Well, I am on my way to the hospital to have my ileostomy taken down. I wanted to take this time to thank all of you that were supportive during my times of frustration and learning. I cannot tell you how much your words of support and suggestions meant to me. I am sure to visit this forum quite often and I'll also be found in the Crohns forum as well. If all goes well I'll be home in 3 days. I also have some ostomy supplies that I will no longer need. If anyone out there uses Hollister Flextend 14803 flanges and 18193 pouches, please let me know. I will be getting rid of those along with some eakin seals, skin prep wipes, stoma adhesive paste, and stoma adhesive powder.
I would like to wish you all the best with your surgery Frank. When you are feeling strong enough please come back and let us know how you are getting on.
Best of luck to you Frank, I myself will be having my ileostomy reversed in the spring. Please come back to us as soon as you feel well and let us know ow it went. I'm curious about it all as well. Have a great recovery and take it easy. Well all be thinking of you.
Hello everyone, The reversal surgery was performed on Tuesday 12/13/05 and I was released to come home today (Thursday 12/15/05). I had a minor amount of pain for several hours post-op but nothing since. Bm's started about 24 hours after surgery and have been quite frequent. My Dr. has prescribed some meds to slow down the motility, but I haven't taken it yet. So far so good. I'll keep you updated.
Hello Frank, Glad to hear that you are home and your surgery went well. Youll have to fill me in on all the details as they come along, as I am having the same surgery early '06. Take care, get plenty of rest and keep in touch with us.Kathleen
Hi Frank, Sue and Kathleen, Frank, I am having the same reconnect surgery in Feb. I ended up with my ileostomy after rupturing at the anastamosis too. It took them 2 weeks to figure out why I was so sick (ICU 3 weeks), they couldn't see the rupture on the ct scans!?!?!?! Right now (with the ileostomy) I pretty much eat whatever I want, but I wonder how I will have to change my diet after the reconnect. Have you noticed any problems? And what kind of diet are you eating?
I am 2 weeks post-op now and I am feeling great! I am on a low residue diet util tomorrow but I'll confess that I have gone outside the low residue limitations during the holidays. At first I had very frequent BM's (for the first 2 days). They have tapered to about 4-5 per day now and are mostly formed. I have experienced very little pain or discomfort. The site of the incision drains a lot and the dressing has to be changed 2 x per day but other than that it's been a breeze. I have no complaints and I'm looking foreward to returning to work in February.
Best of wishes on your surgery and I hope you are as lucky as I!
I've had my ileostomy for 20 years..I am 20 years old..that's right I got it when I was a week old. Crazy! Anyway my whole life i've hated it..growing up when kids can be crewel and having a bag doesnt help at all.
For the past 2 years i've been going from doctor to doctor and hospital to hospital to see if i could get it removed..either way I need some surgery because the ileostomy I have now is horrible. It is very retracted and it leaks every single day and the skin around the stoma is horribly raw. I'm afraid to leave the house for more then an hour in case it leaks. Most 20 year olds are out a the bar having a good old time but not this one!
Anyway I go in for surgery in 5 days (jan 18th). I won't know until I wake up if I was able to get rid of my ileostomy or if I have a new one..dear god I hope I get rid of it. I've had many many surgeries over the years of my life but this one is by far the most scary.
I read a forum about the lady who's husband thought it was gross..I couldn't believe it. I'm engaged to a 26 year old guy who is the absolute best about it. I was terrified to tell him about it when i met him in case he thought it was gross pretty much, but he says it makes me unique and no matter which way my surgery goes he will never look at me differently. He's was constatly asking questions about it because he is so interested when we were first together and though some were hard to answer I was just happy that he accepted it as part of me. If aannyyone with an ostomy or someone close to them has one wants to email me about anything please do so, i'm only 20 but I have 20 years experience and I think i've been through it all!
I really like this site by the way..thanks to whoever invented it. my email address is shortchick03@hotmail.com..dont laugh i made it when i was 13.
How old are you? I'm lucky because the doctors at Sick Kids in Toronto are letting me stay there to get my surgery done..usually after 18 you have to go to an adult hospital but i've been dealing with sick kids literally my entire life and they know my history better then anyone so it makes sense to just stay there.
The thing im worried about the most is if i do get reconnected i thinkt he surgery they will use is to remove my entire large bowel. This is waht absorbs water so i'm worried that I will have constant diarrhea or that I will be going to the washroom every half hour or something. What did they do when you got reconnected?
