Hey Monkey
I was in the same place you are about
a year ago. I got dx with UC when I was 16 in 11th grade.. I dont really remember how it happened, but I just remember all the sudden everything I ate was coming out crazy fast and I would have to go to the bathroom SO many times DURING school
that was super embarrassing! I told my teachers what was going on so they would know to just let me go when I needed to..some teachers dont even let you go
So after 8 months of not getting anywhere where I lived, my parents decided to take me to CAMC in Charleston bc apparently where I live, the doctors have no idea what they're doing! And after 3 days of being there my doctor, who is my Angel
did a colonscopy and found that I had severe UC. And since my D was so bad when I used the bathroom ( it was always the D ) he wanted to try something other than pills. So I had 3 infusions of Remicade..which only worked for a week ( although some people actually go into remission with Remi..everyone's sooo different) That didnt work so he tried prednisone..60 mg..I had every freaking side effect possible with those roids! The moon face, the wieght gain 20 lbs!! one minute id be laughing then someone would say it was raining and id start crying bc i didnt want it to rain..the mood swings..my poor boyfriend stayed with me through all of this haha he really loves me
So on top of the roids, I was taking a methotrexate shot once a week which made me sick for 2-3 days after i took it..that SUCKED majorly! And I was taking a multi-vitamin, iron, folic acid, and acid reducer for acid reflux blahhhh tooo many meds! 11 pills a day was wayy too much for me but I took them bc I had to if I didnt wanna be sick all day. I got so sick my mom took me out of school and i was homeschool for the last half of my 11th grade yr. And had to quit my job bc I was so sick sometimes I couldnt get out of bed without wanting to pass out. I had no energy..and I was 16! not 80..that'd be way different..Life was at its lowest then but I always manage still to this day to stay positive and keep my head up. Of course I had bad days but God got me through everything
And after months of taking ALL those pills and shots and being so sick I wanted to get my life back. So I decided, myself at 17, which is a HUGE decision to make on your own whether your 10 or 100, to get ileostomy surgery. And honestly, It was the BEST thing ive ever done for myself! There aren't any more nights where i wake up and im in so much pain i have to crawl to the bathroom, or wake up every morning feeling sick, no more pills and shots, no more pain, no more disease! Nov.19.08 was my surgery. And for everything that I went through before I had surgery compared to how amazing I feel after only 4 months!! I wish so bad that I wouldve listened to the people on here and got surgery a looong time ago! I was so afraid. I was afraid of surgery, of having the bag, but before you let yourself get uncontrollable with meds, Id seriously get surgery. I can't tell you how happy I am now. I feel like a normal teen again. And I ran for the first time in 2 years last month
Of course, with any surgery there's recovery time but when you have surgery, every day of your recovery you will feel so much better and I promise you, this will be the best decision of your life. Sorry this is so long, but I just had to share lol I hope this helps you
Let me know if I can do anything or answer any ?s you have
God Bless You