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Surgery????

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 10/3/2007 4:40 PM (GMT -8)
Hello everyone. I've had the thought of surgery on my mind since i was first diagnosed with UC and told i'd have to be on meds for the rest of my life. And let me tell you, being a 20 year who is very outgoing and very active in sports, hearing i had this perticular dissease pretty much made me do a 180. All of the goals i had in life had now seemed impossible to reach. Anyways i dont want to bore you with too much history lol. So let me get to the point. I was just wondering if anyone was thinking the same thing that i am. My case is not the worst i guess, i flare maybe 2-3 times a year. I've only had it for 2 years so i'd assume i will have flares more frequently as i get older. Basically i've been weighing the options of living my life with this embarassing, debilitating dissease or just saying ok thats it for you mr.large intestine its been fun while it lasted. When im not flaring i lean more towards living with it, but when i am flaring i say i definitely want to have the surgery. I was just wondering if anyone else was thinking the same or if anyone had the surgery done simply for the reason of not wanting to live with this their whole life. I know it usually takes people to get to the point where they dont respond to any meds to opt for the surgery but im young and i dont think i can deal with for the rest of my life. Sometimes i think i'd jusr rather live with a j-pouch instaed of mr.large intestine. So pretty much im just looking for some guidance or insight, maybe some of you are in the same boat as me? Anyways sorry for the long msg, Kudos to all who have made it reading this far lol.. I hope i havent put you to sleep.
Posted 10/3/2007 6:56 PM (GMT -8)
i had UC for 8 years before i decided to have the surgery. I couldn't imagine spenign the rest of my life sick and on meds and just waiting for another flare, i was missing WAY to much. When you have UC you can't be very far from a bathroom, and i realized i was gonna miss my son's tball games, and all that stuff. I almost missed my sis's graduation becuase i was in a flare. I didn't try all the meds, i admit that, and there were lots of things i could have done, that might have worked, but to me, that was just wasting more time, and i wanted my life back. So, in April, 7 years and 11 months after i first got sick, i had my colon out and it's great! whatever you decide to do will be the right decision for you, and the people on this board and the ostomy board are great support.
Posted 10/3/2007 7:54 PM (GMT -8)

I've had this dreaded disease for about 15 yrs. My flares have gotten worse with time, but it is so different for everyone. And I personally will do everytihing I can to keep my colon. Some people react to the meds much better than others, this disease it not a one size fits all. If you do decide on surgery, please research as much has possible. You might want to check out www.jpouch.org. I think that's the right address. They have all been there, done that. It is a very serious surgery and you really need to be absolutely sure this the way you want to go.

Good Luck to you

Donna

Posted 10/4/2007 11:00 AM (GMT -8)
Thank you both for your replies, i really appreciate it.
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