Hi-
I just had my first surgery on 2/11 and looking forward to the reverse sometime in May. It would be great to know people in the area who know what it's like to go through this. I'm in Astoria, Queens. Good health to everyone!
-Eric

I live in Western Wisconsin, but I had my first surgery on 2/16 of this year looking to "reconnect" in may as well.. did you have it done laparoscopically?

I'm in New Jersey but my doctors are in New York. Who are your doctors? I use Dr. Scherl and Dr. Milsom. Good luck to you.

Hi LegalV and Rani... I didn't even know laparoscopical was an option. The scar left on my abdomen doesn't bother me so much.
Hi Rani- My doctors are affiliated with Mt. Sinai. My gastro is Kenneth Miller and my surgeon is David Bubb. They're excellent. I'm inviting them to my wedding (whenever that happens, I have to meet my wife first lol). Even though I live in Queens I'm recovering at my parents' house in Middletown, NJ. Good luck to you too!

Hi Eric, I live in Staten Island, and used Dr. Milsom. Where are you having surgery? If you have questions, this site is a great place for help and support. So ask away....

janna

I'm in the next town over from Middletown! Small world. Ya, I had mine done laproscopically too and my scars are so small for all that they took out of me. Good luck with your recovery. It's nice that you have people around to help you out and keep your spirits up.

I'm having my surgery at Mt. Sinai. Yeah Rani, I feel like the luckiest guy in the world. My family is the greatest. I wouldn't be able to do it without them. I was in the hospital for a month altogether. I lost 25 lbs... I looked like a POW. Since getting out 3 weeks ago I put on 15 lbs, thank God. Inasmuch as my scar is there, it's not so bad. And besides, I'm a guy... who cares haha.... we grow hair. Did you guys have the take down surgery? If so, how did that go? My take down is in May.

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I had my last surgery almost 3 years ago, a few days after my 30th birthday. I was a mess to before the first surgery. I spent a month in a hospital in NJ before being transferred to NY and there they said they were going to try to treat me with some new miracle drug for five days before making any surgery decisions. A day later I was having emergency surger and woke up with the ostomy. It was awful. The last surgery was definitely an easier recovery me, probably had a lot to do with not being sick going into. When I had my first surgery I lost a lot of weight too, went down to a little over 80 pounds. I still have a little trouble keeping my weight up, but having no more pain is awesome!
Ya, you're lucky being a hairy guy to cover up the scars. Too funny. I wore a bikini last summer, the only real scar I have is from the ostomy and people that I had a gun shot wound. Made me sound pretty tough!

Hey Eric,

I am from The Bronx and am now going to grad school in upstate NY. My wonderful GI is Dr. James Aisenberg (Dr. Miller's parner) - and my surgeon was Dr. Bauer and Dr Gorfine. (Dr Bub's partner).

I had my surgery done in One-Step (Colon removal, jpouch creation and reconnection) all at the same time back in September. After a rough several months of recovering, I am back in grad school. Things are much better, not perfect, as I have to deal with occassional pouchitis, etc.

As far as my scar goes, my chest hair covers it very nicely!


Best of luck!
Keith

Hey Keith!
That's very cool to hear (minus the occasional pouchitis - but I'm sure that'll be less frequent as time passes). When I initially checked into the hospital, Dr. Miller was on a previously scheduled vacation, so Dr. Aisenberg checked in on me while he was away... very nice guy. And as far as Dr. Bubb is concerned, what a great guy. I really feel blessed with the medical care I've had access to, as I'm sure you are as well. Good luck with everything going forward. Thanks again for reaching out!
Best,
Eric
P.S. Wow... everything was done at once? What made them go that route? It sounds lucky to me. I can't wait for May to come. Were you asked to be part of that study group where they give us an antibiotic or a placebo on a daily basis for a year? I'm doing it after my take down. What I got out of his explanation is that after a year of being on this antibiotic, it's a deterrent against pouchitis in the future. The person who invited me to do it was affiliated with Dr. Bubb somehow.

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