It has been almost a year since I've visited the UC section on this discussion board and your posting suddenly and dramatically brought back a flood of memories from a life lived before my surgery in...
UC literally ruled my life for 6 years. There was a short and sweet 10 month remission on Remicade and when it failed and Humira did nothing, I cried UNCLE and found myself a great surgeon. She was...
ChrissySoul nailed it.....it finally makes you feel human again. At age 54 I never expected to have my life so altered by having UC and all that goes with it. I suffered through all the drugs, drug...
Its been two years since my colon was removed and I have no complaints whatsoever living with my end ileostomy. However, lately I've been very concerned about a particular consequence of no longer...
I've been suffering from a weird intestinal thing for 6 days now and went to see my family doctor last night. At first when I called him 4 days ago he thought it might be the 2 cups of raw broccoli...
In November of 2012 I had a Proctocolectomy with End Ileo and Anal closure. Spent 5 days in the hospital being very well cared for and enjoying the wonderful pain meds. At the end of the following...
For the 6 years I had UC I had a slow but steady weight loss. For the first year after my ileostomy surgery, my weight stayed steady with only a few pounds gained. But now at 18 months post-op, I...
I called them directly to get my free sample. Most mornings I do wake up with the blimp because most nights I sleep right through without even getting up to go potty. Most of my venting comes during...
If I wake up in the middle of the night and notice I'm carrying "the Goodyear Blimp", I'm just too tired and lazy to sit up, turn on the light and pay attention to what I'm doing. Thus the need for...
Poucher....I've never used a filtered bag because I read that with an ileostomy, the filters glog up too easily. I go to an ostomy support group meeting once a month an everyone with an ileostomy is...
I guess we are of the same mind because I've been creating the opening with a scissors since day one. No real science in it....the scissors was just there and handy when I was putting the first vents...
I've been using Osto EZ Vents for about 18 months and love them. Just make sure that you pre-wipe withthe rubbing alcohol twice. Dan....how do you apply them that's different than the instructions ?...
Hurray for you LakelandMan ! I have no doubt that you chosen the best course for your situation. I've had my ileo for almost 16 months (had it done at 60 yrs old) and not for one second have I...
Ostomy Bag *vs* Bloody poo with mucus, painful elimination,wearing adult diapers,constant anxiety.....mmmmm, let me see....OSTOMY BAG ! Like many others, once I finally had that poor diseased colon...
One of the members of my Ostomy Support Group lost her job last October and in one month will run out of her osotomy supplies. She is at least two months from being eligible for any state health care...
Last meal of the day is usually around 6-6:30pm but I always have a little something between dinner and bedtime. Actually, I often have a couple of cookies or crackers with tea as I'm in bed reading....
Though I never ended up with any kind of cancer, I did struggle with UC for 6 years before I had my colon and rectum removed one year ago. I am almost twice your age so some of our issues are quite...
I highly recommend that you go to YouTube and view some videos on ostomies. I spent the 5 months prior to my surgery getting familier with how to change a bag, bag systems, showering/bathing and even...
Things were going along super good since my Proctocolectomy with End Ileo in Nov. 2012. Then suddenly in mid-June I ended up in the ER with a Incarcerated Parastomal Hernia that had shut down my...
Still home recovering from surgery for an incarcerated hernia of the stoma that laid me flat 12 days ago. Very uncomfortable and lots of soreness. So I'm curiuos, since I've been told that hernias...
Since my surgery in Nov2012 I've had 2 long episodes of cold, asthma and allergies. All produced coughing that lasted at least a month. I was worried about that coughing. Then about 3 months ago, I'd...
Had emergency surgery 3 days ago for an incarcerated hernia.Guess I've had my head in the sand since my ileostomy in Nov. 2012 because I had NO IDEA such a thing could happen. Now I'm hearing that it...
Dido on everything Marianne said. It's your decision and only yours to choose how you want to live the rest of your life. If Remicade, Humira and prednisone would have kept me in remission, I would...
As has been mentioned previously, the anal wound usually takes the longest to heal. Mine took about 6 weeks. Its important to walk, as you know, after surgery but no power walking as this will really...
NiceCupof Tea......for what its worth......before my operation, when I was still dealing with the day to day struggles of living with UC, I opted to see a psychologist who specializes in chronic...
