Little Things

what are some of the little things that happen that make you glad you had your surgery?

i come up with one almost everyday, for the past year, and some of them are stupid little things, but they just make me sure i did the right thing.  here are a few of mine

1. having enough energy to mow the yard and weed eat, and do it without runnign to the batrhoom

2. being able to help my Dad build a porch before i would have had to go to the batrhoom so many times i wouldn't have been able to help

3. eating chicken all day!

4. not worrying about what i eat, when i eat it.

5. getting up thirty minutes before i need to be somewhere, instead of 2hours like before, it took me that long to quit having to go

6. being able to sit in line to pick up my son at school, and to go on his fieldtrips.

7. not worrying about traffic!

8. knowing that when we go to the beach in September with my son i will be able to go down to the beach, and get on the water slides! 

9. taking my son places by myself, i was always afraid to before, because i didn't know exactly how i was gonna get to the batrhoom quick enough if i had too, and what to do with him while i was in there.

those are just a few i can think of a lot more, but don't want to type them right now, lol.

I'm thankful for...

No more prednisone or night sweats

 

Being able to sleep through the night

 

Eating whatever I want, whenever I want

 

Shopping without having to go to the bathroom

 

No more pain, anemia or dehydration

 

No more doctor or hospital visits

 

Feeling healthy all the time!

Being able to eat without being in pain later.

Being able to go to the bathroom!!

I'm actually cooking again and enjoying food.

wow i thought i was the only one who took forever to get out of the house for going to the potty! also sleeping thru the night....love that

shopping....
no pain....
i dont miss pooping all that much lol

i really miss the girl boy things ;o) ( if u guys catch my drift) havent really gotten back 2 that yet...lol no one to indulge with

praying4healing said...

i really miss the girl boy things ;o) ( if u guys catch my drift) havent really gotten back 2 that yet...lol no one to indulge with

you're not alone, i'm having trouble in that dept too.  i'm 26 and it's hard to explain to ppl :-O 

--matt

John-that is the exact reason i made this thread! so that people who were considering surgery, or those who were just getting better from their surgery would have something to remind them of what they had to look forward to!
and of course we don't mind you lurking, but post some too, lol!

John, i've been on all that medication you mention and then some. I still believe the meds did more damage than the disease. As Nike says " JUST DO IT". If i had the actual option to have an ostomy i'm sure i wouldn't have done it. I'm glad i never had the option. No more meds, no more worrying about bathrooms, no more pain, no more feeling sick EVERYDAY. The surgery DOES make things better. Dealing with the bag is MINOR compared to the little things you get back.

John,
You've been through enough years of pain and suffering, and I'm glad you're open to the idea of having surgery. I don't know if you know this, but surgery is a cure for UC, so once you've done it, you'll never have to deal with it again! It will be wonderful for you to be healthy again, especially for your wife and children.

Having an ostomy is so easy. I change the wafer once a week, and that only takes a minute or two to peel and stick on. The bag clips onto the wafer and has a velcro closure at the bottom for easy emptying into the toilet. You'll never have to sprint to the bathroom again or even worry about having to be near a bathroom. After what we've been though, that is a dream come true!

You'll also be able to eat whatever you want and won't have to take any medicine. Nobody will know that you have an ostomy, since it's completely hidden under your clothes. You can see photos of us on our photobucket.com page. The user name is crohnsdisease and the password is 6mp3asa. Feel free to post of photo of yourself, too!

Take care,
Cecilia

Thank you so very much everybody.  You have helped me with the biggest hang up I had which is fealing abnormal after the surgery.  I can adjust to anything given enough time, I was just worried that I would look or at least feel abnormal causing my self image to get in the way, like crapping myself in public is a better image    I saw my GI doctor yesterday who is all for me seeing the surgeon.  He was with me through this last ICU stint and was worried that I would be back in the hospital if we waited till June to talk to the surgeon so he called in a favor and I see the surgeon this Tuesday.   I have been researching this for a little while so hopefully that will make the consult go better.  As long as the surgeon is ready, I am.  I want my life back and with my last hospital trip I would have to say I was lucky to have the chance to choose (I was all but dead when they got me there).  Thanks again and I will give an update when new info comes in.

John

Made it to my appointment today, no thanks to my UC symptoms (I won't miss those, the symptoms that is).   I have a two hour drive from my home to the city where the surgeon is so everyone knows the fun   I had.  She suggested the j-pouch which I am still thinking over.  She says I am a good candidate but I have heard many stories about the problems that a person can have pretty much being what I am trying to get rid of in the first place.  Because of my severity and the prednisone use it would be a three stage operation so I could choose not to do the j-pouch after the first surgery and it would be all but a permanent iseostomy anyway.  They would just have to go back in to tie up the "loose end" so to speak. LOL  After she did her exam she was concerned with the blood and drainage and when she asked me if this was normal I said yeah everday.  She then decided that the sooner the better and is trying for two weeks from today (June 26th).  Insurance and the hospital scheduling may mess with that but that is what she is shooting for.  All the advice and positive feed back you all have given me made it easier so I am one step closer to getting my life back.

John

John,
I checked out your blog. Wow - you sure have been through it with this disease. Your stories bring back bad memories of my life with Crohn's before surgery.

Here's how I see it, whether you go with the j-pouch or a permanent ileostomy, you are going to feel great once you're healed up from surgery, and you will be UC-free!!

I was never a candidate for a j-pouch, since I had Crohn's in my rectum (yeah, that was a lot of fun). Sue Bear on here has a j-pouch and is very happy with it. She recommends the web site j-pouch.org for people who want to find out more about it. I also have a friend who had her colon removed due to cancer, and she is doing really well with a j-pouch.

I have a permanent ileostomy and am happy with it, so either way, you are on your way to being finished with this dreadful disease. Please keep us posted on what you decide to do and your surgery date, so we can keep you in our prayers.

Cecilia

that's okay

Ditto to all the little things listed above. I want to add two more:

     1. Not worrying about ever getting colon cancer-

     2. Not taking any harsh medicines, as well as potentially poisonous ones like    nicotine patches.  

     3   Okay a third one--Telling my husband on a trip, "No, I don't need to stop at the

         next gas station. Let's keep on going."