update

hey everybody, not sure if anyone cares or not but I just wanted to say hi. I was in remission for five years med-free (couldn't stay on mesalamine since it damaged my kidneys) and went into a bad flare while deployed to afghanistan in january. I tried budesonide, PO steroids, high dose IV steroids, and remicade x2 with no relief. I lost over 40 pounds within a matter of weeks and needed several blood transfusions. in march, I needed emergent surgery. thankfully by then I made my way from the military hospital to Cleveland Clinic. my colon was basically falling apart as they removed it, but thankfully my surgeon is awesome and was able to do it all laparoscopically. I completed step 2 of 3 for a j-pouch about 7 weeks ago and have my final surgery scheduled for september 17th. I just wanted to let anyone know that if meds are failing, surgery is not that scary of an option. I know there are those for whom it didn't work, but in a majority of cases those who receive j-pouches live very happy and problem-free lives. i'm hoping to be one of those, so far so good! the ileo isn't too bad, I just miss farting out my butthole haha. I wanted to thank those of you who gave me words of encouragement earlier this year when I was going through the worse flare of my life. I was diagnosed in 2006 and had only minor flares, so always considered myself lucky. until this happened. this is a very fickle disease, please take care of yourselves! all the best!

Hi sevodreams I remember you! We were worried about you because you went off the radar just before surgery. I'm glad to hear it's been successful so far. Any of us could end up in surgery at any time, and it's really reassuring when people report back. Thank you. Wish all the best for step 3 too.

Good luck with your final surgery!

thanks everyone! I will stick around to hopefully help others who are going through/about to go through surgery.
notsosicklygirl -- out of curiosity where did you get yours done, and did they remove all of your rectum or leave a cuff? sounds so weird to ask strangers about their rectums haha. thank you all again for your support, this site really does make a difference!

I think they always leave a cuff to connect to. My cuff was scraped of cells though and I have not had any issues with cuffitis thankfully. I had surgery in Los Angeles.