Well, the time has come. I go in for surgery Tuesday morning for my 4th and final surgery and I will soon be shitting like the rest of you. Its definitely been a long road and really tough year, but I feel 100%, have gained all my weight back and some. I'm anxious to get back in the gym and get back to work. Surgery should be fairly simple 1 hour surgery where they take my small intestine and hook it up to a J pouch and through the anus, so I shit like everybody else, except I go a few more times a day. I may be an off the wall asshole around here sometimes, but I really appreciate the best wishes. I'll have to watch the Ducks smoke the Bruins from my hospital bed on Thursday night, then I should be back terrorizing you guys by Friday afternoon and then the Blazer season is right around the corner.
Just like everybody else. Prior to 1980, everybody who lost their colon had to have a permanent ostomy bag. I've had a temporary one since May. Modern medicine and surgery has come a long way though. People who lose their colon today have the opportunity to live like everybody else, we just shit a few more times daily.
Considering your condition, I just had a nasty visual. That said, glad you're getting back on the right track....so to speak. Recover well, my friend!!
I missed this thread the first time. Sorry to hear about what you're going through. I (supposedly) have ulcerative colitis, myself, but have been fortunate to only have to deal with one or two flare ups in my life. I also know somebody who has the pouch. He says it works great, and like you said, he just has to drop an extra deuce a day. He also gets some stomach aches every once in a while that blames on it, but who knows if he's right on that. Anyways, good luck, and maybe if the doctors are correct about me, we will be pouch brothers one day.
I was just thinking about you and your condition......... don't tell anybody, but I shit the bed last night! Just messin' with you brother, good luck and hope everything goes smoothly! Be careful cheering for our ducks, I'll be doing those ESPN replays so holler if you need a special look at something!
Ulcerative Colitis is nothing to mess around with. I never really suffered for that long, but the week I did was a living hell. Are you taking any steroids to counteract those flares? Remicade and Prednisone are nasty drugs. The younger you have the surgery the better, also the longer you have the colon the higher the chance of colon cancer. Its better to have the surgery younger, rather than when you're older. Best of luck.
I did. We're in talks right now with a lawyer from the Houston area that is putting a case together for us. They're looking for civil suits. There's been case of a guy a couple years ago an Alabama man won a $25 million dollar settlement against Roche, the manufacturer of Accutane. Also, a former Bulls cheerleader is suing that Accutance caused her depression. Its a nasty drug. If I could go back, I would have never used it.
First flare went away on its own. Second with the assistance of prednisone (really fucked up what that drug does to you). Luckily, that was about 8 years ago and there hasn't been any sign of it since. They put me on something called Colazol, but I didn't like it and decided to go without it. I get checked out for colon cancer once every year.
All I know is that he takes a ton of pills for it every day. I don't think he has thought about that.. He goes to the gastroenterologist several times a year and I don't know if he's ever suggested it.