UKC

Hi,
Has anyone on here had Bowel surgery,then returned to road riding? How long was your recovery,and how long before you were back on the bike?
I’m nearly 4 weeks out of surgery now, and feeling better every day. Internally things feel fine, and I’m not really in any pain with stomach muscles or incision area 
I’m thinking of getting on the turbo at the end Of May for 10 min sessions then build from there.

I’ve got the sense not to go out and ride at the moment and appreciate circumstances will vary, so just putting it out there

Thanks

I had open surgery and around half my colon taken out. I tried a short ride about a month after the op out of bloody minded stupidity. It didn’t do me any favours and slowed my recovery no end. 

Short ride at the end of May seems like a sensible call to me, once you get back out there it’s not too difficult regain fitness.

However if you have been fully opened up then take care with your back as your core strength will be reduced and will not be supporting your lower back as much as before. 

Thanks buddy.

Hadn't considered the back issue you mention. I have scar from Sternum to about 3cm's below belly button, so I'll take on board what you say there - Nice one!

I suffered this indignity twice last year.  Each time, I had a laparotomy and a small bit removed.  I got back on the bike after 6 wks but spent the first month just bumbling around, 15mpm on the flat and no hills of any consequence.  I did have a bit of tummy pain after the first ride after my second surgery, so i left it a week before trying again.  No other probs.

For me, the biggest issue was weight loss, i lost 8kg each time, which has taken 5 months to regain.  That has set me back a bit in pre-season 'training'.

Yoga has been good for regaining core strength, i do Hatha Flow once a week.  I restarted after 6wks but again, being really careful - I used to miss a third of the positions.  After 4 or 5 months, I am pretty much doing everything.

I started climbing again after 8wks. Doing long stretches to slopers was the worst bit, along with dynos.

Good luck with the recovery. I hope you don't suffer complications and have to go through it all over again

Not a cyclist at all, but have had a Right Hemicolectomy a few years ago. Had the operation in early October, home within ten days, managed to walk around the drive three days later, walking 10k a day a week later, abs work by early November to recover from the operation, back to work after 6 weeks, back to work properly by end of December, snowboarding by February, right as nine pence by March.

I had an open op to remove part of my colon and fix a hernia at the end of January 2017. I was in hospital for 11 days because of some post op complications, including catching pneumonia. I did a couple of sessions on the turbo trainer at the end of February and first short ride on road bike at the beginning of March.

Everyone is different, so your mileage may vary! One reason for getting back on the bike was because  I wasn't allowed to drive for 6 months post op.