Hey all, here is another update about how I’m doing in my recovery from having my colon surgically removed. I had the surgery on Saturday February 26th after only being diagnosed with UC on January 14th (that’s how severe my Ulcerative Colitis was).
I was able to go home the following Friday with my ileostomy bag hanging off of my belly and all. The first couple days out of the hospital were a little rough because of my bed situation and walking around and what not because the wounds from the surgery were still hurting. It hurts to lay flat on my back so luckily my dad was able to prop my bed WAY up to make it more comfortable which is working now.
The first couple of days I was in a good amount of pain, but we stayed on top of my pain pills and it helped a lot. I had to use a cane to walk for a couple of days because the hospital beds really do a number on your body (achy back, fluid build up in mid section, legs and ankles so they’re very swollen) which made it hard to walk and stand straight up. On Sunday a home nurse came to visit to help me change out my bag. I did it myself while he just helped talk me through it. It’s a weird experience to see your small intestine coming out of your stomach, but surprisingly I have gotten used to it already. It is also weird not to have the urge to go to the restroom and have any bloody painful bowel movements anymore. It just goes whenever it wants into the bag! I have to empty it 3-5 times a day, but it is really easy.
The thing I am very very happy about right now, is that I can eat pretty much anything! I started off slowly of course because my body hadn’t had any real food in it for a while, so I started with eggs and pasta and bread and soft stuff like that. Since then though, I’ve been eating cereal with milk, hamburger helper, ice cream, popsicles, teriyaki meatballs, rice and I even had a double cheeseburger with avocado yesterday! The doctors said I can eat whatever I want as long as I chew it well and it works with my stomach. So far so good! The next couple of days I am excited to try some Thai Chicken pizza and some REAL Mexican food and see how it goes.
I am now walking without a cane and without any help going up and down the stairs in my house (we only have like 2-3 steps) but hey its something! My dad drives me to the beach and stuff so I can get out of the house and get some new scenery and to walk around in the fresh air. I am so thankful to be living at home with my parents who are doing a great job taking care of me and helping me through all of this. The mornings are always the most painful, but the pain is nowhere close to where it used to be just a couple a days ago, so things are going forward for sure!
I will update you guys as my journey continues, (hopefully in a positive direction from here on out).
I hope everyone is finding something that works for them! Good luck everyone.
Current Medications: Prednisone taper (down to 20 mg a day), Percocet (pain pill).
Another story about ulcerative colitis surgery written by another UC’er is here.
Curtis is a young guy who developed a very rapid case of severe ulcerative colitis symptoms in early 2011. Shortly afterwards as when medications were failing to solve his problems, he had only one option left which was surgery, and he is hanging in there and doing great. Curtis is an expert soccer player and has his own line of T-Shirts he creates too.
