I had Dr. Julie Thacker at Duke. She built me a good j pouch. Not that I was without complications but I do feel my j pouch does what it's supposed to even 3 years later. I have control, no leaks,...
yeah... i got my life back!...
I ordered my calmoseptine on Amazon.com. Bidets can be pricey but some people swear by them. For me, the wipes work just fine but maybe if you are really sensitive, the wipes might irritate?...
great! looking forward to it! remicade failed me after the second infusion. seemed like a waste of time/money/not to mention the risks......
Marianne is right it will get better! I am about 7 weeks out from take down. Immodium makes my stomach hurt so I try to slow things down with the foods I eat. I was going 19 times a day at first but...
ya, I quit in 07 after 17 years. got UC symptoms in 09. kinda wish I'd kept smoking if it kept the UC away but too late now....
I should have gotten out on day 4 after step 1 but I got out on day 6 because I had a hard time going to oral pain meds....
My co pay was $150. I have blue cross blue shield federal....
Alibee - Pre op at Duke was pre pay co payment, height, weight, bp, blood, ekg, then spending time with different nurses talking about medical history and surgery. The days I met with Dr. Thacker and...
mom2panda, I tried Canasa suppositories after surgery but it never did heal the rectum. I had the surgery like you explained.. step 1 to remove the colon then steps 2 & 3 together. I was very glad it...
I was in the hospital 6 days after the surgery. 10 days out would make it 4 days at home if your experience is similar, which seems pretty soon. My wound opened up and I needed to go back in to see...
I was supposed to have a 3 step and they left, I think, about 7 inches of rectum after step 1. Yes, I still had massive UC in the rectum, still bled daily, but because the rest of my colon was gone I...
I have a gooshy belly too. When I started having problems with leaking I switched to convex wafers even though I had an end ileo that stuck out pretty far. It solved my problems but the regular...
nope...
The take down surgery should be easier than step 1. I am able to hold it and the urgency right after surgery is nothing like UC. He should be fine!...
Aquafly - I had laproscopic but my discharge papers from the hospital still said no baths for 60 days and no lifting more than 5 lbs for 4-6 weeks. I did clean my kitchen about a month out and was...
Hi! I just had my take down and j pouch creation in one. I was feeling pretty mobile in the hospital compared to my first surgery! I started out going 19 times a day the first couple days then it...
Carrying around might be tough. You aren't supposed to lift more than 5 lbs. for 4-6 weeks...
richochet - I was supposed to have 3 steps but I woke up from surgery, looked down, and saw I didn't have a stoma!!! I was thrilled!...
I had my colon removed, then on step 2, had the j pouch formed and take down in one. It's kinda like a one step and I'm doing well with it so far! I think it'd be a bit harder though to have my colon...
I am a stay at home mom. However, I could have gone back to work (providing it wasn't labor intensive) after step 1 in about 3 weeks like Sue said. I just had steps 2 & 3 together and I feel like I...
Jackie, I was bleeding for 2 years straight when I went in for my first surgery and my surgeon still thought she would do it in 2 steps. My colon was too inflamed and I guess was really hard to cut...
Hey! Thanks to everyone on here for giving me such great advice! I just wanted to give an overview of my surgeries for those considering it. I was really afraid of certain things happening through my...
I've had a barking cough since April... I can't explain it either....
It seems ok to me! Having the surgery laproscopically really helps you heal faster. As long as you aren't working yourself to death... I would rather be around my friends too!...
Yep went from 10 to 0 every time and didn't have any problems even after being on it for more than 2 months and up to 80 mg....
I always tapered 10, I couldn't wait to get off the pred!...
Cuffitis? I bleed like that and I only have about 7 inches of rectum. Not sure if you would bleed that much from the cuff?...
Hey I had step one colon removal. My surgeon said she would do 2 and 3 in one step if things looked good on 9/7. I'm all for it! I'd rather get it over with than go through another surgery and have...
YES! Dr. Jane Onken GI, Duke University. She is highly recommended, she has written books, I know people that drive 3 hours one way just to see her!...
wow...
Hi! Welcome! I have about 7 inches of rectum left after my surgery and it bleeds as well. I pass blood daily and sometimes there are clots in it. The surgeries can be very trying emotionally and...
Best of luck to him! I'm not exactly the same age, lol, but experiences will be similar for those on here. I was supposed to have a 2 step surgery but they weren't able to make the j pouch during the...
But... doesn't an epidural have morphine (among other drugs) in it? How are you able to handle that?...
The epidural, if working correctly, will completely take care of your pain while you are on it. After that, I don't know what to tell you! Tylenol alone will be kinda rough!...
I had anxiety when taking pred and prozac, I needed xanax. I got off the prozac (not pred) and my anxiety disappeared....
I went through two different GIs that seemed so frustrated with me that I didn't respond to the meds. I thought they were just sick of seeing me because they didn't know how to help me! I wondered if...
I had to go through a special mail order pharmacy with my federal bcbs to get the remicade covered... my regular plan doesn't cover it unless I'm admitted in the hospital. There is Remistart and...
Well, who knows! My surgeon didn't seem too worried about it. It is bleeding all the way around the base! My wafer isn't too tight either that I can tell! No one seemed to care since I'm getting a...
Alibee - I feel I should warn you. Because Dr. T is so popular, it may be a few months before you could schedule surgery. I'm not sure you want to wait that long? I went to my post op 3 weeks after...
I was taking codeine because imodium didnt work well for me, my GI would have loved it if I only took imodium ;) I was told almost anything that messes with your bowels can cause TMC. IMO people...
its only about 1/2 inch longer maybe Im just being paranoid, will see!...
most of my pain was from using my stomach muscles, so not constant pain. Pain meds controlled my pain so well I almost felt normal. You may have shoulder pain right after surgery if you get lapro so...
I brought a list of questions but never even asked half of them. The most important for me was lapro vs open and how experienced my surgeon was at making j pouches. Some people have preps, some don't...
well I have my next pre op tomorrow so I'll ask my surgeon then. I guess if there is a problem, they can fix it when I go in for step 2 on 9/7.....
When I decided to have surgery, I got rid of my pills (18 bottles?) and had a grin on my face doing it! I hated all those dang pills!...
I threw up 4 times in 6 hours after taking it... of course my blood showed low enzyme and they put me on the drug anyway....
My stoma is longer now all of a sudden after 2 months?? My hole used to be in the middle now it's drooping down. did I break it? my stomach hurts everytime I move now....