the joys of hospital!

dean messenger

dean messenger

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Dean
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well ive just got back from Hospital today, after having emergency Hartmanns procedure open surgery for Diverticulitis back in March its been a long slow road to recovery having had around 18 inches of bowel removed and being hours from death due to peritonitis and having to deal with living with a stoma and colostomy bag.

So back today for a checkup and hopeful news on reversal surgery to rewire up my internal plumbing.
Alas not the case. instead booked in for appointment in around 5-6 weeks time for a double colonoscopy. essentially a camera up the rear and one down the stoma all at the same time ( no wide angle lenses please! ). also means prior to it have to have enemea one end and drink some nasty horrible fluid to clear out the other end, then its back in 8 weeks for further check up.

so looks like at least 2 more months before i even get a date for reversal ( knowing my luck will end up being over christmas! ).
really not looking forward to any of it, im still having to walk with a stick due to permanent numb leg from the last surgery which aggrievated a nerve which has for past 5 months now has severely limited the photography ( cant bend , cant walk far and cant carry anything to heavy ).

still on a positive note im still alive so cant grumble to much.

just feeling frustrated at moment
 
Not happening as swiftly as you'd like....very frustrating.
Patience, young Padewan. (y)
 
yeah but its cost me several t shirts! hot weather , curry and stomas do not make a good mix!
 
not sure boob tubes and crop tops are quite my thing.. not really the guy look around these parts unless you wanna get lynched!
 
Boob tube + colostomy bag = NOT a good look!!!

I sympathise on the Diverticulitis front though - it hospitalised me a few years back but I was lucky that it didn't get as far as peritonitis so I didn't need the colostomy. While the shuftiscopes aren't fun, they're not too bad and are a necessary evil.

All the best for the reversal etc..
 
I had part of my bowel removed 4 yrs ago this week due to cancer, fortunately I didn't need the stoma bag for the rest of my days. I can relate to getting the colonoscopy a few times and the horrible liquid to clear you out, my ass took a life of it's own after swallowing it :) The problem it left me with was the laxative was a lemon flavour and now I hate anything lemon cos it gives me bad memories believe it or not. The dreams after the straight after op were the weirdest I've ever experienced in my life, how junkies can get any joy from going on these drug trips I'll never know:)

Hope everything goes ok for you.
 
I had a colonoscopy a fee weeks back. worst bit was trying to drink the 4l of PEG. threw the first 1l up and had to get picolax. it was like having a tap turned on in my rectum lol. did the colonoscopy without sedation was totally painless.
 
when i was diagnosed ( if you can call it that.. the OH thought i just needed to have a release ( cos i had aching man bits! ) and then the thought was severe trapped wind. so off we went to hospital when the pain got to the point where i thought it could be something more severe ( appendix ). anyway within 15 mins of getting there i was giving a huge dose of morphine..cue flashing lights, spinning room, cold sweats, the Oh said i tured ash grey and looked like i was going to die.. they had to pump me full of anti sickness drugs and some other stuff to counteract the morphine then switched me over to tramadol which wasnt much better tbh. From the time i first went in on the thursday night when i had xrays and was hooked up to multiple drips through to my CT scan then the surgery at around 11am friday morning it was pretty much all a drug induced haze of total and utter confusion , panic and not having a clue what in hell was going on.

id never even heard of diverticulitis before and when i woke up from surgery i had 3 canulas feeding around 5 or 6 different drips, a drain, a plumbed in colostomy bag with internal tubing, a catheter and a 9 inch long wound with 31 staples,,,, felt like i had been assimilated by the Borg! in once sense i was pretty lucky in the way it happened as i had no time to think about what i was going through, the risks and possible consequences etc.. all i knew was that i was in intense pain and wanted it gone.

having gone through all the that.. the worst part and the one thing that still gives me cold sweats was having the drain removed.. i assumed it went to the would so was only around 2 inches long.. but instead i had around 2 feet of plumbing pulled out of a hole in my side and by god did i swear and shout.
since then that is my ONE huge fear and a colonoscopy and the thought of it just brings that all back and makes me want to go hide under a rock.
 
