To reverse, or not to reverse, that is the question.

Hi Bluebell1948 . I had an anastomic leak following my surgery (if you click on my name then you can see my history) but they said they wanted to avoid more surgery so it was drained under Ct scan then I had a drain in my buttock for several weeks. The collection took some shifting to be honest - the surgeon said that the body can disperse most of it naturally but I still had my CRP marker checked at every chemo session to keep an eye on it.

A stoma reversal is a much smaller op. They basically cut around the stoma, pop it back in and stitch you back up - my surgeon said it was a ‘nice little one to slip in inbetween the bigger ones’. The recovery can be quite trying for the first few months and your bowels can take up to 2 years to fully settle down into a new ‘normal’. It is impossible to predict how well your bowels will behave after a reversal although the lack of chemo and radiotherapy is beneficial. You can see the treatment that I had and I still find that my bowels can be erratic. My surgeon told me that I may have to take loperamide for life and then my new consultant said I shouldn’t and to only take them on special occasions! ‘Luckily’ my bowel seems to leap into action when I’m at home in an evening but I find I can be very loose - bordering on almost liquid at times - and go every few minutes once I start. After half a dozen visits I will take a loperamide and that will give me a couple of days respite. Keeping a food diary helps and alcohol doesn’t! 

Ive attached a link to a separate board that we started about reversals and you can also type it in the search box at the top of the screen to see previous posts

 Living well with a stoma reversal or LARS 

Hope this helps

Take care

Karen x 

ps LARS stands for Low  Anterior Resection Syndrome

These are useful too - it’s worth practising the sphincter exercises as when the urge to go comes it can be better to hold on until you’re near the toilet rather than making a dash for it

https://bowelcancerorguk.s3.amazonaws.com/Publications/StomaReversal_BowelCancerUK.pdf

https://bowelcancerorguk.s3.amazonaws.com/Publications/RegainingBowelControl_BowelCancerUK.pdf

Hi bluebell1948

In our family, 1 chose reversal and 1 chose not to reverse.

Each person is different, in terms of medically and mentally.

I can say that the 1 that reversed did have additional challenges to deal with after reversal. The 1 that didn't reverse ended up with less medcal issues and greater control - they were also relieved to have 1 less op to recover from.

It is however quite a personal choice.

Your medical experts at hospital would be best to advise on medical pros and cons for your specific case.

Hi 

I was very unsure of having a reversal as I was enjoying life to the full with my stoma 

I did lots of research also asked my surgeon if I would be a good candidate and I went for it 

I have no regrets 

My new normal is I go more than before as I have little storage but it’s not stopping me from getting out. I’ve had other health issues so I’m in recovery from a lung op (not connected) 

Its slowed me down but I will get back to travelling and enjoying life 

best wishes 

Thanks for your reply, Karen.  You have certainly been through the mill but I'm very glad that you have been given the five year all clear, well done.  My one question to you is - do you regret having the reversal?

Thank you for your reply, CrumpetsorToast.  One did and one didn't, but did the relative who did have the reversal regret having it done?

Hi Bluebell1948 In a word no. There are times when I am fed up with yet another rush to the toilet despite my last one only being 5 minutes ago but I eat and drink whatever I like. My stoma output was always quite loose and sometimes the bag would fill up very quickly so no, no regrets. 

Hi Ann,

Thank you for your reply.  I feel very much the same as you did, enjoying life but would rather not have the stoma.  I am in discussion with my surgeon and will probably decide to have the reversal in the autumn, enjoy the summer first and hopefully be up and about again by Christmas.  Hope you make a full recovery soon.

Best wishes,

Bluebell

Thanks Bluebell1948

I would have regretted not trying it and I was assured that if my bowel didn’t settle I could have a new stoma 

The ops short and sweet it’s the bowel training can take a while 

It sounds like a good plan enjoying this years summer. 
Also it’ll give you lots of time to prepare 

I’ve learned loads from my experience so when you’ve got your date pop it up on the stoma group. There’s great support and advice for reversals 

best wishes 

Hi Bluebell1948.

The answer is yes. With their set of practical and health cirumstances, it meant more unmanageable plus further health complications. So in their specific circumstances, they did regret.