Prayers Needed for Colostomy Reconnection & Cardiologist Release

I have had the reconnection surgery. I am now back home and feeling good but very weak. I will do a more detailed post tomorrow.

Hello Don, so glad your surgery was a success!! Prayerfully you will gain your strength day by day. God bless Angelica Marie.

Thanks, Angelicamarie. It was a complete success. All I have to do is take it easy and let it heal. I will post more later.

Ok, I have had the reconnection surgery along with repair of a massive hernia. It took four days for all my organs to start working and having bowel movements. They kept me for observation for another four days because my heart was skipping beats. Then I went home. I was strong but got weaker. My home healthcare nurse put me back in the hospital where I was diagnosed with a massive MRSA in the muscle wall of my belly. A drain was inserted and I went on a high antibiotic program. I began to get stronger. I was discharged to a skilled nursing facility for treatment and PT. After a week, I came home to continue everything at home. I have no stamina so I will continue this later.

To continue my last post: I have had no problems with my rectum or reconnection. The only problem I have is with the MRSA I acquired during the operation. It is not as bad as going full septic was, but almost. I am weak again and the PT to regain my strength is not going well because of dizzy spells. My cardiologist thinks my heart has been damaged enough that I now need a pacemaker. To check that out, I am wearing a monitor 24/7 and sending reports back every time I have a problem. After Nov. 20, we will check the results together and decide what to do. He says he can do this as an out-patient procedure and it won't require surgery. That's good because I don't want any more surgeries. I am already sick of being treated as a leper in the hospital and the nursing facility. I just want to stay home and be left alone. Anyway, if your ostomy can be reversed and it was not due to Crohn's, cancer, or anything like ulcerative colitis that keeps coming back, don't fear the surgery.

Hello Don.

Thanks for a very informative update on your situation. 

Sorry to hear about the problems with MRSA. There is a campaign in full swing at the moment in the UK trying to disuade people from taking antibiotics when they don't need to because of the rise in these resistant superbugs. I am more than a little disappointed that they are not mentioning the routinely given antibiotics to animals that are destined for the food chain but then, I should not be surprised because PEOPLE ARE MAKING PROFITS FROM THAT INDUSTRY so it won't enter into the equation when it comes to cost/benefit analysis and the numbers of people that are likely to die as a result.

Anyway, I hope you are on the mend now and don't have any more problems.

Best wishes

Bill 

Yes, Bill, I am getting stronger and recovering well. It seems the food industry is able to dominate and control politicians in every country. So many things apply to the health industry but not the food chain. That doesn't even make sense, but money is powerful everywhere. Thanks for your reply.

After several weeks of antibiotics, the infection has been killed. All that is coming out of the drain is clear body fluids. We stopped the antibiotics, but I continued to take probiotics for a few days. My surgeon is very pleased but left the drain in for two weeks just to be certain the infection is truly conquered. I have normal bowel movements once a day with no laxatives or stool softeners needed. The pain is gone from the surgery. I am having dizzy spells occasionally, but that appears to be due to damage suffered last October during the original colostomy. I am being evaluated for a pacemaker and will probably receive one in December. That's ok, some of my relatives had them for twenty years and advised me to get one; it will make me feel better. Things are looking good, and I feel good. I will answer any questions anyone might have. God bless you all. Don.

Hello Don. 

Thanks for the update. It does sound as if things are truly on the mend and I hope it keeps going in that direction for you.

Best wishes

Bill

Wonderful news, Don,

So glad to hear you are doing better. Looking forward to all the good news you bring.

Don, great news! Still praying for you, so glad things went well!! Angel

Angelicamarie, thanks for your post. Things are going very well for both me and my spouse. We have both recently worn heart monitors and have been pleased that we do not need additional procedures, only adjustments in our medications. The MRSA I contracted during my last surgery has been cured and everything has healed properly. I wear a binder to prevent recurrence of the hernia and I can walk and drive without assistance. I am ready to try the Harley but it has gotten too cold. We have started going to church again and we love that! I watch my diet, take stool softeners and occasional gentle laxatives, and have not had any problems! It feels so good to be without pain, blockages, or diarrhea. The last three years have been very difficult but everything is so much better now. Thanks to all my friends on this site for your support!

