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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 10/31/2018 7:18 PM (GMT -8)
Hello everyonesmile

For our new members, I’m sorry you found us, but I’m glad you did so we can help you as best as we can. smile

For the ones who remember me, I’m back! I’ve been MIA for almost 2 years due to family obligations but then also this past February my rather large dog puppy took my legs out from under me where I landed on my side and caused 2 herniated cervical discs that caused severe spinal compression to the point of almost paralysis. I had a 2 level cervical fusion on July 18th. I have metal cages and plates on my C5-7. I just recently graduated physical therapy. And tho I still deal with crazy muscle spasms, I’ve been doing much better.

UC wise, I’m still doing great due to Remicade. I even quit smoking on July 4th. I’m going on a 7 year remission.

So anyways, I’m glad to be back here contributing to the forum when I can.
Posted 11/1/2018 4:13 AM (GMT -8)
Welcome back and thanks for giving us an update. Always glad to have extra, knowledgeable help!
Posted 11/1/2018 5:44 AM (GMT -8)
Nice to see you back. That is great that you quit smoking and are enjoying such a long remission, but yikes, that spinal injury sounds pretty horrific!! Happy you are doing better.
Posted 11/1/2018 7:32 AM (GMT -8)
nice to hear you are back in remission and sorry about the accident, hope things will clear up soon smile
Posted 11/1/2018 7:41 AM (GMT -8)
Welcome back Sherry,

Sorry about the accident. We must have dogs of similar ages, mine is 2 1/2. I have a female chocolate labradoodle named Shea. She is very smart and well tempered, better than I could have hoped for.

This morning I was walking up my stairs with a cup of coffee in my hand and tried to step over her but got her tail. She jumped and I moved immediately to get off of her tail. With the coffee in my hand I couldn’t grab the railing. I almost feel 6 stairs down to the floor. I was very close but I regained my balance. I have to be smarter about this stuff. All I had to do is tell her to move out of the way.

The PT folks are great, I don’t think people understand how important it is to rehab and injury/surgery until they complete it for the first time and see all of the progress they’ve made.

Did you have to stop Remicade for the surgery? I had to stop Stelara for my hip replacement and then restart it 6 months later. No antibodies so far to Stelara, I was just tested the other day. Prometheus Labs has a test for Stelara now.

How’s the grandchild and your daughter? It’s nice to see you on here and I hope that you continue to visit us regularly.
Posted 11/1/2018 8:16 AM (GMT -8)
welcome back!
Posted 11/1/2018 9:03 AM (GMT -8)
Hi Sherry....glad you're back. Sad to hear of your accident ...good your recovery is on track.
Yay on remission.... and most excited about you quitting smoking.
qxx
Posted 11/1/2018 9:19 AM (GMT -8)
Thanks guys. This surgery was literally a life saver but I definitely wouldn’t want to do it again! Lol it was pretty rough and I still won’t be fully healed for a year but at the 6 month mark I will know if it was a success because that is when the bone forms more around the cages. I already have some bone growing tho. As for quitting smoking, I didn’t have a choice. Many neurosurgeons refuse to do this type of surgery on a smoker and some will even check to see if you have any nicotine in your system. Nicotine hinders bone growth and leads to a very high failure rate.

Keith, no I didn’t have to stop my Remicade, however I had to wait 4 weeks after my surgery to do an infusion. Which made me 2 weeks behind. I was getting a little nervous - between stopping smoking and then the Remicade infusion delay. But I had no issues. My Nala girl is 1 1/2 years old and is a mix of Doberman, Lab and Pit. She’s 80lbs of pure enthusiasm, muscle and love smile

My grandson and daughter are doing well. He is now 21 months old and has stolen my heart thru and thru ❤️
Posted 11/1/2018 3:29 PM (GMT -8)
nice to see you are a moderator Sherry.. I'm still hoping that Remicade will bring me the same remission that you have. I'm sorry to hear about your surgery.
Posted 11/2/2018 11:05 AM (GMT -8)
Sherry, I'm glad you're back. I'm sorry to hear about your issues but I'm glad you stopped smoking haha

I'm having surgery next week! I'm excited. Wish me luck.
Posted 11/2/2018 7:37 PM (GMT -8)
Hey Sherry, great to see you here & happy to hear your UC is still behaving well.
Posted 11/2/2018 7:59 PM (GMT -8)
Andrina! Ileostomy surgery? Jpouch?

Thanks Notso and countess smile
Posted 11/3/2018 5:52 AM (GMT -8)
Congrats on quitting smoking. I started again after a 9 year quit! It made my UC flare up terribly! Did you quit cold turkey? Wow -- 7 years in remission sounds nice!
Posted 11/4/2018 9:28 AM (GMT -8)
Sara, yes I quit cold turkey but I used a habit "aid". On Amazon, they make a cocoa bean cig that you actually smoke like a real cig but it contains absolutely no nicotine and no tobacco. It's to help break the hand to mouth habit until eventually the nicotine is out of your system and you no longer feel the need to smoke.
Posted 11/4/2018 4:07 PM (GMT -8)

Red_34 said...
Andrina! Ileostomy surgery? Jpouch?

Thanks Notso and countess smile

Ileostomy for now, J-pouch later.
Posted 11/5/2018 8:51 PM (GMT -8)
Andrina, my best wishes are with you and keep us updated please!
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