I'm leaving this post untitled because there isn't anything specific I feel today or want to convey. I saw my surgeon Tuesday and he was really pleased with my incision healing and my output and how I'm handling the bag. I get my staples out next week and can start to increase my diet as tolerated so that's all great news. The staples are starting to itch like mad and it's taking all my willpower not to claw the crap out of them. And they are ugly. The area all around the incision is completely numb. So from below the belly button to about the pelvic bone, nothing. So weird. I keep tapping on it because it's the weirdest sensation. You C section girls might understand. I never had one but I can only think this is close.
My home nurse came yesterday to teach me how to change my bag. She was wonderful. Very nice and lives in our neighborhood so she said if anything happens in the middle of the night just call and she can be here in a minute!
It was the first time I saw my entire belly uncovered, and without the bag over the stoma. I took one look and cried. I have staples to my belly button. The stoma is a round, bulging red area. It looks like a ball of raw steak sticking out. And when I saw it I thought, 'Man, I could really go for a nice filet right now!' I think I've lost my shit. Who thinks that? It must be the muscle relaxers! Ha.
It was quite shocking seeing it all. I almost took a picture but was too upset. Maybe next time.
The good news is I got a new bag. One that sits really close to my body. The last one had this extender in it to give room to this tube that sits through the stoma as it heals to keep it popped out of my body. The extender made the bag stick out and felt so awkward. I was doubting I could do this until the reversal surgery. Now that the 'regular' bag is on, you can't even see it. Here's proof----->
My bag is on my side closest to the mirror. Not too bad. I can live with that for a few months.
Here's the original all bugging out on the day I got discharged----->
What a freakin nightmare. So needless to say, things in that area have definitely improved. It's going to be an interesting few months dealing with this until surgery #2. Surgery #2 will reverse the stoma, and hook up the
J Pouch and I won't need the bag anymore. Apparently, the stoma scar looks very similar to a bullet wound scar so I'll have to come up with a really great story. =)
It's been a long road this week. Well, the last 3+ years have been all over the place. I've been 98 pounds out of the hospital and too weak to lift my leg to step up onto the curb. I've been so weak that I've laid in bed while Hubs fed me jello. Where I couldn't stand up without the black tunnel closing in and I knew I would pass out. I've been pregnant. Those 39 weeks were the BEST I felt in 3+ years. I felt so amazing. I lost my baby weight FAST and then went into a terrible flare that put me on 70 mg of Prednisone daily. I gained about 40 pounds from that. Isn't that a kick in the ass? Drop all the baby weight (seriously in like 5 weeks) only to put on MORE than that from dumb meds. My face blew up big and round and made me so self conscious I didn't want pictures with my new, beautiful baby.
This is what evil Prednisone does to my face---->
Bloated, puffy, nasty moonface. So horrible. I won't go into the night sweats, insomnia, raging appetite, horrible skin, hair loss..... The side effects are ridiculous and I think I got every single one!!!
For comparison, my face 9 months preggo when it SHOULD be fat! --->
This was two days before I had VIP. Prednisone made me gain more weight than a fetus did!!! WTF?!
I realize I started this blog in the middle of my journey, so I'll be doing some 'flashback' entries in order to tell the story properly. It's hard to recall timeframes and everything as so many things seem to run together through all this.
Missing Daughter #1's last day of school party today because I'm just too weak and still in a bit of pain to go. All the kiddos I know will run up and hug me and I don't want to be dismissive but I can't let them crash into my stapled abdomen either. I'm a bit sad.... but happy that starting tomorrow we have no schedule to adhere to! Wel, except my never ending doctor appointments. Hopefully, after surgery part 2 that aspect of my life will be over...
<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12277951/?claim=75juqmu6hv7">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>
I'm leaving this post untitled because there isn't anything specific I feel today or want to convey. I saw my surgeon Tuesday and he was really pleased with my incision healing and my output and how I'm handling the bag. I get my staples out next week and can start to increase my diet as tolerated so that's all great news. The staples are starting to itch like mad and it's taking all my willpower not to claw the crap out of them. And they are ugly. The area all around the incision is completely numb. So from below the belly button to about the pelvic bone, nothing. So weird. I keep tapping on it because it's the weirdest sensation. You C section girls might understand. I never had one but I can only think this is close.
My home nurse came yesterday to teach me how to change my bag. She was wonderful. Very nice and lives in our neighborhood so she said if anything happens in the middle of the night just call and she can be here in a minute!
It was the first time I saw my entire belly uncovered, and without the bag over the stoma. I took one look and cried. I have staples to my belly button. The stoma is a round, bulging red area. It looks like a ball of raw steak sticking out. And when I saw it I thought, 'Man, I could really go for a nice filet right now!' I think I've lost my shit. Who thinks that? It must be the muscle relaxers! Ha.
It was quite shocking seeing it all. I almost took a picture but was too upset. Maybe next time.
The good news is I got a new bag. One that sits really close to my body. The last one had this extender in it to give room to this tube that sits through the stoma as it heals to keep it popped out of my body. The extender made the bag stick out and felt so awkward. I was doubting I could do this until the reversal surgery. Now that the 'regular' bag is on, you can't even see it. Here's proof----->
My bag is on my side closest to the mirror. Not too bad. I can live with that for a few months.
Here's the original all bugging out on the day I got discharged----->
What a freakin nightmare. So needless to say, things in that area have definitely improved. It's going to be an interesting few months dealing with this until surgery #2. Surgery #2 will reverse the stoma, and hook up the
J Pouch and I won't need the bag anymore. Apparently, the stoma scar looks very similar to a bullet wound scar so I'll have to come up with a really great story. =)
It's been a long road this week. Well, the last 3+ years have been all over the place. I've been 98 pounds out of the hospital and too weak to lift my leg to step up onto the curb. I've been so weak that I've laid in bed while Hubs fed me jello. Where I couldn't stand up without the black tunnel closing in and I knew I would pass out. I've been pregnant. Those 39 weeks were the BEST I felt in 3+ years. I felt so amazing. I lost my baby weight FAST and then went into a terrible flare that put me on 70 mg of Prednisone daily. I gained about 40 pounds from that. Isn't that a kick in the ass? Drop all the baby weight (seriously in like 5 weeks) only to put on MORE than that from dumb meds. My face blew up big and round and made me so self conscious I didn't want pictures with my new, beautiful baby.
This is what evil Prednisone does to my face---->
Bloated, puffy, nasty moonface. So horrible. I won't go into the night sweats, insomnia, raging appetite, horrible skin, hair loss..... The side effects are ridiculous and I think I got every single one!!!
For comparison, my face 9 months preggo when it SHOULD be fat! --->
This was two days before I had VIP. Prednisone made me gain more weight than a fetus did!!! WTF?!
I realize I started this blog in the middle of my journey, so I'll be doing some 'flashback' entries in order to tell the story properly. It's hard to recall timeframes and everything as so many things seem to run together through all this.
Missing Daughter #1's last day of school party today because I'm just too weak and still in a bit of pain to go. All the kiddos I know will run up and hug me and I don't want to be dismissive but I can't let them crash into my stapled abdomen either. I'm a bit sad.... but happy that starting tomorrow we have no schedule to adhere to! Wel, except my never ending doctor appointments. Hopefully, after surgery part 2 that aspect of my life will be over...
<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12277951/?claim=75juqmu6hv7">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>
Found you today via the FB group. I have UC. I'm holistic. And my site is...A Gutsy Girl. We are so similar:) http://www.sarahkayhoffman.com/2012/04/11/the-end-of-this-road-the-beginning-of-a-gutsy-girl/
ReplyDelete=)
Delete