Hi Siren - I have not dealt with covid and uc/imuran (my colon was long gone by the time COVID came along) but I wanted to say, hang in there, keep us posted, and I am thinking of you!...
Gosh, what a world. Our statewide hospital capacity is 78%, ICU beds at 61% as of several days ago, according to the state government website. I got my first vaccine shot the other day! Moderna. I...
I got my first shot the other day - I was eligible because my work expects me to visit hospitals and nursing homes. My arm was less sore than it usually is from the annual flu shot. Otherwise I am...
I'd agree with OH here. The interesting thing would be to see if medically trusted sources, Mayo Clinic, medical centers at universities, etc. publish anything about this....
Hey Dog, Champ, valli! Sorry about the lockdown. We are not on lockdown but with the 2 cancers in my background I am so nervous... have not been to a restaurant since March. We get take-out...
Gosh, it was 3 years ago I had my 2 week post-op (colectomy) appointment with my surgeon. I remember that they switched things, so I met with the ostomy nurse first, who gave me a bunch of tips.........
Hi valli! Good to hear from you. Some of us have been giving updates on the Merry Christmas thread started by OH and also on the Class of 18 thread from 3timechamp!...
Yes, I was wondering about him recently also. He was so helpful after my J Pouch surgery!...
Hey Teacher and all - I feel almost guilty saying this but I had a great Christmas. My 2 adults sons both work from home so were safe to come to our house for two days, which has not happened in...
I agree with OH. I was a counselor at and HIV testing site in the 1980s and came to respect Dr Fauci then. I still do!...
Merry Christmas and a hopeful, healthy New Year to all! Meg...
Hi everyone! Happy Thanksgiving! I am doing well. JPouch has been great. I think it continued to improve for more than a year! I am feeling good these days, stronger than I have in several years. I...
Yes. More frequently and pure liquid....
hi - I am not on here as often as I once was, but I was browsing and saw your post. I hope you've had some success getting opinions from jpouch.org. I had pouchitis a few times in my first year, and...
I just realized my 2 year take-down anniversary was the 8th, a few days ago! DH and I rented a small cabin on a lake in Maine for a week. We'd reserved it pre-pandemic! For months we figured we...
It's good to be in touch! OH, we are about to head to northern New England for a week on a secluded lake.... and now we're hoping this hurricane doesn't mess us up! Bug spray is packed. And...
Hey Run, Champ! Champ, I am so sorry about your mom. She fought the good fight, and her legacy lives on in you, her family. From things you'd posted I had the impression she had a strong will, took...
Hi Everyone - Sorry to be late to the July 4th greetings! Thanks for the thoughts, Champ, OH, and all! My standard answer to "how are you?" is "In all the important ways, I - and my family - are...
Hi friends! Valli - glad things are ok. Not sure what the watery yellow is about... how's your gall bladder? I remember my surgeon saying it gets full of liquid until you eat something (he was...
Wow, Champ. I am glad you are home. I was so worried about you! Do you have some way to get in groceries, meds, etc., without going out? In our area a lot of the pharmacies that don't usually do this...
O gosh, Champ... hope the road to recovery continues without bumps!!...
Yikes. The US healthcare coverage is so iffy. For decades we were covered by the insurance my husband got through work, even through several jobs... and then they laid him off due to restructuring...
Hi OH! I am working from home. I had seen my oncologist for a routine check just as the COVID thing was beginning to land in CT, and he told me I should consider myself high risk. The last work thing...
Lomotil is stronger than Immodium.......
I've been thinking of everyone, especially my long-time friends on here. It's a scary time always, when there's an illness going around, and this COVID thing is unlike anything we've seen. I see 3 TC...
Champ!! Please keep us posted! I am sending my best healing vibes your way....
Hi all - Sorry to have disappeared for a while! Hernia repair, week away, busiest time of year at my work (right up till about midnight on 12/24) and my SIL's extended family at my home for Christmas...
