Bowel resection surgery

After replying to somebody on a forum board with questions regarding my experience of a bowel resection, I thought it might be useful to write a post on this subject.

I had my bowel resection in April 2010. It was the third operation where it was query bowel re-section, until you are on the table, often that call can only be made there.  

My surgeon (Mr Kent from The Royal Surrey Hospital) always says if it was him having the surgery he would want somebody doing these types of operations that does them regularly. Ask how many people they perform this operation on and ask how many they have had to give a temporary or a permanent stoma too afterwards. The more skilled the surgeons the less likely that you will end up with a stoma.

I went to shop for yoga pants before the surgery but none were that loose fitting. I have had a problem with pressure on my tummy for some years. I did find one pair from Sweaty Betty but didn’t end up buying them as they were around £50. Instead I went to JoJo Mama Bebe  and bought some maternity pyjama bottoms. Really loose fitting and really comfortable for £25.

I made sure I did my legs with my epilator so they would stay hair free for a few weeks afterwards. Make sure you take off nail vanish too, they normally tell you this in the paperwork.

List of items I took in

Nightshirts

Toothbrush and toothpaste

Face wash and flannel

Moisturiser

Ipod

Phone and charger

Magazine

Vaseline if bowel prepping.

Dry spray shampoo (I only use Batiste, the others in my opinion are not so good)

Hair band to hide hair, hair bands to put hair up or plait etc..

Brush  or comb.

Pants, socks

Sanitary towels

Before Surgery when still at home -  Using Vaseline was the best tip I ever got when bowel prepping. As some of you will know it makes you poo loads and it gets a bit sore after a while around the anus. Popping on a bit of Vaseline stopped this soreness from happening, which was really good.  I made soups and froze them in one size portions to eat afterwards. My favourite being pea and mint and Carrot and coriander. They are so easy to make and the mint is good for the tummy/bowel after you come out of hospital. Also if possible try and increase your fitness before, I wasn’t able to do this really and had lost lots of fitness over the last few years.

In hospital – The nurses gave me heated gel pack at night to put on my back as I was sore there and they really helped. Mint cordial and mint tea bags are a great thing to have, will help wind and ease the discomfort of the air used in surgery. Afterwards I didn’t eat too much as I didn’t fancy it so I ate mash potato, custard style pots (dairy-free Alpro Soya Vanilla Dessert) Jelly, and nourishment drinks. Make sure you drink plenty of water to keep your stools soft.

Afterwards – After laying on a uncomfortable hot water my partner suggested we buy Dreamland Thermo Therapy Heat Pad, it was much better as it is completely flat. I found that putting my feet up on a raised surface about two yellow pages high helped when going to the toilet, it makes it easier to poo.  Again make sure you drink plenty to keep stools soft and easier to pass. The other thing I was told was to go for walks as this stimulates the bowel to work, sometimes when you’ve had bowel surgery the bowel tends to get into a bit of a strop afterwards and can be a bit sluggish.

Be kind to yourself. Don’t beat yourself up. You’ve been through a lot. I cried afterwards at silly things, I think it was the anaesthetic.  I used forums like the Endometriosis Uk to speak to others that have had this type of surgery for support. I found that incredibly useful as there wasn’t much information out there when I googled it.

I had lots of wind, like never before! Walking seemed to help move it. Even if you are slow walking this should still help. I had lots of strange bowel movements afterwards but this normally settles down after a while.

I had a bowel resection via  laparoscopy so had 3 small holes and one cut below my bikini line about 3 inches long which they took the bowel out of. And they used tools via my vagina as I also had a small part of the back of my vaginal wall removed due to the Endometriosis. 

My scar faded really quickly afterwards when I started using castor oils packs. I didn’t start that for a few months after the surgery though. I was using them for help with adhesions, check out this link. http://www.edgarcayce.org/are/holistic_health/data/thcast1.html. I used a Organic Ivory Flannel  and 250ml Organic Castor Oil - 100% Pure Cold Pressed to make sure it was only good stuff on my tummy. When I looked at my biggest scar one day it had faded to a thin white line!

I hope that some of these tips help. They certainly helped me. If anybody has any others they would like to share, please do.

Lily Lou x

Pain Team at University College London Hospital

I was referred in January 2011 to the Pelvic Pain clinic at University College London Hospital and I finally got my appointment in December 2011 to see Natasha Curran. It was a long wait but so worth it!

Natasha started the consultation asking what my expectations were. Obviously I would like a magical cure but know that is not realistic so I opted for less pain. I found her to be really empathic and really willing to listen to me. At one point she looked me directly in the eye and said “sorry that I couldn't work at the moment”. I was quiet choked by this. It is a big thing for me and the first time a doctor has said that and understood the impact of this.

At the moment due to trying to conceive, they are limited to what our options are. I have been offered a Pundenural Nerve block to try and help with some of the pain I experience from the Vulva, up the bum and clitoris, although she doesn’t think this is the answer. Although I have a needle phobia I am going to go for it. I would normally prefer to be sedated for the procedure but Natasha doesn’t sedate her patients as she likes to be given feedback by the patient during the procedure. She stimulates the nerve first with a small electric current. She has instilled faith in me so I am going to go for it. I am currently on her cancellation list as I can’t plan due to my irregular cycle.

The other thing that she thought would be useful to me would be to attend the pain management programme called LINK. During my initial assessment with Rebecca McLoughlin (Pain physiotherapist) we realised I would not be able to attend a weekly programme due to my cycle so I will be working one to one with Rebecca. I had my first appointment with her on Monday. Rebecca doesn't work in a hand on capacity, she will help me look at various things in life that I have problems with due to pain.

The first thing we are looking at, is sitting. I have problems with sitting due to Vulvodynia and Vestibulodynia anyway and after my last operation this has been impacted more by pain from up my bum and the Piriformis. It just feels like I’m sat on bone and nerves. (Maria has told me that you lose muscle bulk in these areas when in pain that’s why I feel like I am sitting on my bones and nerves. If the pain goes, then these muscles should bulk back out again). I carry a cushion in a bag to sit on, to help with this.

I do tend to just sit through pain. It seems I’m sitting for too long on my sofa in one position without getting up so I have now set a timer for every 15 minutes to make sure when possible I get up. There is nothing we can do during a period, we just have to work around that.

I need to work out how long I can sit on other less comfortable chairs and keep a record of this. Then make sure I get up and don’t just sit through the pain and suffer more later. Hopefully we are hoping to build my tolerance up to sitting . I am really excited by this work, I know it’s only been a few days but already my Pirifomis hasn’t kicked off this week so far which is amazing! Long may this last. (Fingers crossed).

Anyway, the pain team up at UCLH in my opinion are well worth a visit. They really understand pain better than anybody I have seen so far. I’ll keep you updated. Has anybody else seen them? 

Lily Lou x