hope everyone is well.
Best wishes,
Sunny.

Hi Sunny, and here was I thinking that all was going so well for you and secretly a little jealous. Oh, it does sound like you've overdone it a little. I know that's what happened with me and my stoma in the first place. First sign of things returning to normal and we push out the boat, only to regret it later. I just wonder should you try and make an appointment with your surgeon once more if the pain is that bad and you fear torn stitches. Not knowing is the worst part.....put your mind at rest. Here's hoping it is just a "blip" and your recovery continues. Take care, Colm

Sunny-

You've been on my mind the past few days... I am sorry you've had a little setback. You sound like me... the moment I get a burst of good energy, I want to use it up entirely and then some! This usually results in a few "down days" for me afterwards... I try to balance everything out, but sometimes things get totally out of whack! I'm with Colm; perhaps a visit to your surgeon is in order, just to be on the safe side. We wouldn't want you coming this far and then having something more than a little "blip" to contend with at this stage in the recovery process! You have made such remarkable progress after all you have been through; better to be safe than sorry!
My reversal got postponed until 2-1; so still playing the waiting game.
You are in my continued thoughts and prayers.
Darla