Hello everyone,
I am a new member (about 3 weeks), and have had an ileostomy since 2001. I also have Crohn's disease. I was diagnosed with Crohn's in 1976 and had my first surgery in 1980. Believe it or not, the ileostomy was required due to scar tissue from the first surgery which caused a hernia. However, my doctor thought the hernia was a flare up of my Crohn's disease. By the time we found out differently, the hernia became strangulated and burst and caused sepsis before they opened me up. The doctor tried to take out the bad and sew together but that didn't work either, so back to surgery 2 days later. At the time, it was quite a surprise to find out that I was left with an ileostomy. The surgeon had hopes of reconnecting me so left me an extra stoma. As it turns out, they removed about 145cm and 2/3 of my large. My gastroenterologist says reconnecting would not be advisable, so I have 2 stomas (they do not want to send me into surgery to get rid of the other, I guess I don't do too well with surgeries). Anyways, I could continue but I think you get the idea. I have been reading about others that are here and am glad to have found a place where there are people who understand what it is like. My wife and family have been great throughout everything, especially my wife who has been through so much (I was in a 2-month coma after the last surgery), but as understanding and supportive as they have been, they do not understand what it is like living with it. Even after 8 years, I still am cautious about being away from home, I still have blowouts (especially at the most inopportune times), and even though the flanges are supposed to hold if wet, mine do not (something to do with my skin and the oils I produce, so I have been told). On a more personal note, I have been married for 23 years and have 2 daughters, our oldest just graduated from college and our youngest is in 5th grade. After my surgery in 2001, I graduated with my second master's degree in 2003 and am teaching Biology at a local University. That is all for now, I have a class to teach, but I would like to say that it is great that I have found a place where there are other people my age with the same hurdles to overcome, and I appreciate finding a place where I can talk to them. Thanks for putting up with my rambling.
Jeff
I am a new member (about 3 weeks), and have had an ileostomy since 2001. I also have Crohn's disease. I was diagnosed with Crohn's in 1976 and had my first surgery in 1980. Believe it or not, the ileostomy was required due to scar tissue from the first surgery which caused a hernia. However, my doctor thought the hernia was a flare up of my Crohn's disease. By the time we found out differently, the hernia became strangulated and burst and caused sepsis before they opened me up. The doctor tried to take out the bad and sew together but that didn't work either, so back to surgery 2 days later. At the time, it was quite a surprise to find out that I was left with an ileostomy. The surgeon had hopes of reconnecting me so left me an extra stoma. As it turns out, they removed about 145cm and 2/3 of my large. My gastroenterologist says reconnecting would not be advisable, so I have 2 stomas (they do not want to send me into surgery to get rid of the other, I guess I don't do too well with surgeries). Anyways, I could continue but I think you get the idea. I have been reading about others that are here and am glad to have found a place where there are people who understand what it is like. My wife and family have been great throughout everything, especially my wife who has been through so much (I was in a 2-month coma after the last surgery), but as understanding and supportive as they have been, they do not understand what it is like living with it. Even after 8 years, I still am cautious about being away from home, I still have blowouts (especially at the most inopportune times), and even though the flanges are supposed to hold if wet, mine do not (something to do with my skin and the oils I produce, so I have been told). On a more personal note, I have been married for 23 years and have 2 daughters, our oldest just graduated from college and our youngest is in 5th grade. After my surgery in 2001, I graduated with my second master's degree in 2003 and am teaching Biology at a local University. That is all for now, I have a class to teach, but I would like to say that it is great that I have found a place where there are other people my age with the same hurdles to overcome, and I appreciate finding a place where I can talk to them. Thanks for putting up with my rambling.
Jeff