Robotic Assisted Rectopexy

[Nico33]

Hi friends,
I am 6 days post op. Went home the next day after surgery. As you all know, this is no picnic!  I feel miserable, and my belly is oh so swollen that it looks like a bowling ball or baby. The night after surgery, something went wrong with my catheter which made my bladder swell up.  I think that incident set me back some. Riding home on a crowded expressway also set me back some, as it was hard making it to my bed.  I have to take 3 osmotic laxative twice each day.  When will everything ease up and not be so painful?  When will riding in a car be ok?  I have a post op appointment with surgeon next week, and am worried about the car ride. What is the average time period that I might be able to feel human again?  Doctors say about 3 weeks, but they don't usually tell the truth.  They sugarcoat it.  All I want is the truth.  IIt is comforting to know that this forum will tell me the truth.

[UKlady1001]

Thank you for your kind words.  Let us know how you get on and have a great new year.
We are here for you when you need support

[Nico33]

Again, thanks so much for all your wisdom and kind advice. It is so comforting to know that I have 2 people who seem to know what they're talkin about and have had some of the same experiences with this type of surgery.

I pray that you both feel better, and have a wonderful holiday.  May the New Year bring you good health, joy, and many blessings!

[ipurr2]

Keep your bending minimal, but yes you can bend some..just remember right now all your repairs are trying to "set" and can shift if you are doing too much bending type movement...this is why we pretty much stick to walking and resting nothing more...I try to keep my bending no more then what it takes to get up and down from a bed...that is the maximum bending...because you did that in the hospital...so it should be ok...I would not bend to say "touch my toes" hope that makes sense...

Absolutely NO bearing down...get up and try again later...chances are great that your repairs are still fine...but stop doing that immediately...this is something you should NEVER do again...now this does not mean you can't put normal pressure to have a bm...my surgeon explained it like this...keep your poop like soft serve dairy queen ice cream and then when you poop think of it like a rose bud or flower gently opening...it opens slowly, gently, beautifully...this is now how your sphincters need to open...right now fresh out of surgery this will be hard to figure out so for now...don't go there just let what comes out come out, clean up the rest and go again later...things will normalize and then you can play with the amount of pressure you put in emptying...it does not take much....if it's like the door closed then quit and try again later as this is pelvic floor dysfunction which if you keep trying to push waste through a closed door it will not go the right way, but will find the place of least resistance which might be a new area of tissue in your vagina causing a new recotocele... which means more surgery...so absolutely no "making the poop come out" stay on your miralax, magnesium...stay on the stool softeners if you are still on the narcotics...and give your body time...do you have a squatty potty? getting in a squat position helps the body be in the proper alignment to allow waste out...but remember right now you have LOTS of swelling...so it will cause some dysfunction or a while, but it will get better if you don't bear down! ;) Keep healing...know it gets better! xx

[UKlady1001]

Not sure about bending.  Any straining needs to be avoided and that includes bearing down.  3 months is seen to be the time ladies need to heal but there are steps along the way when you will feel better like ipurr2 says.  Also you will have your checks with your surgeon as well which should help you to feel more confident about how your healing is going in the short and long term.  
Great to hear how well you are doing so early on in your healing

[Nico33]

Thanks so much for your healing words and support. Most people do not understand this kind of surgery, and have no idea what we go though, so it is very nice to have some comraderie on this. Is it alright to bend?  Sometimes I catch myself bearing down. Hope that I haven't ruined any repairs. When do you know if this really worked?
Thanks again for all your help.

[ipurr2]

well you made it to the healing side! Good job! Yes, recovery is not easy, but what your Dr. says is true...each week things will be a little bit different...so by week 3 you will be feeling better then you do today...but it will take about 3 months most likely before you really feel better and then as you reach this point you will up your activities and feel like your repairs have all failed because swelling will happen with each upped activity...but before you know it this will stop as well! You just have to be patient and give your body time to heal! At this point nothing but gentle walks and resting...that is your only work for now! Also, stay on top of the pain meds as your body can't heal as well if it's in pain, and as long as you are taking narcotics for pain be sure to be taking a stool softener and miralax! No bearing down...if the stool doesn't come completely out...just clean up and let it come out next time. At 6 days post op you should be feeling pretty rough...but just know...it does get better!