Hello all,
Tomorrow will be 3 weeks since I had my J pouch removed and my Barbie butt created. I was only admitted to Cleveland Clinic for 4 days with what looked like an uneventful stay. Unfortunately a week after my surgery, I was admitted to my local hospital with an lieus/obstruction that resulted in the dreaded NG tube for days. I am back home now and watching what I eat to do my part to keep the NG tube away! Healing has been going way better than expected. My belly incision looks great and my Barbie butt was closed internally so I am happily surprised to report that I am already sitting more than I thought I would ever be able to. I do have some pain in one area of my abdomen which I hope is some healing pain and not some nasty adhesion that will cause me distress in the future. It is so great to not have a butt any more. No more discharge to worry about. They kept my stoma the same which makes me happy and worries me at the same time. My stoma rocks so I am hoping I can return to eating everything one day in the future. It is still in a loop formation but has not been giving me problems with mucus so far b/c I guess there is no source of mucus downstream anymore? I know this is an unusual situation but all the pre-surgery peeps were like why would you want to get rid of such an awesome stoma? I did not even know that keeping my current stoma was an option until I was wheeled into the OR. What a way to make a decision! If anyone is contemplating removal or has any further questions, feel free to contact me. I am only 3 weeks out so I don’t feel like I am much of a veteran of this surgery yet but I am always willing to just listen or help if I can.