surgery tomorrow

Wish me luck! Going in for first step, of hopefully two. So nervous, it is finally hitting me. Of course the past two months I haven't been too bad, but I am chalking it up to a combo of Murphy's law and a steroid mouth rinse that I started for Pyostomatis vegetans, rare oral manifestation. I am also on Hydrocort supposities to calm things for the surgeon. I will be posting I am sure.

For me personally I had just had enough of UC, I wanted to be done with it and I was begging them to get me in sooner than 6 weeks.

The surgery team did a great job on me and I had very little pain after the colectomy. My biggest fear was the epidural but that was a very small pin prick. It was working so well for me that I didn't want them to take the epidural out after 4 days.

My first real memory after the surgery was how much better that I felt now that my diseased colon was finally out of me. My GI told me prior to surgery that when you wake up that i wouldl feel like the monster has been removed from my body, it was so true.

Recovery does take some time and patience, so does learning how to take care of your ostomy. I actually enjoyed having an ostomy because I could eat almost any food I wanted, foods that I hadn't eaten in years.

Good luck!!!! After the first 2-3 days, you're going to feel like a million bucks, I swear! And you'll be able to eat again, without fear! Please post as you feel up to it- try to relax tonight. It's practically out of your hands already, you know? Plus, being able to stop that nasty sounding mouthwash will be a huge plus- I've been an on-again/off-again user of Nystatin swish & swallow for chronic oral thrush for a couple years, due to the immune suppressants I was on. Not anymore! You'll do great!

Good luck! Like others have said, you may wake up with pain but you'll no longer feel sick and diseased!

Wishing you all my best today and in the days to come!!!!

Best wishes for a smooth recovery! @christine1946, lol yeah I had a normal BM the morning of my subtotal colectomy (funny how a savagely scarred lead pipe colon could still pull that off sometimes) afterenjoying a big last dinner the night before (no prep was required for my surgery other than no eating ir drinking after midnight, they even told me to enjoy a big last supper) and my wife says I looked like I was headed for the gallows as I walked away in the gown. Had a few complications but all resolved and all I can say is, as is so common, I wish I had not held off for so many years, life is good now.