One day til ileo!

Good luck! Hope it all goes well.

Yes and pay no mind to the GINOURMOUS pouch they will have on you all jacked up and pointing in a direction that makes no sense - you can get your own once you get a feel for what you want. You are going to feel SO amazing once it is done - best wishes.

I 'woke up' with it...had no idea what I was getting into. I was just amazed at how hidious that initial bag looked like. Glad that's over. Wishing you the best and hopefully you have been emotionally comforted by the advise here....it would have sure help me!!!

Good luck and keep us posted.  We care :)

And no matter how hard it is, walk upright don't hunch over! It will be super hard but it will keep you from having the worst backache ever!
Also, don't throw popsicles :) I apparently thought that was a great idea!

Again thanks for all the well wishes, advices and keys to getting thru this. Really helps to know what to expect...

P.s- I might try throwing popsicles tonight to get thru this prep lol.

Best of luck!! I got my ileo two weeks ago. Surgery pain is nothing compared to UC pain. :P

A few tips:
1. Don't be afraid to take the maximum amount of pain meds for the first few days! It is important that you don't get 'behind' on your pain. Not only is it physically exhausting, but mentally you'll recover quicker if you can appropriately manage your pain.
2. Get up and walking as soon as possible! The first time will be very hard, and you'll probably feel hunched over like an old lady, as your abs will be too tight and sore to straighten, but as soon as you start to straighten out, the easier and easier it gets. Just move slowly.
3. Drink peppermint and chamomile tea to help ease your intestines if you have a lot of gas pain. I had a /ton/ coming out of surgery, and in some of the weirdest places.
4. Don't be surprised if you find that breathing in deeply hurts - your diaphragm will have been stretched out from the surgery. This can also cause shoulder pain. As with the walking, the more you take full, deep breaths, the less it will hurt.
5. Don't let the hospital kick you out before you are good and ready! You should be able to empty your bag, eat a soft diet, manage your pain and other medicines, and use the bathroom alone. But if you still need help getting up at times, or need someone to bring you food for the first week, that is perfectly fine.
6. Arrange to get a home-care nurse sent to your house for the first few weeks to help you learn about your ostomy etc. Also, make sure you take enough supplies home from the hospital for the first several bag changes.
7. Several ostomy supply companies will be more than happy to send you free samples! Take advantage of this to try different types of bags to see what works for you.
8. Approach eating after surgery cautiously. Your small intestines will probably have fallen asleep, so have a day of a clear liquid diet, and once your ostomy starts to produce, a day or two of a full liquid diet before trying soft foods.
9. Over-production of the ostomy can be a big problem for a lot of people. A "Brat" diet can be very helpful - but if you overdue it, you might just as well end up constipated! Finding the right balance of thickening and thinning foods can be a challenge at first. I've found it most helpful to drink tea or fruit juice after I've had a meal that I know to be particularly thickening (for example, a peanut butter banana sandwich) to keep the output a nicely thick yet smooth consistency.

If you have any questions whatsoever, feel free to message me. I think that it's great that there's someone here whose surgery will be so close to mine!

Very good advice theresa and so laid out neatly! I'm all over the place,lol.

The at home nurse will be great for wound checks, blood pressure things like that. But as a general rule, unless you get lucky, their specialty is not ostomies. So you may have to call your et nurse, or even message us, for the tricky stuff! For example, my at home nurse knew how to put the bag on, but we didn't know if you had to do something to the filter. So she called a few other nurses she knew, my husband called a few he knew, noone had any idea! She finally deicded we should poke it with a safety pin! I said no and checked. On here,lol.. they are very good nurses but its kind of. Like asking a foot dr for heart advice, or a medsurg floor nurse for an ob specialty question, its just not their specialtiy. And I'm rambling, took some pain meds a few minutes ago,lol.
You should bbe out of surgery in a few hours, please let us know you are ok! And I'm usually around if you need any tips, esp since I'm laid up right now too!
Good luck!

Excellent advice above. Hubby's back really itched...a back scratcher from the dollar store I ran out and got which was a lifesaver when I wasn't in the room to scratch his back. He left if on top of the table with his other stuff so he could grab it when he needed it. Sounds like a little thing but important for him...lol.

You will be amazed even with surgical pain/discomfort how much better you are going to feel almost immediately when you are awake.

Walking is super important as stressed above and keeping ahead with the pain meds and don't be afraid to tell the nurses if you need some supplemental pain meds and have them get the Dr to approve it if you need it. When you are in a hospital there is NO reason to be in unnecessary pain and discomfort if that occurs. I know they don't want you to be over medicated and you don't want that either but don't suffer needlessly in those first few days either if you are in pain.

They will give you your phone back, but I suggest letting someone proofread what you send out,lol!

Best wishes. Rosemary

OMG getting up is the hardest thing ever. Surgery went great as I was told. For most of yesterday I was out of it. The pain was so unbelievable seemed like I was hiring the button every 30mins and still in pain. One of the post responses told me to tell the nurse, whew glad I did.. She gave me something else that knocked it out THANK GOD!

This morning they took the catheter the way to force me out of the bed.... This should be classified a cruel and unusual... But I made it out walked (straight up not slouched) about 4feet to the bathrm. Being up was actually better than laying down.

So I just made it back to the bed pressed my pain button and now am moving n slow motion. I'll check n later.