Success story - J pouch reversal - my journey back to racing!

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5222
austen
May 05, 2013 11:39 pm
Hi all, it's been a long time since I've posted here. I would like to update my story and maybe try and help someone make their mind up about whether to get a reversal done or not. xmlo/o
I had the J pouch formation done in January 2012 and had the takedown op done in June of the same year. I've had some bad days (sometimes a week or two at the most) since the takedown, but to be honest, it has been a breeze compared to what I've gone through with UC and the ileostomy bag. o/o
Nearly 12 months on from the takedown and on average, I visit the loo about five times a day. Some days I might only go three times, other days it might be eight times, but for some reason, it doesn't seem to bother me. Thank God I haven't got caught out yet, even though at work sometimes it might be 5/10 miles to the nearest toilet. o/o
In a nutshell, it's been a massive success for me. From a mental, fitness/strength, illness point, my life gets better by the day. o/o
The reason I'm posting this today is that before I got sick, the one thing I loved to do was race motorbikes. When I got sick and ended up with my stoma, I had to stop. This hurt me a lot, being forced to stop something I really enjoyed and had no idea if I'd ever get back on the track. About six months after the takedown, I knew I was starting to get better, so I bought a new bike in the off chance that the doctors would pass a medical for me. After a lot of fighting with them, I eventually managed to convince them to sign it, and I got my 2013 race license!! o/o
I entered my first race weekend this week since I got sick. Two races today with 28 bikes in the races, and I finished both races in fourth place. Ecstatic is an understatement!!! o/o
I had gotten so happy and used to my stoma that when my surgeon first told me about and offered to do the J pouch reversal, I refused it on the grounds of all the horror stories I had heard and read about, and on how happy I was with my stoma. But eventually, my family talked me into it, and by God, am I one happy man I gave it a go. o/o
My point is that if you have the chance to get a J pouch reversal, my advice would be to go for it. It's not an easy thing to go through (in my experience, no harder than having a total colectomy in the first place), but we are all different. It may work for you too!! o/o
StarUK
May 06, 2013 8:38 pm

Well done, you! Congratulations on holding onto your dreams.

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cassiemarie
May 06, 2013 9:55 pm

Thanks for your story!

Mrs.A
May 07, 2013 1:35 am

Wonderful news indeed! Congratulations to you, Austen, and may you ride in many races!

Sophie96
May 07, 2013 3:50 pm

That's a wonderful story! My partner's passion is motorbiking and nothing would ever make him give that up! Us ostomates go through a bit of a tough time with the bag and what not, so it seems only right that when you're coming out the other side of it all, then you should get back to the things you love doing most!! x

 

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Happiness lies within
May 08, 2013 3:13 am

That's inspiring! Thank you for sharing your great news. Well done + good luck for the future.