Well, 18 months have flown by! At first, it was so hard after my reversal, but time has healed. I have come to the realization that I now have a "new normal." Today is my 51st birthday, and I am so thankful to be alive!
I still have generally from 3-10 BMs a day due to a shorter rectum. No accidents; pain comes and goes. I am still not able to sit for a very long time, and the "dumping" syndrome only occurs monthly, but with only minimal pain. The worst thing is I have hernias, and they are painful and unsightly. I went to see a hernia specialist, and he said I need to have an abdominal reconstruction with lots of mesh, which would make it very difficult to have surgery again, so I am seeking a second opinion.
I still like to come on here and read your blogs and reports. It's so weird that once you have been an ostomate, you'll always feel like one. :-)
Hope everyone is happy and healthy!
Nora
Thanks for the update. It's nice to hear how things are going one year from surgery.
I am glad to hear things are going well. Sorry about the hernias. Hopefully, they can take care of that for you. I still have accidents and blockages. But I have to remember to chew, chew, chew my food. You are an inspiration. Thank you for the update.
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Terry
Happy birthday, Latina. Thanks for staying in touch and sharing. Wish you the very best.
Mike
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The doctors are thinking of doing a reversal on my son, who is 10, in a couple of years. My fear is that he will get behind in school because of the operation. They said that he will need to be in the hospital for 3 months to be able to use his rectum, as not much comes out since he has an ileostomy at the moment. Our new news is that he has dyslexia, and missing school at that age is very important. Please help; what do people think? The amount of time he spends at home in a day worries me because of school too. Any advice would be great!
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Well, young people rebound back so much better than us older folks. Maybe plan to do this during the summer when he is out of school (not sure how your school system works). In the long run, it would be so much better for him as a young person to be somewhat normal. I think it all depends on how long he has had his ileo, will he have a jpouch, or does he have some colon left? Good luck and good health; it's so hard, I'm sure, when it is your child :-)