You are correct. The colon or large bowel is where most water is reabsorbed back into our system. According to my GI doc (she also happens to be my surgeon) the small bowel will assume the duties of the large bowel. This takes time of course and you may have loose stools for several months following the colectomy. I was very lucky and had loose stools for only a couple of days. I am now 4 weeks past my reversal surgery and I am going only 3 times a day. The best part is that I can control the BM urge and "hold it" so to speak until it is convenient for me. The thing that I'm having the most difficulty with is mt incision site. There are 2 areas that are slow to heal. I had to go back into surgery to have some stitches removed that were absesed and slowing the healing process. Believe me, it is a mere inconvenience compared to what I was experiencing prior to my colon being removed.
Hi, I wanted to let Ashley know that I have been living without a large intestion for 37 years. I have had 3 colostomies and 3 ilestomies. I will be having my ilestomy reversed next week!!!! I was told 6 years ago that due to the fact that I only have half of my small intestins (and no large) I would have the ileo for ever! But I thankfuly found a very good surgen to do the operation. I have the first part in Nov 2005 and he also did a hysteroctomy and removed my gall blader when he did the anastomosis. Now I am ready for the take down. I wanted to let you know that you may go the bathroom more that the average person but It will not be as bad as you think as I said I havent hade a large intestine since I was five and have functioned well when I was conected. Please excuse the spelling and typing errors I am, at work and am trying to get this out as fast as possible. Good luck, Maureen
Hi my name is jean and I had an ileostomy last November and am going to have the reverse done either March or April. Would like to hear from anyone who has had this surgery done and what problems (if any) you could tell me about. Not sure what to expect! thanks jean
I've had my ileostomy removed for 3 weeks now..almost a month. My healing went great from the operation as in my incision scar is healed perfectly and i'm not in any pain that way anymore. The only thing that i'm really having problems with is the very frequent bowel movements. I'm going so often that my bum gets really raw and sore but i've got paste that I have to apply there to keep it as painless as possible. They may tell you to use it too.
The thing is I had my ileostomy my entire life (since i was a week old) so if you have only had it for a short amount of time it may be easier for you. They werent sure if i would be able to 'hold it' before going to the washroom but luckily i have perfect control. Let me know which procedure you will be having done and how old you are and how long you had the ileostomy for and I can give better advice and let you know what to expect. The procedure I had done was the Duehamel's procedure and I had my entire large bowel removed.
Sorry for not answering your question really but if you let me know a little more details I will definately tell you all I know!
It has been almost a month since my surgery and everything's great accept i'm going so frequently that i'm sore and losing a lot of sleep. I'm taking imodium and it is helping a bit but I really need to get some sleep. Which meds did your doctor prescribe for you to slow things down and are they working? Please let me know. Thanks!
Hello Ashley, I was prescribed imodium also. I was fortunate and never had to take it. I had frequent BM's for about 2-3 days and then they tapered off. I am now back to work full time as a paramedic in a busy city. I am only going 2 times a day (pretty much normal). My doctor told me that some people take up to a year to adapt to the change. Seems like yours is just little slower than mine. Don't get discouraged! Your small intestine will get the message and start taking on the extra responsabilities soon enough. Consider eating some high fiber foods to firm up the stool. Best of luck to you and I'm sure things will start improving with just a little more time.
Hi everyone. I'm nnew to post, my husband (39 years old) is relatively new to Crohn's. Had a very quickly escalating case of Crohn's - after 7 weeks in hospital this fall, has a colectomy/ileostomy following perforation, complications and a few close calls. We were so happy he survived and was able to have a reconnection surgery 1/18 of this year. My question, is what's normal for recovery? He's about 3 1/2 weeks post surgery now, and is still extremely exhausted. His mood is quite different from before Crohn's - testy/cranky. His arms and shoulders are sore on a daily basis.
I'm not sure what's normal, and what should be cause for concern. In hindsight, I can't believe we missed that the disease was raging so rampantly in his body in the first place. I'm a little paranoid that we might be missing other bad signs...
Kathleen
I was prescribed imodium also. I was fortunate and never had to take it. I had frequent BM's for about 2-3 days and then they tapered off. I am now back to work full time as a paramedic in a busy city. I am only going 2 times a day (pretty much normal). My doctor told me that some people take up to a year to adapt to the change. Seems like yours is just little slower than mine. Don't get discouraged! Your small intestine will get the message and start taking on the extra responsabilities soon enough. Consider eating some high fiber foods to firm up the stool. Best of luck to you and I'm sure things will start improving with just a little more time.