Chiron, I think you are still a little confused. Mycobacteria are not "part fungi" -- they are so named ("myco-" means fungus) because they LOOK like fungus when cultured. Fungi are eukaryotes...
Yes, my weight dropped a lot. I was definitely unsteady on my feet for a few weeks after surgery. Tell your mom she's there to support you right now and you don't have the physical or emotional...
I stuck to SCD to the letter long enough to land in the hospital. Eating less than 1000 calories per day of pureed chicken soup and watered down grape juice was the kick in the pants I needed to...
I didn't do any core exercises while I had the ostomy because of hernia concerns, although I did a good amount of running with the end ileostomy (my hydration and nutrition with the loop ileo were...
Give it time. I couldn't gain an ounce for about six months after my takedown and then I gained 15 lb in two months....
Can't believe anyone can get toxic megacolon and still think they're well and healthy, I just can't. I was deathly ill with incredibly high spiking temperatures. Maybe they thought they had an...
Shosh, all nutrients are absorbed in the small intestine -- without the colon the only thing your husband is missing out on absorbing is water, and at this point after his surgery his small intestine...
I have personally seen patients who thought they were in remission come into the hospital with fulminant colitis/toxic megacolon, but it is not common to say the least (it is a small percentage of...
Glad you're doing well blksteeda! For what it's worth, "junk" food has always agreed with my pouch best -- it's stuff like granola, salads, fresh veggies etc that I really had to work at...
I had those spasms in the beginning. If you're at home, try letting the feeling pass and NOT running to the bathroom. Wear a pad or adult diaper if you need the extra mental confidence. Going to the...
Been a while!!! How have you been?...
Wow, this thread took off running! Thanks to ks for speaking for me while I wasn't around (and as usual getting the gist of what I'm saying). VG, I'm not here to judge your level of cleanliness....
There is no need whatsoever to go through the elaborate ritual of disinfecting everything you touch in the bathroom, wearing gloves, etc. Your stool is no more dangerous to you now than it was before...
This could be inflammation of the pouch (potentially due to diversion). Another possibility is that you're having an increased amount of output bypassing into the distal end of your loop ileo (not...
The short answer is that it depends on what's causing your low platelet count. You can get by with a fairly low platelet count without significantly increased risk but 42 and dropping is probably a...
I was on prednisone for about eight months at the time of my surgery and my surgeon did NOT want me to taper beforehand. He said he'd rather operate on me feeling as good as possible than have me try...
NSSG, I've never been able to hold myself back either (I got addicted to spicy food during my ileo days when there really were no consequences). I can remember having pain from spicy food in the...
You'll be fine. I'm in medical school and I have several colleagues who take immunosuppressants for chronic illnesses. John is right about maintaining good hygiene (and no, it's not poor manners to...
I started med school about two years after my takedown, so I don't have experience with living with UC in school per se (I don't think surgery is a cure, but I don't take maintenance meds and I would...
Congratulations Sephora, that is great news!!! I'm in medical school now, maybe someday we will work together :-D...
It's normal to feel anxiety about a big surgery and VERY normal to feel anxiety about UC -- put them together and you've got a totally stressful nervewracking situation. I've definitely been there. I...
My questions are, is this follow up usually with the surgeon? Yes. And do you find out when your next surgery is after the follow up appointment? Usually yes, but it depends on the surgeon and how...
I had Xifaxan as a 'try everything' med before surgery -- no side effects, even did feel very slightly better on it. The systemic absorption is virtually nil so it really acts solely in the intestine...
You've exactly described my lifestyle for the last ~3 months or so before I had surgery. Not saying surgery is right for you, just that I've been there and you are describing severe ulcerative...
It's still quite rare, but intestinal transplants are performed for what's called "end-stage" Crohn's disease when a CD patient is unable to eat and has failed TPN, often combined with liver...