POAH said:
I had a colonoscopy a fee weeks back. worst bit was trying to drink the 4l of PEG. threw the first 1l up and had to get picolax. it was like having a tap turned on in my rectum lol. did the colonoscopy without sedation was totally painless.
Click to expand...

i have that pleasure to look forward to but it will all be coming outa the hole in my belly so thats going to be fun and games to deal with.
the back end i just have a 6 inch stump so its a small enema to just give it a rinse out which is self done at home ( im guessing by way of a pessary of some kind )... its having the stoma turned into a crap fountain that im not gonna enjoy!
 
dean messenger said:
i have that pleasure to look forward to but it will all be coming outa the hole in my belly so thats going to be fun and games to deal with.
the back end i just have a 6 inch stump so its a small enema to just give it a rinse out which is self done at home ( im guessing by way of a pessary of some kind )... its having the stoma turned into a crap fountain that im not gonna enjoy!
Click to expand...

They might be able to give you a tube rather than you having to worry about overfilling the bag... Might mean you have to sit on a stool beside the karzi while nature Picolax does what it does but you'd be sat on it if yer guts were continuous anyway!

I'll admit that the whole procedure isn't fun but hopefully things will work out sooner rather than later.
 
i have some drainable bags which i think will be coming out of the spares box.. alot easier than having to change every 5 mins and risk getting caught bagless and having a major disaster.
i did youtube the proedure but got scared about 30 secs in so will just close my eyes , take a huge dose of sedatives, lie back and pray!
 
I'm waiting to have an endoscopy and colonoscopy, booked in for the 29th August not looking forward to it one bit. I have been waiting a year to have this procedure and has been chased up by my Doctors etc. What the Gastrontologist (spl) said, "that it was not an emergencey as my weight was pretty stable and the blood I pass is to red and fresh, and as I have Fibromyalgia it's common to have IBS". A year is a long time to wait and the pain I suffer when I have bouts is excruciating, even with me taking Morhpine, Gabapentin & Amitrypiline for my Fibromyalgia and Arthritic problems. Hope it gets sorted out at the end of the month and I have a definite answer to what is going on.

I have total sympathy for you Dean and what your family have/are going through, hopefully there's some light at the end of the tunnel.
 
Thats the spirit.(y)
 
Ouch, Dean, although we "don't really know each other" here on TP, I do wish you all the best and hope the road to recovery is shorter than you think.
 
ahhh it could be worse.. it might have after all just beena giant fart waiting to get out then i woulda just died of pure embarrassment!
 
That's exactly what I thought my diverticulitis was! It was 2 days later when Mrs Nod got home for her lunch break to find me doubled up on the floor that she got me to the vet who sent me to A&E. After a week of IV antibiotics and painkillers they sent me home with a few pointers to keep things moving well enough to reduce pressure (and instructions not to allow too much pressure to build after say beans!) and a suggestion that Fybogel (other fibre supplements are available) was a good idea. Touch wood, the change in diet has kept the diverticulae free from infection. FTR, what I'm fairly sure was the direct cause of the attack was about 1/2 a gallon of popcorn followed by a big steak (with no veggies...) when I was in a hurry one evening. I still enjoy the occasional steak but make sure there's some fibre included on the plate!
 
oddly popcorn is one of the products that help with output to thicken it for people with ileostomy's ( normally those with chron's or UC or who had there large intestine removed.

just wish i had had some pre warnings so could have changed diet rather than go through major op and a zip line down my belly!

took quite a few selfies to record the whole experience of what i went through and to help me with coming to terms with it

warning graphic image!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pixelviii/13715628545/

wont post the image direct as some people may find it to gross
 
No, no no! Popcorn is pure evil to Crohnies. Horrible, scratchy, nasty stuff that irritates us! Cholestyramine is the stuff you want if you've got an ileo. Tastes pretty rank apparently and not unlike its near namesake - poly...

Oh yes, and good luck in your recovery. Hell of an op to have to go through.
 
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