colon resection problems?

Hi Lee, I cannot comment on most of your post because it seems that there were many things going on
in there, but I would certainly contact my doc ASAP because you shouldn't be having the same
problems that you had before the surgery. Usually when I have had surgery they won't let me go home
until I have eaten solid food, not vomited and have a BM. I can comment on the lightheadedness and
fatigue. You need to make sure you get some electrolytes into your system. One of the sources for
this is in the baby food department of your supermarket, it is pedialyte. There is also a company
making something called Vitamin Water and some of those have lytes in them also. I survived for over
6 months on a liquid diet and I didn't feel great, but I did get plenty of electrolytes which kept
me from passing out. Please get those lytes into your system, you will feel better. Connie

Lee Newman said:

Back again, with more stomach questions...I had a colon resection on
9/30/2003 due to endometriosis causing a blockage in my colon. (I also had both ovaries removed
(one covered in endo, plus stage 1A ovarian cancer was found in that one ovary), plus part of
my bladder (it had endo on it), plus my appendix (endo-covered), plus the omentum (looking
for cancer spread), plus some lymph nodes (same). No cancer spread was found. I will be
consulting with an oncologist on whether chemo's needed.)

I was happy after the surgery to learn they'd done the colon resection, because I figured it
explained all my intestinal blockage symptoms, and I figured now I could finally get better.
Unfortunately, I still have the symptoms -- nausea, pain, inability to eat anything (soft bland
stuff -- I haven't tried anything else), nothing passing through my intestines except gas unless I
take 4-8 Dulcolax tablets to turn things to diarrhea. Continuing weight loss (down 40 lbs so far
and dropping), obviously, because I can't eat. I haven't been vomiting but I think that's mainly
because I'm not eating. The times I've tried eating soft bland stuff, I have to followup a couple
of hours later with anti-nausea meds (Ativan). When I avoid food and stick to apple juice, that
causes its own problems -- lightheadedness, fatigue, hardly being able to walk -- just not getting
enough nutrition. And I'm worried because I don't know how I'll be able to handle chemo (if they
recommend it) given the current state of affairs.

I have an appointment with a gastroenterologist on Tuesday, but I'd really appreciate any info
anyone here can offer. I'm really hoping these aren't normal post-colon-resection symptoms -- it
shouldn't seal up again immediately should it? Even in the hospital I felt like something was
still wrong there; I couldn't eat while in the hospital either (at the end of the 2 week stay --
didn't eat for the first few days of course, plus then did clear liquids for a week), nor could I
pass anything except gas. I could understand pain on going, but not being able to go at all seems
wrong. Are there any tests in particular I should request that would be helpful? I'm sure they'll
want to do x-rays; my concern is that x-rays never showed my endo blocking the bowel, so I know
they don't show everything. Would a barium enema show everything? Colonoscopy -- how soon can they
do something like that post-op? Though that wouldn't show things going on outside of the bowel, so
I don't even know how helpful that would be. A flex sigmoidoscopy in mid Sept missed the endo
blockage, too, so I don't expect that would be useful...Still being incapacitated, I'd even be
willing to go back under the knife again (it was a laparotomy, not a laparoscopy) to try to find
out what's wrong.

Thanks...

----
Lee Newman, [email hidden] | Patience, n.: Research Programmer | A minor form of despair
Digital Library Technologies, Penn. State | disguised as a virtue.
| -- Ambrose Bierce