Waiting is the worst

Basically here to just rant a little to people who understand i guess. Ive been extremely sick for so long its ridiculous, im currently waiting for a consultation appointment with a surgeon at Mount Sinai hospital in Toronto but it seems like its taking forever just to get the first appointment! i don't even know how fast they will be able to schedule my surgery but im praying its quick! Im on 40 mg of prednisone right now and unable to taper down without bleeding starting up realllyyy bad. Even on that im going 15-20 times a day but i have the energy to go out and do things, or at least to make it to a friends house to watch movies most nights. Its like my mind has the energy to keep going and going, i want to be doing things constantly, but my body just wont let me. Its extremely frustrating. The side effects of prednisone are killing me, ive been on it way too much and im getting aweful shakes, im sleeping about 2-3 hours a day, and im entering into massive massive depression. I feel alright with my decision for surgery, of course im nervous and a little scared, but i cant live the way i am any more. Everyone keeps telling me how strong i am going through this...but truth is i dont know how much strength i have left in me, it seems never ending and i just dont know what to do anymore.

Oh Chris, I know how you feel! By the time you make that decision to have surgery, you just want it to be over with. You sound just like I did this time last year. I was so sick and had no quality of life. I couldn't even drive 10 minutes to the store without pooping myself. You are going to be so happy after this is all said and done and you have re-cooped from the surgeries. It's not easy, I won't lie to you, but it is so worth it in the end. Best, best wishes to you. I hope they can schedule you quickly. I was scheduled for surgery 10 days after my consult which was great b/c I didn't have much time to sit and stew about it!

Well you have heard it a thousand times: Everyone is different. But I can tell you I was feeling really good at the 6 month mark. And now my year anniversary of step 1 is next week and I haven't felt this good since before my UC days. I was so afraid of having surgery and I put it off a long time (wish I didn't do that) and it has been such a blessing. I only visit the bathroom about 4x a day..(no urgency at all)..I can eat pretty much anything now...certain foods still bother me but it's not like when I had UC. When I say bother it's just that I will be a little gassy. And no more drugs which feels so good!

The hardest part of the whole ordeal (for me) was dealing with the ileostomy for 3 months. I really had a hard time with that but I just kept telling myself it's only temporary and the time went quickly. I was feeling good and all but I just didn't do a lot last summer because of it. I think I was a bit depressed from being sick so long and then going thru the surgery...it was just a lot to deal with. A lot of people say that the ileo didn't bother them at all. Make sure you have a good support group around you after surgery. That's important. I leaned a lot on my husband and my parents and in-laws.

You will be back in school before you know it and back to a normal life. You'll do great! :)

I know, I was sure I would end up a horror story too. It is a really scary thing to face. I forgot to add before too that my sister and my uncle also had j pouch surgery...my sister 19 years ago and my uncle 10 years ago (yeah UC runs in my family!) and they haven't had any problems either...all smooth sailing. I really believe a lot of the people who have the bad problems after surgery are the one's that have been mis-diagnosed and actually have Crohn's. Make sure you bring a list of questions for your surgeon. It's important that he/she has done many, many of these surgeries.

Sounds like you are in extremely capable hands...you're going to the best. Good luck and a speedy recovery! :)

No unfortunately my GI is located in Scarborough, however he talks to the surgeon often and he told me today that while it might take me a week or so to get my initial appointment, i am going to be moved along pretty quick after that because of the state im in and because i cannot afford to be on prednisone any longer. The surgeon i am being set up with is named Dr. Robin McLeod and i have heard nothing but good things about both her and all of the people at Mt Sinai hospital. Its reassuring to hear of these success stories and to keep hearing good things about both the surgeries and surgeons and Mt. Sinai. Thank you everyone for all of your support.