Hello...

And Happy Holidays to you all. My name is Kim. I just joined this
group with hopes of finding advice for my dad. My dear dad, Steve,
underwent surgery 18 months ago for rectal cancer and was left with a
permanent colostomy. He is 60 years old and still works. He has
done "okay" since the surgery and we are told he is cancer free,
thank God!!

The problem he is having is that ever since his surgery, he
experiences episodes where he is extremely fatigued and stays in the
bed for sometimes 3 days, with only getting up to use the bathroom.
His problem seems to be getting worse in the severity and frequency
of episodes. I do not live near him...live out of state. So, when
he described these episodes to me, I tried to understand as best as
possible. However, a couple of months ago, my family and I drove to
visit him. He visited with us for one evening and then took to the
bed for the remainder of our trip, which was 3 days. My dad loves me
and my family so I was astonished that he could not even get out of
the bed to socialize with us. It just did not seem like him.

The doctors do not know what to do. They have tested him for anemia
and his blood is fine. He reports that he does not have pain during
these episodes. He is just so tired he cannot get out of bed. The
only thing he reports is that he does not have any output from his
bag during these episodes. Then, all of a sudden, he will have a lot
of output and he feels better.

I wondered if it was emotional problems, like maybe he was
depressed. But, I am not sure. The doc tried him on a course of
antidepressents. But, he only took them for a couple of days and
quit.

I wanted to join this list to see if I could tap into some
information to pass onto my dad. He does not use a computer so could
not join this list. There seems to be an awesome ostomy support
group in his area (Memphis) but he has never gotten the gumption up
to go. So, I am it for information seeking.

My questions to you guys are...

Have any of you experienced symptoms like this?

Would anyone have advice for my dad? Even suggestions for tests?

Could this be symptoms of blockage? He does not report any pain.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. My dad is a very simple
minded yet wonderful man. I would love to be able help him get back
a better quality of life.

Thank you very much,
Kim