Hey everyone,
I used to frequent this board....frequently.
Now i go to the ostomy board. I've moved on.......but I wanted to say HI! and to let you know what's goin' on.
I had my total colectomy on 12/19/09. I had some complications (it's on my signature-abridged). BUT I'm finally on the road to recovery and I feel GREAT! I'm almost off all meds.
I don't take asacol anymore. I'm almost off pred.-my 2nd surgeon is having me do a sLoooooW taper b/c of the inf. and inflammation from peritonitis and 2nd surgery.
I did add a new med that I HOPE is temporary-coumadin. But I won't know until I see the hematologist on 2/18. but I was having to do lovonox shots and coumadin is way better-well not as safe, but not as painful! I'm a wuss for shots.
AND GUESS WHAT-the best news-I can eat whatever I want! I was on such a bland diet to control my u/c. I hadn't had real pizza or ice cream in......years. and now I eat whatever I want!
I'm not in pain (well not u/c gut pain-but am still in post-surgery "recovery" pain), not nauseated, not bleeding from me bum, not uncomfortable from gas, not up 15x at night to poo, and not pooing 10x day!
I'm not gonna lie. It's an adjustment and there are other issues now. I've had ups and downs. But I'm getting the hang of things and it's really NOT SO BAD. It's much better than I imagined. AND I feel so good. I feel like yelling "GET SURGERY-you'll feel better" but i know it's not the best option for everyone. It was really really hard for me to make the decision, but I knew I'd get cancer b/c it was so bad. The surgeon told me the colon looked very bad. Actually my ostomy output is thicker than my poo has been in a couple of years. I'd been through enough.
And the bags are way better than i thought. I can still get a j-pouch, but I'm not sure I will b/c I feel good and I don't know if I want to
open that can of worms.
I hope they find a cure and none of you have to make the very tough-not-to-be-taken-lightly decision to have your insides turned to outsides. But if you're contemplating it now, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Good Luck to all and take care. You can always visit us on the ostomy site if you have questions about
surgery!!! And I might still stop by and be nosey.
Chassity