How do you feel after a long hospital admission?

I just got home after almost five weeks in hospital. Prior to this admission, the longest I'd stayed in hospital at any one time was two weeks. During those two weeks I was desperate to get home, and I was so happy once I got home. This time, I was really homesick for about the first week - all I wanted to do was go home. It was so bad they gave me Valium. Then the homesickness past, I gave up the Valium, and felt basically ok about being in hospital for the other four weeks.

I desperately wanted to go home and see my dog, and I was longing to use my own, private, clean shower, but apart from missing those two things, it was just a matter of getting through each day without getting too bored. So when I got home the other day, I didn't feel the relief I expected. I'm very happy to be with my dog again, but other than that I just feel kind of blah. I thought I'd prefer it when I got home and could eat what I liked rather than making do with snacks and yucky NHS food, but since I'm still having to stuff myself with food I don't want in order to keep my weight up, I'm still finding eating difficult.

I just expected to feel happy once I got home again, but I don't. For weeks the only goal on my mind was to get out of hospital. Now I don't have a goal anymore. It's not that I've become institutionalised - being out of hospital doesn't make me feel afraid and I don't particularly want to go back there - I just feel depressed and don't understand why I'm not glad to be home like I was after previous hospital stays.

Hey. I understand how you're feeling.

I've had a couple 8 week stays, 5 week stay and many 2 week stays. I'm always glad to be home but it feels weird to me. I think part of it is re-adjusting to 'new' surroundings. It takes time but it will pass.

Sending you my support.

I have been hospitalised for more than 1 year in the past 2.5 years of my severe anal region Crohns activitiy. The bore factor while beeing in the hospital was so high. The boredom in my case was made worser due to the fact I was on the VAC therapy during 8 months and wasnt allowed to leave my bed! My backpain and joints was horrible, besides from the wound and constant VAC suction on to the wound. So... sorry about all the complaining I do from my experiences on YOUR post! To get to the point I have had my whole house redone so the horrible ''Crohns'' vibe was ''refixed''! New furniture, floor had the walls repainted etc. Tottaly understandeble that youre not feeling quite good aready. I hereby send you a positive VIBE from me, your Crohnie colleque who is there with you mate! :::::))

Flarkie - don't worry about complaining on my thread - it sounds like you have a very valid reason to do so! I can't imagine how you coped with being in bed that long. What is VAC therapy? I've never heard of it.

Not being able to exercise is one of the most frustrating things for me. Well, by "exercise" I mean walking - it's been a long time since I've been able to do any proper, strenuous exercise. I'm still extremely underweight, so I'm not supposed to walk more than ten minutes a day, so even now I'm home, I'm quite restricted in that sense. It seems odd to me because I know I'm physically capable of doing a lot more. I've had periods in the past when I was recovering from surgery, and knew I wasn't up to doing much at all physically. Now that I'm able to, it seems counterintuitive to keep still so much, given all the messages we're given about keeping active. I've had nurses in the past who would tell me that getting up and walking was key to helping the body to recover. Now my directions are to not walk as it will burn calories that I need to conserve. But I don't think I could burn off that much by slowly walking.

Sorry - ended up having a rant of my own. But I don't know how you coped having to stay in bed that long!

I was under weight in my teenager years. Such a huge challenge to gain weight with an infected GI tract. I hear you on this.
Well to be honest with you my disease is so agressive and after so many years of so many failed medicinal en surgical therapies at this point I am thrue with all of it. So they have a plan for a new surgery. It includes a gracillus flap and make a J pouch with my colon. But who knows about the complications I will get. I might place a post and ask the others about the J pouch and flap operation. I hope to find someone who has had it done.