Post-Op

Today, I had my 10 day post op appointment with my surgeon. As expected, they removed the staples (thank God!) and placed some "steri-strips" across the wound to keep things together until it heals a little more. These strips should fall off in a few weeks, according to Dr. L.

Pre-Staple Removal

Pre-Staple Removal

It looks really irritated, but
that is mostly from where the staples
started to pull on the skin.

No More Staples

The entire office staff was surprised at how well I was doing. The nurse was shocked that I was only in the hospital for 3 days! I'm probably MUCH younger than most of the patients they see, so this is probably a contributing factor to my speedy recovery! (On a side note, for one of my appointments at the surgeons office, I came to sign in at the window and the receptionist asked if I was a pharmacy rep bringing samples. I'm definitely younger than most patients!)

I asked about immodium since I am still having 8-10 BMs a day and 2-3 at night. He told me it was ok to go ahead and try the immodium since it works much better than the pepto does to slow things down a little. I took one around lunch time and haven't noticed much difference, but hopefully it will kick in later today.

I also asked about my diet. Essentially, I can eat anything I want! However, he did caution to start slow and see what works and what doesn't. I've read other places that sometimes your body will not react well to a specific food the first time you eat it, but if you try again later, you can have a much different result. The idea is to introduce one new food at a time to see how things go. That way you have an idea of what foods don't work with your new plumbing.

Finally, I asked about the urges that I have been having. He confirmed that these are normal since the pouch gets distended very quickly. As time goes on, the pouch will stretch and will not become full so quickly and these feelings should diminish.

I will see Dr. Liberman again in about 4 weeks where he will take a look inside my pouch using an anoscope. He wants to check the remaining rectal tissue that I still have and make sure the pouch looks OK. Another exciting "exam" to look forward to!