Difficult Recovery From Rectal Cancer Surgery. Would Be Grateful For Diet Advice!

Switch to Single View
Records 1-3 of 3
Leslie70 Message: Difficult recovery from rectal cancer surgery. Would be grateful for diet advice! Caregiver Leslie70 Recommend this Message Report Abuse Email a Friend Track this Message [Remove] Subject: Difficult recovery from rectal cancer surgery. Would be grateful for diet advice! Date: 02/08/2007 Hi- About 3 weeks ago, my 75 yo father had laparoscopic TME surgery and a temporary ileostomy. He was in the hospital for 2 weeks and is now home recovering. I previously did a posting in regards to his painful recovery while he was still in the hospital. Thanks so much for the responses. It gave me so much peace of mind to know that his recovery was "normal". Although my father is no longer in the hospital (thankfully!) and he is no longer in pain (thankfully!), he is still struggling to recover. He has lost about 25 pounds (down to 160 and he is 5' 11"). He has no appetite and a sour taste in his mouth. He has also had little stamina and great difficulty sleeping. We knew going into this surgery that his age was going to make his recovery difficult. It's just proving to be more difficult than any of us expected. I would be grateful for any diet advice that other members could give me. He has been taking multi-vitamins and drinking as much as possible (including protein drinks) Aside from that, I'm not sure what else he should be doing to regain his health. I've read about so many diet "don'ts" in regards to the ileostomy. It almost makes you feel like there aren't any "good" foods to eat. Please help! Leslie Private Reply Quote Reply to This Message Rectalcancer Message: RE: Difficult recovery from rectal cancer surgery. Would be grateful for diet advice! Patient Rectalcancer Recommend this Message Report Abuse Email a Friend Track this Message [Remove] Subject: RE: Difficult recovery from rectal cancer surgery. Would be grateful for diet advice! Date: 03/05/2007 Hey There, Just wanted to offer you some moral support and tell you and your dad to hang in there. I had an iliostomy for more than a year and it's now been 9 months since my reversal. When I first got the iliostomy, I was so afraid to EAT anything, that I too lost 20 pounds. Then I got so hungry, I decided I would eat a little and see if it made it thru that small opening. Of course, it did. I don't know if your dad has some psychological reasons for not eating, but I did. So re-assure him that many of us have been there and made it through and he will also. The recovery period may be slow, but he will make it. Every month he will begin to notice he is getting better and better. Our bodies are miracles. They adjust to whatever we put before them. Prayer, faith and a positive attitude are the BEST MEDICINE. I am not a great religious person, but trust me. All these help. Surround your dad with familiy and friends who are uplifting in their thoughts and prayers and it will all be good. Best of luck, :) Private Reply Quote Reply to This Message Waunema Message: RE: Difficult recovery from rectal cancer surgery. Would be grateful for diet advice! Patient Waunema Recommend this Message Report Abuse Email a Friend Track this Message [Remove] Subject: RE: Difficult recovery from rectal cancer surgery. Would be grateful for diet advice! Date: 03/03/2008 Hi there - I have had an ileostomy for 6 months and just had a reversal on 2/8; I am in so much pain when having a BM and it is so often, I want to cry. Did you also go through any of these symptoms...when does it begin to get better? Any advice would be welcome. BTW, I had stage 3 rectal cancer and have had 2 rounds of chemo and 5 weeks of radiation, plus 3 surgeries. Private Reply Quote Reply to This Message
Records 1-3 of 3
Switch to Single View