Wife of husband struggling with post op symptoms for bowel resection (stage 3)

Hi FSS This is very common and called ileus. The bowel does not like being manhandled and can sulk for several days after the operation. It’s pretty unpleasant but it will pass. I had it after my resection and again after my reversal. I was nil by mouth for a few days, then water, then soup and ice cream then gradually solid food. Sometimes an ng tube is used which is inserted through the nose and into the stomach but I managed to avoid that.

Ive attached a link to a recent post by 2 ladies going through the same thing with their other halves which might reassure you?

 RE: Dealing with husband's cancer 

It’s tough seeing a partner like this and he’ll probably drop a lot of weight but it’ll come back on once he’s feeling a bit better - recovery can be slow initially but he will get there eventually

Take care

Karen x

Thank you Karen. Very reassuring to read your experience and the other ones you reference. He’s had a better day today and understands these things will occur as part of the recovery. He did have the ng tube for 48 hrs to drain but the sickness started after the removed it. Hoping to see him out of bed tomorrow and we’ll get his consultant visit too :-) 

Hi Karen! 

My mum had her surgery last month and she was the exact same- it was nightmare! 

She had the NG tube in for a day or so and it didn’t bring much up. She was sick after it was taken out again and then all of a sudden she stopped being sick.

I was really concerned about the sickness too, they were going to have to put her on a special nutritional drip (TPN I think?) but thankfully didn’t need it in the end.

Mum is also stage 3. Happy to chat.

Sending a big hug and positive thoughts x 

Just realised it wasn’t Karen who had written the post- sorry  

No worries Poppy95 and Thankyou for commenting. It’s horrid watching someone going through this ( and definitely not great for the patient!) but good to hear that mums on the road to recovery. Hopefully  FSS  your hubby is starting to improve?

Take care

Karen x

I'm so glad I found this...while googling late at night, how sensible! My Dad had a hemicolectomy 6 days ago and seemed ok the day after, (considering he had a long, difficult op) ...then on day 2 he started vomitting bright green bile and docs said he has post op ileus but will keep an eye. He's eaten almost nothing since the night of his op and he seems so depleted. Getting worried it's infection or leak as he's been rough for 4 days now and they're still pumping the bile out. He did have some.broth tonight though.....

I read ileus can last longer than 72 hours....but of course, I worry.

Sorry he is going through this.I had ileus after my panproctocolectomy and it lasted 6 days.I did have the dreaded ng tube and things started to improve slowly at first then all of a sudden back to normal.They gave me sips of water at first then soup,ice cream custard etc slowly working towards a full diet.Hang in there and things will improve

Kath

Hi Sazzle Glad you’ve found some reassurance from the post. I had both ileus and a leak although the leak didn’t seem to start until a couple of weeks after leaving the hospital. Both are common after an operation on the bowel but can take several days to get on top of. I was put on nil by mouth, then sips of water then liquids then building up to normal. It’s a positive sign that he’s managed to have some broth. I lost a lot of weight but it came back on once things started to return to normal.

Hang in there and please keep us updated?

Take care

Karen x

So sorry you went through that Kath. Thank you for the reassurance - what you've described sounds like the steps he's been making so that's a relief. Very very mashed, liquidy carrots on the menu for later today so fingers crossed! x

I'm so sorry Karen, that all sounds traumatic, but glad to hear you were able to get back to a healthier weight. Thank you for sharing this, it's reassuring since I've not been present for any of the doc/consultant rounds and Dad tells me nothing!! Will keep you posted :) x