Hi . Everyone has different experiences after a reversal and things settle down more quickly for some than others. I’ve attached a link to a post from the Ileostomy board which may help and also 1 from the Bowel Cancer uk
I would recommend doing the sphincter exercises (squeezing the muscles around your anus as if trying to hold wind in) as the urge to go can come on quite suddenly and it can be ‘safer’ to try and postpone the urge rather than making a dash for it!
You will probably find that you make a lot of visits to the toilet in the early days. Buy some nice soft paper and have sudocream or something similar to hand as your bottom will get very sore. The mantra of ‘never trust a fart’ should also be heeded and wearing a sanitary towel can make you feel a bit more secure!
While still in hospital I found a grab bag to be handy - this was just a carrier bag which contained wet wipes, sudocream, spare underwear and poo bags. When my bottom got very sore I used to use some of the big soft cloths that they give you to get washed with then put them in a poo bag in the contaminated waste bin.
My surgeon warned me that things would never go back to normal but I would get used to a new normal similar to how my stoma worked ie. Lily the illeostomy was always most active in an evening and that’s when my Bowel’s are too.
Hope this helps. It can take a while for things to settle down but I have absolutely no regrets. If you’ve any specific questions please ask away.
Hi PT66. I had a reversal 9 weeks ago after a lower anterior resection 12 months before. It should have been done in April but Covid got in the way. I looked at a few people's experiences before the op and had mild panic! Some of the stories made me wonder if I was better off with a stoma which I had least got used to using. Was I jumping from the pan to the fire? But I had a hernia around the stoma and was happy to go ahead.
I was discharged from hospital after 2 nights in the care of the early discharge team who looked after me at home, The first few days were as expected, urgency, only passing small bits and going quite often, soreness. Things improved quite quickly and now I am getting into a 'new normal'. I have no regrets having had it done.
I would echo what Karen said and also what is in the links she posted. All good advice. I especially liked the slightly creamy wipes the discharge team gave me when I was sore (not to be flushed but the ex stoma black bags come in handy!) Also, for the first few days, I was happy to use pads during the daytime and larger nappy type things at night, purely to give me confidence. I never actually needed them. I used sudocream.
I agree about trying to hold on if the urge comes, if you can. Also I find that when i do go, I stay there for a while as things can be quite slow and it avoids the need to rush back! Don't force it.
As my bowel had been out of action for a year probiotics were suggested by a doctor, which I take. Diet is interesting, I was told no vegtables or fruit for two weeks then low fibre. I was interested to read the diet advice in the bowel cancer link, I hadnt seen it before and I had thought that eggs, cheese and salmon were good for me! They don't seem to have done any harm.
I think that where you had the tumour removed may decide how your 'new normal' is.
If you have as good a team looking after you as I did they will answer any questions and help with any problems.
Off at a bit of a tangent, I know, but I had my resection end of 2018 - reversible ileostomy. Due reversal January 20, but told it wouldn't happen till the threat of winter flu etc had passed. My planned pre-op in May was cancelled due to Covid. To my surprise I had a pre-op assessment on October 28th and thought I would get an op date soon, but phoned consultant's secretary this week cos I hadn't heard and she tells me that we are back to waiting for the second wave of Covid and winter flu to pass again! So I am probably looking at May at the earliest again. Why am I being fobbed off as non-urgent when some of you are getting your ops? Don't mean to rant at all of you, but would you just sit back or is there anything I can do? I have a hernia which I mentioned to secretary and she said go to GP, but you can't get in there either!!
Sorry to hear you hve been cancelled twice now, I would imagine it comes down to where your hospital is. Some have tried to keep Covid seperate and try to catch up. My hospital in the Bromley area had a hold up getting the 'leakage' test, a flouroscpy, done and I managed, with my consultant's blessing to get that done on my insurance in July. Our Covid rate here was low then and the hospital was playing catch up at full speed. I kept on asking and in the end I was given short notice for a last sigmoidoscopy check and then the op a few days later. No covid problem in the hopital at that time.
Re the hernia, I had mine most of the time I had the stoma. I was given a belt which gave me more confidence but also contributed to the worst accidents that I had! I didn't wear it all the time. Do you have a belt? Do you still have contact with your Stoma Nurses? They could talk to the consultant about your problems. I also had a dedicated Colorectal Nurse who I used to email quite a bit who was a helpful interface with the consultant.