Definitely get it checked out if it's concerning you but in my experience in the hospital I used to get those lumps from scar tissue and/or infiltrated IVs, not blood clots. I was a really hard stick...
I was eating a fresh pluot (plum/apricot hybrid) at the moment when I signed up for this site. Right after I was diagnosed -- I had no idea about avoiding fiber and literally once ate three whole...
Casey_LB is right, it's a statistical trick -- like saying if you're looking for a lost item, "it's always in the last place you look." Statistically speaking, if you fail treatment, that makes it...
I think the important difference is that Keith's pouchitis is well controlled with meds. For those of you who ever had any meds work, I think we can all agree that any kind of -itis, when it's well...
The spasms are totally normal. Mine got a lot better in the first few weeks, and then gradually disappeared completely over the first year or so. Now I only get them if I ignore an urge to go for a...
I've never prepped for a scope of my pouch, aside from emptying right beforehand or trying to go in the morning when I haven't eaten yet. As far as Fleets go, I recommend emptying out the liquid that...
Indeterminate colitis means your physician can't tell if you have Crohn's or UC. If your physician is sure that the inflammation in your ileum is caused by Crohn's, then by definition the...
I'm not sure why you're hung up on this -- would it change your treatment going forward at all? There's no such thing as "indeterminate colitis with Crohn's disease of the TI." If you have Crohn's...
I have no idea why, but antihistamines (Zyrtec, Benadryl, etc) help my migraines....
With your surgery so recent, your bowels are very swollen and tender. It is natural to have pain, gas, and difficulty passing both gas and output for the first six weeks or so. That's why, as Keith...
Hopefully it's cleared by now but it sounds like an obstruction. Most obstructions with an ostomy form right behind the stoma (where the bowel is 'kinked' to turn it towards the outside of your...
VSL didn't agree with my pouch (made me very bloated and didn't improve after several weeks), but I take Florastor and Culturelle. My pouch has always behaved pretty well and I don't think the...
It is most likely due to dehydration, which is unavoidable when you have severe inflammation. When I was admitted to the hospital my resting heart rate was in the 140s. Now it's about 60 :)...
Are you on chemotherapy or any immunosuppressants for UC? I second the suggestion to start taking Florastor. C. diff is EXTREMELY virulent and easy to catch. Studies show that you have an increased...
The bowel prep will be at the discretion of your surgeon -- there's no right or wrong, just their preference. Same with pain control after surgery. You should be given an opportunity to speak to your...
I'm a medical student with a j-pouch! In short, I have about 6 BMs per day. Typically 0 or 1 during the night, 1 when I wake up in the morning, 2-3 at school (I'm at school for about 12 hours per day...
It's surgeon's preference. An ileostomy closure is considered a "dirty" wound because of exposure to the inside of the intestine, so leaving it open to heal vastly reduces the risk of abscess and...
Just a suggestion, put a small opaque garbage bag in your emergency bag as well. The one time I had to use my emergency kit, the public bathroom I was in didn't have a liner in the garbage pail. I...
My stoma wound was stapled shut, so it closed pretty much immediately -- not helpful to you. If your wound is still open after 4 months and there's pus, I think it's worth having it looked at. When...
The "it" in my post was referring to a logical approach to decision making. As I think we've discussed to death, your propensity for comparing pre-illness and post-op QOLs is most likely a symptom...
I don't know, even though I did have severe disease, it was (now) many years ago and it's not how I evaluate my current quality of life. In other words, when I was really sick I could barely eat and...
Belt can definitely help. I started wearing one with my loop and it improved my wear time and reduced skin irritation. Make sure your surgeon knows how poor your quality of life is right now. Most...
Congrats Marianne!! I just did the math and I will be applying for residencies on my 5 year anniversary :smilewinkgrin:...
Were you given a diagnosis of Crohn's, or were you just told there was inflammation in the terminal ileum? Ileitis is not indicative of Crohn's if you have ulcerative pancolitis continuous with the...