Disability?

There are plenty of people working with a bag or j-pouch. My last contractor was a colon cancer survivor who wore a bag. You would need to prove that you could not reasonably do any work. Maybe a good lawyer can do this, but it is not a slam dunk.

http://www.disabilitysecrets.com/medicine-medication-prescription-drugs-ulcerative-colitis.html

If you mean temporary disability while you heal and recover-then yes, absolutely! But once you're healed and have a bag or j pouch I don't see why you'd need or want to stay on disability.

Maybe it's just me but I don't look at it as horribly as a lot of people do. If it comes down to having an ostomy, I would focus on embracing what I'd be gaining- the freedom, the health, no meds, no fear of pant crapping, no more missing out on things people take for granted, no more not being able to go places (that don't have bathrooms) like baseball fields or canoe trips. The only people who would see my ostomy bag are the people who see me naked. I truly fear/worry about missing out on life way more than having an ostomy bag. For the record, I'm a young (32) female, attractive, in to dressing fashionably etc. So, no, I'm not just an older person past my prime and ready for a bag. I'm in for anything that would improve quality of life. I hope you can find the positives in all your options.

I'm with toomuchpoopin. I'd rather wear an ostomy bag than feel like I can't go anywhere for fear of crapping my pants. Or actually crapping my pants on frequent occasion. Of course, if I have to have surgery, I hope that I'd be able to have a j-pouch, but an ostomy is still far better, IMO, than living with severe UC.

Can't change careers. Emergency RN. Wanted to be an RN since I was 19 years old and finally had the opportunity to go back to school for it when I was 42. Love my Profession!

How does a question about disability become an argument for/against surgery? It's very disturbing how some people believe removing a vital organ is the answer to UC -it is NOT! Where is the respect for people who choose not to have surgery? Would many of you want to force people to have a colonectomy rather than have folks collect disability while dealing with flares?
Working with UC is difficult and many can't work after having surgery either. Please have more sensitivity towards others who may have different views. Surgery is not a cure!

I looked into it when I was very ill- I live in MA, & I think disability qualifications can vary from state to state. If you google disability & inflammatory bowel disease, you'll see what qualifies. Basically, it's only horribly fistulizing Crohns that will get you on disability. No way would an ostomy get you disability- you being a nurse, surely you see that generally one is healthier after ostomy surgery? Whether it be for cancer, UC, Crohns, etc. Plus, if you are in remission currently, why even think about disability? FWIW, I was far more "disabled" with active UC then I am with an ileostomy. Heck, I've been up & out of the house lately, walking my kid to the bus stop, doing errands, at 7:30am!!!! Freedom!

iPoop said...
A permanent disability related to uc is very hard to get. Generally, you are able to work with uc. And you can be retrained to do another job, if your current job is not possible due to uc.

Been working with my out of town boss and it seems his hand was crushed or something and they fixed it up best they could. He is a very hands on productive guy over 50 people and when I see that and know how hard it would be ( especially with recent disintegration of thumb joint ) I realize UC is no real reason to claim disability unless your stuck in a permanent megaflare. He deals with it every single day and must use a keyboard etc.

At my lowest point while fighting UC I looked into the Federal Disability claims process. Granted a lot of people legitimately need help, but the system is rigged against younger and better educated applicants. If you are younger than 55 years of age and possess a university degree, you are less likely to be approved than a 57 year old applicant who never graduated from high school. The reasoning behind this 'bias' is that younger people are more likely to find new work that will accommodate their disability as are those who are more educated.

I hope you never need to file for Federal Disability, but if you do, be aware that your education will work against you.

no fear of pant crapping

This one always gets to me when I see this.

No, I don't have any fear of pant-crapping, but I certainly have a fear of the bag leaking. Admittedly urgency wasn't one of my major symptoms pre-surgery - that's not to say I never had it, but it was intermittent. I only crapped my pants once in public. Somebody who has more major urgency/pant-crapping issues than I did will probably see a more obvious benefit, but for me the fear of a poop accident in public is far greater after surgery than before.

Oh and I would probably explore the depths of hell and suffer miserably to figure the disease out before getting the bag, but that's just me. Call it stupid and reckless. :)

Send us a postcard from hell x

@Chantrelle - Anything which challenges the "surgery is wonderful" status quo on this forum is immediately shot down. I expected this reaction as soon as I had read the original post.

NiceCupOfTea said...
no fear of pant crapping

This one always gets to me when I see this.

No, I don't have any fear of pant-crapping, but I certainly have a fear of the bag leaking. x

Yeah, fair enough. Bag leaking is definitely a concern, thank you for that reminder. I suppose it's easy to think the grass is greener on the other side.

All:
I don't see why there has to be such a big line drawn in the sand. Pro surgery on this side and anti surgery on the other. None of us want to be in the situation we are in. None of us asked for this. We are all trying to get through it the best we can. We are all entitled to our own opinions. I thought this forum was a place we could come and talk freely and openly about the horrors we are all facing, today and in the future. I enjoy a good debate, a nice productive banter. It's nice when someone with different views than mine points out something that I overlooked. I'm eager to gather information from all people, regardless of what their beliefs are. I hope that I'm not offending anyone when I say that if I were faced with giving up my career PERMANENTLY and being on disability FOR LIFE that yes, I surely would consider surgery(and to me that was the two choices the OP was talking about). Is not having a colon ideal? Heck no. I know that. I can't even begin to imagine what'd it be like to live it every day. What I try to express, and perhaps I need to explain in more detail, is to me ONLY ME! Losing out on a full life, being too sick to leave my house, is IN MY OPINION, much worse than a surgery, j pouch or ostomy. I know that there are surgical complications, and sometimes things aren't always as roses as we read on a brochure, but if I were out of other options I think I'd put my money on surgery and take the gamble.

It bothers me that people-on both sides of this debate- are resorting to hurtful comments. We are all allowed to have opinions, and if we can't have a proactive exchange of ideas that's just sad.