Hi Champ - Probably the Zithromax? Although when I am on an antibiotic, the results happen much quicker. So let's hope that your intestines or pouch or something is absorbing water! For me, the...
Hi Champ - My hernia is where my stoma was - a little above the belly button, over a few inches, on the right. He said they'd make two small incisions over on the left side, the opposite side, blow...
Hi all! I hope it's still going ok for you, Valli. Champ, how's mom? I saw the surgeon today for hernia repair. It has gotten bigger over the last 10 months,(the CT scans I've had for the oncologist...
Thanks, geezer and Flowers. I am so happy to report that my j pouch function has continued to improve even past the 1 year "takedown" mark. I saw the surgeon today. He is recommending me for a...
Hi all - I've been off the boards for a while. I've been trying to read and catch up but thought I'd just ask. How are you all? Valli, have you recovered from the peanut issue? Generally, when I've...
Sorry, UBT - I haven't had a chance to post in a while. I don't really remember; I guess I had to cover it until it healed? But then it was just skin. And it hardly showed! To be honest, the removal...
Hi all - Yes, Andrina, of course you are welcome to this class! I would think all who consider their most dramatic surgery to be in 2018 (mine bridged 2017-2018) are part! I started gaining weight...
I had one until several months ago. It was put in when I started chemo. The oncologist likes to leave it in for a year afterward, but when I had a lumpectomy a few months short of that, they took it...
Today is the one year anniversary of my take-down! My Pouchiversary. It sure took me months to feel as though I was making progress, but slowly and surely it did happen. Andrina - I lost a lot of...
Hi all! I have been meaning to check in! Pouch is doing good! We just got back from a week away, with time in a city and time on a lake, canoeing and swimming. All drama free, though I did make sure...
How many rounds of chemo does your mom need to go through? I hope she doesn't get many more side effects. If she does, they night be able to adjust the dose - they did that for me, just "tweaked" it...
Hi everyone - OH, Q, so many others...! valli - wow, sounds like a great trip. I can't imagine that kind of ancient history! How wonderful to see it! Sorry for issues since then. and - my surgeon...
valli! Gosh, I hope this turns around so you can enjoy your vacation! I took Advil for a backache about 30 years ago and had the bloodiest flare-up of my UC career. It turns out that ibuprofen can...
I had a loop ileo for almost 8 months. I had 2 Step surgery, and though the initial plan was to have reversal in 6 weeks after colectomy, we ended up putting it off because cancer was found and my...
Hi V - My surgeon was very pleased that I was passing the brownish gunk from my bottom after J pouch formation and colectomy, because, as he said, it meant the bottom part of my system was alive and...
Gosh, OH, ain't it the truth that we spend so much time dealing with all these medical issues....! Do you get nervous before the gyn-onc appointments? I sure get nervous before I see my oncologist. I...
Valli - look up "medical port." In general my port was a small disc made of plastic or metal about the size of a quarter that sat just under the skin near my collar bone, on the right side of my...
Hi all! Lumpectomy went as planned yesterday. It looks like I have a dimple or a "divot" near the top/side of that breast now. (Steri strips are covering the incision for the next week or so.) At 63,...
Hi - I am doing well. Work has been insanely busy. This is good! I am stockpiling good will for if/when I need to take some time off next week post-surgery. I've cleared several days and I'm hoping...
Hi OH - I had not been checking posts so I missed wishing you well in advance. Glad you got through it and it sounds like the results were good? I figure by now you have the path results...? I hope...
Hi valli! Gosh, I am sorry you are dealing with this. But the fact that you go off then antibiotics and it comes back - shouldn't that help to give the doc some idea as to how to help you? I am...
Gosh, valli,I just hope you can have a plan soon! Keith - Thanks! Maybe I will try immodium in midaftern9o9n and see what happens. I meant to, today, but was involved at work and didn't remember...
Gosh, valli, I am so sorry you are doing this boomerang thing! Or maybe rollercoaster - up and down again. I guess that at least you've had a taste of what Jpouch life can be....? Or is that just a...