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justinjones1963
New member
Here is the update on my hernia surgery.
I went in for surgery in December. It took approximately one hour. It was a small outpatient clinic and the surgery was fast and well done.
On day one (day of surgery) I want home and relaxed. I ate two small meals. On day two I my tummy was a bit swollen and I had some minor abdominal cramps. I didn’t have a bowel movement since two days before surgery and the bloat had me concerned.
Over the next two days I rank lots of fluids and ate small meals. I didn’t urinate nor did I have any bowel movements. By day 3 my stomach swelled up and my stomach probably went from 34 inches to over 40. The pain was so unbearable I went to the ER and I was admitted for having an ileus.
An ileus occurs when the GI tract shuts down. It happens in two situations. A mechanical ileus which occurs when the intestines becomes twisted and an ileus by paralysis (which is what I had) and this occurs usually after surgery. The intestines are very sensitive and sometimes shut down after surgery.
Anyway, everything that I ate was sitting in my GI tract and not moving. Nothing goes out – no fluids, no feces and no gas. Everything I ate prior to surgery and after was sitting in my GI tract and it was expanding due to the gasses.
At the ER they stuck a nasal tube down nose into my stomach. Over the next week they sucked out over 4 liters of green and black intestine gunk. I was stuck on an IV for fluids and had to have an IV for food intake.
On day 7 I finally passed gas. Imagine not farting for over a week and how painful it is to have all of that gas inside you. After a week in hospital [around day 8] (which included Christmas) I finally managed to have a bowel movement. The colon is the last area to recover so it would simply flow out – I couldn’t squeeze anything out. It still took about 5 days after that to have somewhat normal bowel movements and to pass gas.
I am in week 3 of recovery and I am still not 100%. I have normal bowel movements but the abdominal pains are still present. If I eat too much I am crippled. Diet has been oatmeal and other soft foods but I have started eating normal foods in small quantities. My weight was 210 and I am down to 190.
The doc said I will be 100% and ready to hit the gym in 3-5 weeks.
Compared to other surgeries and other medical things that have happened to me this was the most painful. I have been shot, broken bones, and beaten to a pulp and I’d rather have 10 broken bones and get shot than to go through this again!
The worst part is that pain killers (opoids like percocet) affect the GI tract and slow it down and cause constipation, thus slowing recovery. Because of this, I didn’t get any pain killers that helped. It sucked.
Costs for the surgery alone were around $1,800. I have not received the bill form the ER yet. I am expecting a week in the ER to cost 10K. I think (and hope) my insurance covers 80% of it.
I went in for surgery in December. It took approximately one hour. It was a small outpatient clinic and the surgery was fast and well done.
On day one (day of surgery) I want home and relaxed. I ate two small meals. On day two I my tummy was a bit swollen and I had some minor abdominal cramps. I didn’t have a bowel movement since two days before surgery and the bloat had me concerned.
Over the next two days I rank lots of fluids and ate small meals. I didn’t urinate nor did I have any bowel movements. By day 3 my stomach swelled up and my stomach probably went from 34 inches to over 40. The pain was so unbearable I went to the ER and I was admitted for having an ileus.
An ileus occurs when the GI tract shuts down. It happens in two situations. A mechanical ileus which occurs when the intestines becomes twisted and an ileus by paralysis (which is what I had) and this occurs usually after surgery. The intestines are very sensitive and sometimes shut down after surgery.
Anyway, everything that I ate was sitting in my GI tract and not moving. Nothing goes out – no fluids, no feces and no gas. Everything I ate prior to surgery and after was sitting in my GI tract and it was expanding due to the gasses.
At the ER they stuck a nasal tube down nose into my stomach. Over the next week they sucked out over 4 liters of green and black intestine gunk. I was stuck on an IV for fluids and had to have an IV for food intake.
On day 7 I finally passed gas. Imagine not farting for over a week and how painful it is to have all of that gas inside you. After a week in hospital [around day 8] (which included Christmas) I finally managed to have a bowel movement. The colon is the last area to recover so it would simply flow out – I couldn’t squeeze anything out. It still took about 5 days after that to have somewhat normal bowel movements and to pass gas.
I am in week 3 of recovery and I am still not 100%. I have normal bowel movements but the abdominal pains are still present. If I eat too much I am crippled. Diet has been oatmeal and other soft foods but I have started eating normal foods in small quantities. My weight was 210 and I am down to 190.
The doc said I will be 100% and ready to hit the gym in 3-5 weeks.
Compared to other surgeries and other medical things that have happened to me this was the most painful. I have been shot, broken bones, and beaten to a pulp and I’d rather have 10 broken bones and get shot than to go through this again!
The worst part is that pain killers (opoids like percocet) affect the GI tract and slow it down and cause constipation, thus slowing recovery. Because of this, I didn’t get any pain killers that helped. It sucked.
Costs for the surgery alone were around $1,800. I have not received the bill form the ER yet. I am expecting a week in the ER to cost 10K. I think (and hope) my insurance covers 80% of it.
