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
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
