meds are gone!

Very odd feeling, to throw away all my meds... I ran out of Imuran, did my last Humira shot a week or so ago, & have 6 Asacol HD's in my pill case. The rest of the Asacol went out with the coffee grounds this AM! Seems so strange to not have to re-fill my med case for tomorrow. For ages, for over 10 years, I've been on at least 8-12 pills a day. Sometimes upwards of 20 pills! My cabinet where I usually keep them is totally bare, very bizarre. I've got 1 more prep to do, 2 bottles of mag citrate, & I'm done! It's nice... so far! And thanks everyone, for going on this journey with me.

Doh, I'm having surgery on Monday!!!! 6:00am arrival time at the hospital... goodbye colon, goodbye rectum, goodbye anus, goodbye RV fistula.. hello ostomy. Not a great trade-off, I realize, but the best they can offer me currently. I'll be posting all wknd, no doubt.

Wow...must be a weird feeling. Good luck Eva!

thank you!!!! I have been anticipating this for years now, so started to learn about ostomies a long time ago. I have a box of supplies already stashed away- those ostomy manufacturers will flood you with free samples! The pre-op visit with the WOCN nurse helped a lot, in terms of relieving fears. I'm a little nervous, about the actual surgery. But really ready to move past this, & live a different life. UC has kicked my arse for ages now, I'm done with it 100%. Apparently you are set up with a home care nurse after surgery, who helps you get the ordering process down. For supplies, I mean. I know this forum has very mixed feelings toward surgery, but I will definitely post as I heal! I'm psyched, in a bizarre way... And don't sweat forgetting about it, pb- I would, too! I'm so happy to hear the Humira has helped with the fistula. I'll give you all the gory details about a surgical fix soon!

Good for you!...ten years is a LONG time to struggle through. You are now entering the next chapter towards a very different life.....I'm sending you good thoughts...and please let us know how you are getting on.

I would never suggest that to someone only days away from such major surgery, but I admittedly haven't been around here very long, so don't always know what the culture accepts.

Eva, I hope your recovery is speedy. I look forward to hearing the details from you, somone who is wiling to share your experience with the rest of us.

Hope you have a great recovery, Eva Lou, and a much more normal life from now on.

If I stopped all my meds, I'd probably have to eat a little bit bigger breakfast because my stomach wouldn't already be half-full of pills!

Eva has a/some strictures. Stopping meds isn't going to help that, no matter what it may do to the rest of her disease.

I want to stop Remicade, but doc says it is a bad idea to do so so soon before surgery. So I have one more useless infusion in June.

Sending best wishes for a smooth hospital experience & speedy recovery your way, Eva. You'll get to eat mashed potato, right? Isn't that beneficial for ostomates? And Summerstorm should be here to cheer you on because she's very satisfied with her result ... Definitely update us when you can. We need you here on the forum! / Old Hat (33 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)

Good luck Eva! Just for clarification you're going for a permanent ostomy ? Not a j-pouch?

yeah, Gary I can't really be the med-free guinea pig as it's only for like 2-3 days! But- I had to drop my Imuran dose by 50mgs, to stretch out the script- and I ran out entirely 3 nights ago. And since I went down to 100mgs from 150mgs, I'm bleeding more, I'm straining more, passing more mucous/gas/blood & less stool. Soo..... I doubt quitting all meds is beneficial. I am going the perm ileo route- I'm not a j-pouch candidate, & would most likely not try one even if I were. I'll post everything as it comes! Tomorrow is prep, which I'm really going to be half-hearted about... due to the strictures, preps don't work well on me- things get liquidy, but they don't move anywhere!

Hey good luck Eva!

I don't know if helps any but my Uncle has a perm ileo thing. Anyway it took a little bit of time after but he is happy, healthy and energetic now. Heck the guys in his late 70's and when I went to visit he was jogging on his treadmill!! Prior he had probably never jogged a day in his life unless you count a mad dash across the parking lot to get to the beer store before it closes - he was that kinda guy.

He felt so good after he actually bought one and actually uses it daily.

I really hope you find the same kind of success/happiness he did! 11 years is a long time for you and this disease.

Good luck! And keep us posted on how you're doing.

Eva, well I guess that answers my med free guinea pig question. I guess we really knew the answer anyway. I hope everything goes well for you. Hope you're able to post fairly soon afterward and let us know how you're doing. Maybe someone else can post for you if you can't yourself.