Struggling with nausea after sigmoid colectomy

Hi again Knowledgeispower20! Yes the feeling sick is normal - the Bowel does not like being handled and it does take a few days to settle down. If youre is only taking in fluids then that wil contribute to the volume of fluids coming out. When I was in the nurses measured my output so they will be aware of how much she is passing. It may be that she is getting anxious as soon as there is over say an inch in the bag when it’s actually surprising how much they can hold. The consultant can prescribe immodium to slow things down but they tend to like to wait a while to see how it settles naturally.

Have a chat with the nurses and see what their thoughts are - if she’s on a Colorectal Ward then they will have seen a lot of scenarios and know how things improve over time. Make sure they’re aware of your mums anxiety issues as some can be a little matter of fact if they think someone is just being ‘fussy’ in their eyes when this is obviously really troubling your mum

Take care

Karen x

HI Knowledgeispower20

I'm sorry to hear about mum please remember she is only a few days in, the anaesthetic is still in her body and can cause all sorts of problems, she should start to see an improvement soon.

Unfortunately Normal takes on many guises after this type of surgery (or in fact any type of surgery) foods that we like today turns our stomach tomorrow.

Being bloated is quite normal in the early days and could be down to the air that was blown into her bowel during surgery.

In the early days we don't know how often our bags will fill up but I would imagine that as mum has an ileostomy  that her output will be very watery and if so she will be losing a lot of minerals and salts from her body and needs to keep replacing fluids but water is not enough she needs to replace them maybe from Sports drinks that contain electrolytes would be a start as they would additionally give her energy.

Speaking to someone is a good idea but getting the right person is a different matter and I would suggest the hospital stoma care nurse and see where that leads to.

Without a doubt getting mum home is the best option and being 3 days in I would think that under normal (there's that word again) circumstances discharge should be early next week but that's based on many factors including the management of emptying and changing her bag.

Are you quite happy about caring for mum at home or do you think you'll need some help and I would suggest that speaking to the hospital occupational therapist and social worker to have a needs assessment put in place for mum, it's nothing to worry about it is all about identifying what can be done to make her life easier at home. You may want to think about having a carers assessment, this is not to assess your ability to look after mum but to make sure you have everything you need to take care of mum and still be you.

It could be that mum could benefit from aids around the house and many items can be supplied, raised toilet seats, bath/shower stools, perching stool, hand rails or a trolley to move meals around the house plus a lot more can be made available to your mum

If you need details on both assessments please let me know and I will send over the links. Don't think that it is charity it's your rights to have them and County councils are duty bound to do them for you as is your mum applying for an attendance allowance, again not charity but a small amount to help her cope with her current situation.

Ww are all here to help and support you with advice on how we can get mum back to normal and enjoy her life.

Please do keep in touch and let us know how mum gets on, but a word to you make sure that you look after yourself and take care.

Ian

Thank you so much for all your advice. Unfortunately mum can't keep food or fluid down and they are considering an Ng tube. I have sent off the attendance forms so hope to hear soon, but there is an 8 week wait to hear we have been told. I know it's a big surgery, but to see mum go in quite fit and perky and now can barely move from weakness and look so Ill is a terrible shock to me. It's hit her hard!!!

Hi Chemteacher 

what you mum is going through is exactly what happened to me , they need to give her a drip to replace the salts etc that she is not getting , once I had that I started to pick up 

regards

darren

Hi Darren, I honestly don't know how you got through it!! She was told at the weekend she had a level 1 AKI and so they put her on loads of drips.....she perked up perfectly started eating loads!!! Took urine catheter out last night .....temperature went up as she now has an infection!! Antibiotics started.....and so do the vomiting....water and all.....so I left her tonight.....back in a hospital gown.....a little confused....and on Hartman's drip!!! Unbelievable!!! Her operation was last Monday!!!

Hi 

i had an infection and was on antibiotics and left with a weeks worth, I didn’t eat hardly anything as couldn’t keep it in , eat toast and cornflakes, dehydration is the big problem so they need to keep the drips coming, peppermint water is good for the wind and extra strong mints helps with reaching, I am younger than your mum and was fairly fit but was still in for 13 days and only got out by the skin of my teeth as the bag was soo watery, what hospital is she in?

Royal Sussex County hospital....she had the op on the 14th...but she is also acting a bit confused....they think due to the UTI. It's been a complete nightmare. Pm me if you want to chat in more detail. She is going through exactly the same!!!