i had 18 inches of my small intestine removed and got an ileostomy 2.5 months ago.i still havent recovered yet from the surgery . my incison opened up an it still hasnt close yet.im goin for my takedown in about 2 weeks and i dont know the recovery time, what ill be able to eat after surgery, or what the scar is going to look like? anyone with answers please share them
Reply posted for Napa49.
hey it has now been 2 1/2 years since i had my ostomy bag taken down it did take some recovery time and i did experience some set backs. Do take it slow with foods unfortunately it is all trial and error and as things heal more u will be able to add more foods in. I had a lot of difficulty with gas and the fact that it did not want to leave and the only way still to this day to pass gas is when i go to the bathroom. I would feel blocked up and this would cause nausea and sometimes vomiting. several things were suggested to me which truly did help if you come across the same situation. I now drink coffee which helps keep things moving i avoid shell fish because it is a difficult protein for the average person to digest and seems to sit longer in ours or at least my tract and ferment, also they are bottom feeders and carry a lot of bacteria (ie: lobster, shrimp, scallops, clams oysters). I however did not find gas x or beano to work but i do take colace before meals which has also helped. The doctors also found that i built scar tissue at the rectum which narrow the passage which aid in the difficulty but now that we are aware of this i occasionally go in for surgery and have some removed from time to time. As for scarring its not that bad but the site can be tender at times. hope this hew3lps good luck
Reply posted for Napa49.
I had my ileostomy reversed a year ago in May. I had it for 9 months. My scar to me looks bad but everyone around me says it looks great. (But I'm really self conscious about my scars on my stomach). My reversal surgery to me was more painful than the surgery was when I got my ileostomy. But everyone is different. My scar has healed tremendously to what it was. I did use vitamin E oil and massaged it onto my scar. My doctor told me any type of scar minimizing lotion is great to use, especially vitamin E.
As for food, I started off slow. I did have problems with diarrhea at first. I had to give it time for my rectum to get strong enough to hold everything. At first, I had a lot of running to the restroom because I could not hold it. But with time things will improve and get easier. I promise.
Reply posted for Napa49.
Every person is different on what they can eat. Stay away from fiber for awhile and start it slowly. Things I still avoid- popcorn, nuts, seeds. I also found that I had quite a bit of anal burning- use a cream to spread on your anus to prevent the contact, I use a enema device to squirt water instead of using toilet paper. It takes awhile but you will adjust
Reply posted for Napa49.
Napa-
It's hard to say how your body will tolerate various foods. My best results came from trying things in small quantities, very gradualy adding new groups of foods (red meat, leafy greens, tomoato-based products, etc.)
My scar is very hard to see after 12 years. The most noticeable scar is from the ostomy itself, but even that is fairly benign. Given your difficulties with healing I suppose you'll have a bit more pronounced scarring. Aafter you have good progress on external healing you may be able to do some scar treatment (vit. E based products, aloe) to minimize surface (skin) scarring. Keep your chin up- this will all be a distant memory in due time.
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