I can so relate. My lower bowel died in less than 24 hours on 12 July 17. I too, woke up with Miss Maxine on my side. I must have cried for two days straight afterwards. I just recently came to terms with everything. The diet change has been such a challenge for me to work with as I barely can eat anything and it is frustrating. My doctor said he left quite a bit of my rectum and that I could be reconnected but I don't think I want to be cut open again and go through the pain and the hair loss again. I have lost three quarters of my hair from the last traumatic incident. I hope you do well. I would like to know how your reconnection goes. Will they be doing a J Pouch? My doctor thinks I won't need one. My surgery was for an ileostomy.

Hello, Freedancer. I had 18 inches of my colon taken out but almost all of my rectum was left in. It was a year that I had my colostomy, but my colon was reconnected to my rectum and the ostomy closed over. It was very painful because the original incision had to be reopened to do the reconnection and a massive incisional hernia had to be repaired. Also, the MRSA slowed the healing down. I am fine now, though, and recovering strength. You are right to take it slow and carefully, but if your surgeon is very confident that you can be reconnected, it should make your life simpler. I will pray for you for now and any future developments.

Hi everyone! I'm new here but have just read a few posts and learned a lot (much more than doctors have told me...which was - almost nothing). I have 10 cm of rectum left and 15 cm of colon taken (don't know in inches). Everything is healthy in my intestines because it was a clean 5 cm perforation due to a fecaloma. Unfortunately, I depend on medication (narcotics) 24/7 and will forever. Therefore, I have heard completely contradictory opinions from surgeons ("No problem with stoma closure...you are healthy except for THAT THING in your back!" "Closure NOT RECOMMENDED because of the possibility of future perforation!"). I am seeing a surgeon, a gastroenterologist, and a pain specialist in the following weeks. Maybe I'll know more. I don't trust doctors at all since they gave me an incurable disease and did not warn me about colon perforation. Still, it was good to read about a stoma closure success story. Fingers crossed for all...

I had an emergency colostomy in December for diverticulitis that had perforated my bowel wall. The surgeon found that everything inside was stuck to other structures with adhesions from seven endometriosis surgeries years ago. Diverticula from one end to the other. Every time I see him he goes into it about how I am one of the worst cases he's ever seen. I also developed sepsis and was in ICU three days. Now I am scheduled for reconnection surgery in early June and he just mentioned that he's bringing a urologist into the mix to insert stents so he can identify the ureters and that news has sent my anxiety soaring! I was in the hospital 19 days from Nov-Jan, sick as a dead dog and am terrified of something going wrong and ending up worse off this next go around.

I lost about a third of my hair from the sepsis, had neuropathy EVERYWHERE. Even my hair (what's left) hurt. Could hardly stand to touch myself anywhere but that's under control with gabapentin. I just found this site and have been devouring the information. Nobody told me much when this happened. I learned how to use all the various parts of the various items in a pouching system from YouTube. SO great how the medical profession is so quick to cut you and leave you in a compromised state with NO information to deal with it. I've learned more from this site this morning than I did with a zillion health care "professionals". They need to do a much better job at educating and supporting people like us.

Hello MissRubydoux. Welcome to this site and I'm pleased you have found some usefull stuff to read. So sorry to hear about all you problems but in particular that you did not get a proper briefing from the medical profession about what it was all about.

I don't know about 'them educating us' - it seems to me that we need to be educating them. It's a pity there isn't the same sort of review process for them and their work as there is with stuff we buy on the internet. Then  we could read both the good and the bad reviews to get a picture of what we are in store for .  

Best wishes

Bill

Hi MissRubydoux,

Sounds like you should be making a list of questions that the doctor needs to answer before your next step. Best wishes to you!

Hi Miss Rubydoux!

Please forgive the late reaction - I am going through a very difficult time.

How are you? Did you undergo stoma closure? My stoma was supposed to be temporary (3-4 months) and it's been over 18 months. I have chronic constipation due to narcotics to treat Arachnoiditis symptoms. So, I am too scared of a new perforation caused by fecalomas if I undergo stoma closure. I also lost a lot of hair (trauma reaction?) after colostomy. Wishing you all the best... fingers crossed.