How Old Are You?

oh how old we talking about? I am pushing 50. Is that old?

82

Arundinaruia

Ha, will be 70 Sept 10th.
Virginia

I'd be curious to know how long each of you all have had your ostomies and what type?

1981 temp colostomy (short bowel syndrome, acted like ileostomy), never had it reversed. 2007 perm. ileostomy (although I still have my rectum, but only have about 1/2 of small intestine left, no colon left).

Judy - Happy Early BD!!!

Sounds like some of our internal make up is about the same... thank you for all of your posts.

Ileostomy surgery was in 1984 - Hysterectomy in 1986 - they checked me out in '86 since they were in there anyway - no signs of Crohns then.  I've had my share of other "stuff" going on, but no CD.  No other abd. surgeries since 1986 either (knocking very hard on wood, can you hear me?)  I had an excellent surgeon at Cleveland Clinic.  He is the head of the Gastro Dept there now - Victor Fazio.  It took my local drs quite a while to diagnose me as well - finally made the CD diagnosis in 1979.  Prior to diagnosis, I was treated for rheumatic fever, mono, boils, etc.  All white cell related disorders -  hence, probably CD very early on.  No heart murmur, no relapse of mono, no boils (erythema nodosum), since I started steroids and subsequent surgeries.  I am sooo thankful Doc Fazio took as much out as he did - when he did.  He gave the drugs one chance after another, did resections several times, temp. ileo., finally said that was it when I couldn't keep water or fluids down.  Probably totally obstructed at that point...  took tpn to get me up to power to have the surgery by then.   [sorry for the biography]

Where did you end up being diagnosed and have your surgery(s), just curious.  Were the symptoms not classic, or just not enough experience at the docs you were going to for  them to recognize it?

 

Peggy,

I had a hysterectomy in 1996 as part of one of my resections. Best thing I ever did. That's awesome that you haven't had any reoccurence of the disease. Mine keeps coming back.
When the Navy doctors kept telling me I was a bored housewife, I finally paid for a civilian doctor who believed I wasn't crazy (I only weighed 86 lbs. and thought I was dieing), kept doing tests, made the military pay for a civilian hospital, and was finally diagnosed in a Philadelphia hospital.

flchurchlady,

Thank you

i am happy everyone is still using the photo album!

i was fortunate enough to get diagnosed when docs had already known a little more about the disease, not to mention, i had a fistula, and they could see lot's of irritation through a simple rectal exam.....a few biposies, and i had a definite diagnosis...Crohn's at age 15, now i'm 30 and just got my ostomy in April....so i am a newbie, so to speak.....

i still think we should start a photo album for our stoma pics too! hehe..... then we could put a face to a stoma, instead of a just a face to a name....


in all seriousness, i am curious as to what others stoma's look like to see how mine compares....maybe i['m weird....wait, no...i am definitely weird!