Well, it is almost set ..

I have had my consultation with the surgeon at Mt. Sinai hospital in NY and have scheduled a tentative surgical removal of this devil for the end of april. I am now looking forward to starting my life over again. When I look at the seat in my truck, the newly pair of friggin man-diapers I bought, the endless bottles of medicine in my cabinet, and the syringes I inject myself with it only reinforces the idea. It is time, and I embrace the bag!

Yes. Good luck to you. 

I hope it goes well for you

Good luck! It's not an easy journey but it's well worth it. I had my first surgery January 12 and have been coping with the ileostomy. My take down is scheduled for April 6. Aside from the temp ileo, I feel GREAT!! The toxic organ is OUT and I sure can feel the difference.

The following is not meant to freak you out -- just some stuff I found out during my first few weeks. You've made a good decision and will soon be UC free!!

Don't plan on going back to work too soon -- I stayed out for five and half weeks (pretty physical job) and was exhausted after half a day. Within a couple of weeks of that I felt much stronger and now am feeling great and just three weeks away from take down.

Be sure you have support at home when you get released from the hospital. The nurses told me not to lift anything heavier than a coffee mug at first. In fact, just pushing down on the lever to flush the toilet hurt the incision for the first couple of weeks. My husband planned on taking the first week off after my discharge from the hospital and then ended up taking another half week off, I just wasn't up to being alone all day yet. If you don't have family at home line up some friends to drop by in shifts to you aren't alone for long and no one feels unduly burdened.

DRINK DRINK DRINK. It is easy to get dehydrated with an ileostomy and it's the leading cause of being readmitted to the hospital.

The ileostomy is hard to deal with. It's different from what you've read about an end ostomy. Many loop ileostomies end up being convex (slightly sunken) and the opening can be quite close to the skin, making it hard to get a good seal. The first two weeks are typically the toughest, don't let yourself get discouraged. You'll be feeling bad from the surgery and trying to get used to a new medical appliance. You'll be given an WOC nurse at the hospital and there will be plenty of home visits as well. He or she can help you solve your individual problems with the appliance.

Also head over to www.j-pouch.org and register for their forum. There are lots of people who have had the surgery and can give you tips and hints for everything, especially dealing with the ileostomy. (Do yourself a huge favor though and stay out of the pouchitis forum. You don't need to be dealing with that information yet and it's scary. People NOT suffering from pouchitis, i.e., MOST pouchers at any given time, are not posting so you can get the feeling that it's a major problem. It is not. It happens, it is usually curable with some antibiotics, my surgeon assures me it is not a big deal for the majority of people.)

Meesh

Yes, there is nothing like a mother's love to make you heal faster ;) Good luck on your surgery and for taking control of your life. I hope it goes smoothly and you have no complications. Please come back and tell of us of your experience ok?

That's great news. I am happy you made the decision and that you're feeling good about it

It will be nice to get your life back!

I mill miss your stories though.

I will surely keep you all posted to let you know how things are progressing. Thank you for all of the support on here. This place has surely saved me.

Anthony, good luck! I'm headed that way shortly. Do keep us posted. And I too will miss your stories, very colorful. It's good to see you've kept a sense of humor through all of this - you have to.