I second the advice from Plout on protein. It was one of the key instructions from my surgeon. There were times when I wasn't feeling like a meal and I would just drink Boost to get my protein. Not...
I'm 6 months out and last week I thought I might be having a blockage. I felt a sharp pain in my tummy/waist area so I sat down and kind of curled up in a ball. Stayed like that for about 5 minutes...
summerstorm has explained quite well what post op is like for most of us. I also had UC and after 6 years, I chose the protocolectomy with end ileostomy and anal closure. Good care, great surgeon,...
When I decided to have the surgery, I consulted with the Mayo Clinic and with a Colon/Rectal surgeon in Minneapolis who was trained at the University of MN. They all agreed surgery was necessary. The...
My surgeon told me to eat lots of meat after surgery because the protien really helps the healing process. Obviously chicken and fish are the most recommended and, eat small pieces and chew well but...
My surgery was on in Nov. 2012 and I also had anal closure. I spoke with 3 surgeons and 2 WOC nurses while I was in the hospital post surgery about the various issues I would encounter during the...
I had a home health care nurse come to my house 3 days after I got home from the hosptial and she set up an account with a medical supply company. She had all my insurance info already so it was just...
I agree that at some point you have to be honest with yourself about what you want your quality of life to be. There were periods of time in my 6 years of UC that I could actually convince myself...
bootstrap....you have set my mind at ease. I'd been following your posts and your blog for months and then things got so quiet I got worried. Considering all your post op issues, I feared you'd had a...
I use a liquid bath soap in the shower, rinse well and never have a problem with wear time. Always get 5-6 days of wear and I use a slightly convex bag with an adapt barrier ring, both from...
So its been 5 months since my surgery and at this point I can honestly say that my diet is pretty much normal and I can eat just about anything I want. But about a 6 weeks ago I started gaining...
Its been 5 months since my surgury and I can finally say that I am recovered. All systems are a go and functioning at peak performance. I can eat just about anything I want, I sleep through the...
Whenever I know I'm going to be away from the house for several hours, and this includes many roads trips, I carry a bag with all the supplies I'd need in an emergency. This includes a couple of...
If you like history, "Killing Lincoln" or "Killing Kennedy" both by Bill O'Reilly & Martin Dugard. O'Reily and I are absolutely not on the same side politically but he writes a great history book....
Just thought this recent news story would be of some interest to those of us who are or were suffering from UC and Crohns. The story does stress that this treatment is not approved for IBD conditions...
Probiotic.....you asked about venting and I failed to mention that I use a little device called the OstoEZ Vent. This neat little vent stick right on the bag. You poke a hole in the vent once its on...
It's been 4 months for me with my ileo. The bag arrangement I am using now is not the one I left the hosptial with. Was having some leakage which was causing skin irritation around the stoma. My home...
If you want to see a pretty green, try a McDonald's Shamrock shake ! I've have 2 this month and each one turned my output a nice light shade of green but they sure were tasty....
I think the morning "blimp" is a common issue with ostomies. I have an ileo and what I eat and when I eat it before bedtime can create a giant "blimp" so I try to keep consuming food of any kind to...
A month before surgery, I also stopped the Humira and the Imuran and had just finished the prednisone. Like I mentioned, that last month before surgery was really bad. All that stuff going into my...
I starting tapering off of prednisone 3 months before surgery. I was at 40mg when I started. One month before the surgery, I was completely off of the Prednisone, however, even on it I was not in...
Proctocolectomy with end ileostomy and anal closure on Nov. 6, 2012 at age 60. Gracie the stoma will be 3 months old day after tomorrow. Life is good.....really good....
I totally agree about stoma placement. Have a good WOC nurse do the placement and be sure he/she spends a decent amount of time doing it.....not just a few minutes. They should have you lay flat,...
My two cents worth on your friend's quesitons. I've finally found the perfect bag/adhesive set up for me and I easily get 5 days between changes. No Leaks I empty the bag on average 4-6 times a day....
Before my surgery, I watched a lot of YouTube videos of people showing how to change there osotmy bags and I thought...."wow, there sure is a lot of stuff needed". Come to find out that isn't the...