Well if there’s one thing I’ve learned through this “adventure,” it’s to take it one day at a time. It will get better. We will never be as good or feel as good as when we had our colons. And this joint pain? It too will be manageable. No doctor or family member or friend can know what the solution is without you being a willing and active participant in your own recovery. The burden is on us to take control and figure it out, because if you don’t, you can end up in a downward spiral where you don’t want to go. Who needs mental misery on top of physical misery? See? I’m proving to myself again that I’m down but never out! It will get better. I’m also aware from my former ostomy support group that there are so many people living their lives with much more physical pain and mental anguish than me. That too keeps my own frustrations and anxieties in check. It will get better.