Hi I am a new member and wanted to share my story to add some encouragement to others. I have had UC since the birth of my son in 1993. I wasn't too sick over the years, but had a couple of bad bouts and was hospitalized only once. I had yearly colonoscopies and in Nov.2011 my scope showed that some of the cells of my large bowel were looking rather suspicious. My gastroenterologist had me see a surgeon, and she was very concerned. After discussing my case with others and reviewing results, she thought it best I have the large bowel removed. Needless to say, I was shocked. I went through a period where I was very anxious, upset and scared. I couldn't sleep well and was having a hard time coming to grips with the fact that I may have to have a colostomy. I even took a trip to Bahamas with my husband to try and relax, but that, too, proved not to help. A positive factor was that my surgeon is the only one in my region that could do the surgery laproscopicaly. She explained about the j-pouch(I had never heard of it until that day!) and that she may have to perform a colostomy temporarily. Surgery was set for Feb.15/12 and she said it would be about 7 hours. I was a total wreck. I went into the surgery while my husband waited in the family room. Things went very well. She was done in 5 hours and was able to perform the j-pouch all in one surgery. She said everything looked good on the inside, so she decided to do everything in one step. I woke up and felt my abdomen area feeling for the colostomy and there wasn't one. I was so relieved. I went up to my room and felt quite good. The next day was fine as well. I was up walking and didn't feel too bad. After that, things went downhill a bit. I started vomiting for almost a week straight, and they couldn't figure out what was wrong. They finally discovered that I had a blood clot on the portal vein that goes to the liver which was causing me to be very sick, but once they started treating the clot, things got better. I was supposed to be in the hospital for 5 days and was there for 23 days. I had some rough days, felt angry, sad, depressed...I lost 20 lbs. while I was in the hospital.
Now jump to Aug.2012 and I am feeling great. I returned to work in May, started back at playing soccer in June and I am coping well. My surgeon says except for the blood clot setback, I am doing great. I am able to sleep through nearly every night, am eating a well-rounded diet, having no pain and feeling nearly back to normal. I was fortunate that I was not very sick with my UC, so I think that played a role in my recovery. According to other patients on the floor I was on, having the j-pouch in one step is not very common, so I consider myself lucky. I still have days I feel sad and depressed, but it passed quickly and realize I have a future with my family.
Please, stay strong and know you can get through it! I did and am relieved.