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Posted 6/19/2005 8:35 PM (GMT 0)
Hello all,

Well I have made up my mind and I am having the BCIR surgery. I am leaving for St. Petersburg FL July 21st and surgery is scheduled for the 22nd at 10a.m. I will be in the hospital for 21 days. Believe it or not I cannot wait. I am so excited about getting my life back. The only thing I am worried about is only seeing my family on the weekends because my husband has to work and he will bring my kids down on the weekends. He is staying at the hospital with me the 21st and 22nd for the surgery. One person is allowed to stay with you inthe hospital the entire time you are there. They have their own bed and everything. And they will provide whomever stays with me food also. They have a washing machine so our laundry can be washed while we are there. I have spoken with quite a few people who have had the surgery and they said it is the best thing they have ever done. One woman lived with an ostomy bag for like 23 years and then found this and said it was the best thing she has ever done. She said she no longer has the restrictions she had before. I cannot wait. I just wish I could go this month but I have to wait. Only 32 days left. I am so glad I looked into other options before I went for the j-pouch. I will let you know how it goes. For anyone who has never heard of it you can go to bcirostomy.com and get more information. They are all wonderful at that hospital. My PCP and GI had never heard of this surgery and I gave them the info and they also agreed this is my best option. I was suprised the GI agreed with my decision. I know I have a month left but I am just so excited I had to share the news.

Posted 6/20/2005 6:00 AM (GMT 0)
Will you please email me and let me know what exactly you are having done.. I am kind of confused... I wanted to tell you what happened to me because if you are having what I had done, I just want you to be aware of what could happen..

I am 21 and I just had a total colectomy... which is the removal of my entire large intestine and I was supposed to just be reconnected to by butt the day of surgery, never dealing with having a pouch... but things didn't go that way... I now have a pouch because I got an infection when some of the stitches didn't hold and I have to have one for 8-12 weeks.. I am soo thankful it is only temporary.. but I just wanted to warn you that if this is what you are having done there are chances that you will have to have a temp. pouch.. let me know if you have any questions...

[email protected]

ps. my surgery was just may 16 and then the emergency surgery was may 19.  so.. my next one will be around the end of july..

Posted 6/21/2005 12:05 AM (GMT 0)
Hello,

From what I gather you will have the j-pouch, correct? I am not having the j-pouch. I will be having what they call the BCIR (Barnett Continent Intestinal Reservoir). I will never go to the bathroom 'normal' like they do with the j-pouch. I will have a little hole about the size of a button in my stomach that I will stick a cathater in to drain a few times a day. I will wear a small patch over it everyday to keep it clean and collect the mucos your body naturally produces. I will not have an appliance at all. I will be in the hospital for 21 days so that my internal pouch will heal. I will not have anything solid for more than a weak. The reason you are int he hospital that long is so your pouch heals properly and they can make sure of it. Also you cannot be on prednisone for atleast 6 weeks before the surgery. The prednisone makes it hard for your body to heal so unless you are off the pred they will not operate or you will need to have a temp ileostomy for about 2 months. I am not on pred. so that is good. Also you can only have the procedure done in one hospital. That is St. Petersburg Florida. There is no other hospital or surgeon in the country, from what I understand, that is qualified to do it. The information is on their website at www.bcirostomy.com

Posted 6/21/2005 3:43 AM (GMT 0)

Janene,

I went to the web site you suggested, and OMG...I was so amazed at this surgery. I want one like right now today!!! How did you go about sceduling one, or seeing if you were a candidate for this surgery? I had an ileostomy placed in me the end of April, they say it was permanent, but I have since seen another surgeon who said as long as there is enough colon and small bowel he could reverse it.  I know I have enough of both, so that is not an issue.  I'm going to call that Susan tomorrow to get the video, and more information, but I live in Wisconsin, and Im wondering if maybe another hospital around us might do this type of surgery. We have some awesome colon surgeons around here, and I think tomorrow at my apt I will bring in whatever info I can find on the web for mine to read. Did you need a referal in order to see a Doc at this hospital? Did you have to go through a bunch of tests? Can they make all the plans besides the actualy surgery via phone and fax? You may not have all the answers, and I know time is running out before you leave for your surgery, but I just wanted to ask. If you have any information for me, I would be so very appreciative for it.  Thank-You in advance!!And congratulations on taking control of your life, you are very brave, and I applaud you for this!!!

Posted 6/21/2005 1:19 PM (GMT 0)
Tammy,

Contact Susan Kay. She is great and will send you all the information needed. I sent you and email privately. Hope you got it.

Janene

Posted 6/21/2005 2:14 PM (GMT 0)
Janene I am new to the baords, but so glad to hear that you are getting this done. After reading the site for BCIR I too was excited at the thought that this may be a possibility for me. I am currently scheduled for surgery to have an ileostomy on August 19th. I emailed Susan to ask her for some info and if it was possible that I, being Canadian, could consider having this procedure preformed (I have great medical coverage currently). She just wrote me back and indicated that it was not possible, even with my health coverage... any ideas of what else I could try? This surgery just seems like an awesome alternative for me.

Any information would be greatly appreciated... and I wish you nothing but the best and speediest recovery

:)
Posted 6/21/2005 4:47 PM (GMT 0)

Aurora,

I am so sorry that you cannot have the procedure. I am assuming that your insurance will not cover work in the US. That is probably why you are not able to have it. I do know that it is an expensive procedure. I hope you find relief. And again I am sorry.

Janene

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