Hi I'm 2 months out from takedown and things are alot better,the first month was bad.I had pain at the stoma site,bad gas and butt burn,partial blockages.alittle bit of pain in my sphincter  muscles as I hadn't used them in 13 months.It sounds like you should see your medical team.are your bms loose or too thick?I was taking too much phsillium husk as well.I dont touch orange juice and avoid dairy ,lucky there's alot of vegan choices now that taste just as good.I can fart really well lying on my side and the gas pains have pretty much gone now.I recommend  peppermint  tea as my go to for when things dont feel right.

Hi, Francesca. Your symptoms are what I experienced in the few months after my takedown five years ago. If I needed to sit down, even on a soft cushy sofa, I had to lower myself slowly because there would be shooting pain from my bum straight up toward my pouch, yes, like an arrow. Same thing with terrible frequency, urges to go, and nothing coming out, or just a tiny bit. Every day brought a new problem. I also had swelling and pain in my abdominal area and, most worrying of all, I had trouble breathing: I could not finish speaking a short sentence, climb the stairs, or stand up straight without gasping for air. I feared my life would be like this forever. It wasn't. I am fine now. I don't know what the breathing difficulty was, but it resolved itself without medical attention, thank goodness.

Your one month old pouch is brand new and it is trying to learn what to do for you. Your small intestine has never had to function as a reservoir for stool, so give yourself and your pouch some time to adjust to its new life. Its a big job for such a small "colon".  For me, it was approximately eight months before I started to feel "normal", for me that means being able to control the urge, or no urge at all, no swelling or pains, and able to eat whatever food I want except raw salad and insoluble food, which gives me an upset, constipated pouch.  Try not to worry, unless you think you have a blockage, then call your surgeon. Give yourself a few more months to recover and adjust.

Don't worry. You aren't alone. I'm almost 7 weeks out and it seems like every week I have some new symptom I never had before and some symptoms I was worried about last week seem to go away. All I can say is what I eat drastically affects how I feel. I had pizza and chocolate last Friday and I payed a heavy price. I ate clean the rest of the weekend and I seem to be back to normal

Thankyou everyone for the replies! I feel better knowing others have gone through the same struggles.

How and when did everyone resume back to work? My return to work date is in 3 weeks and I can't even imagine working under these current circumstances.

@Francesca2020 I returned to work after 6 weeks, but I always had access to a bathroom except during my commute. Some people return very quickly, and some take quite a while for their systems to calm down. I started Metamucil very early and I think it helped, but not everyone finds it beneficial.

@Francesca2020 posted:

Thankyou everyone for the replies! I feel better knowing others have gone through the same struggles.

How and when did everyone resume back to work? My return to work date is in 3 weeks and I can't even imagine working under these current circumstances.

I had surgery on Tuesday and I was back to work the next Monday

It depends on your financial situation but I think it's better to go back when you feel like your better and not in pain.Im thinking of going back soon but only because I feel better even though my jobs probably gone as I haven't worked for 14 months as I felt I nearly died and I wanted to take my time to recover,my boss said take as long as you need but he probably didn't mean this long.I had my takedown on 13th Nov.

I am almost 11 months out and I had a ton of discomfort and aching pain the first few months. Still do some days, but I sit a lot for work which doesn't help. For me standing up and bending over to touch my toes for a few seconds then sitting back down helps to empty sometimes or release gas, which then helps relieve discomfort. I was back to work 2 months after takedown but have been lucky to work from home.

Congratulations dear!!!! Things are still pretty new so I think overtime things might get better. I definitely had pain in certain areas but it decreased to nothing overtime. I think your body is still adjusting. I would suggest taking things slow, I did that and everything went pretty good as time went on.

Congratulations again on making it! You are resilient

I'm exactly 2 months out today and I feel great now.i empty when I get up and then last 7 hours before emptying again and then from 6-10pm I go about 3 times and sleep most of the night.I have been doing long walks without getting sudden urges and am so happy with how I'm feeling.I hope it continues.

@Former Member posted:

I'm exactly 2 months out today and I feel great now.i empty when I get up and then last 7 hours before emptying again and then from 6-10pm I go about 3 times and sleep most of the night.I have been doing long walks without getting sudden urges and am so happy with how I'm feeling.I hope it continues.

CONGRATULATIONS

Thanks everyone for the replies ! Knowing there is light at the end of the tunnel makes me feel better. Patience is key which I seem to lack 😜

As suggested bending over and stretching definitely helps to pass bm. I now do it before I go to the bathroom and also do it to relieve the tension after a BM 😁 thanks for the tip kmiller!

@Francesca2020 posted:

Thanks everyone for the replies ! Knowing there is light at the end of the tunnel makes me feel better. Patience is key which I seem to lack 😜

As suggested bending over and stretching definitely helps to pass bm. I now do it before I go to the bathroom and also do it to relieve the tension after a BM 😁 thanks for the tip kmiller!

You are welcome Keep us updated

Your body is going through alot of changes and so are you.you have to watch what you eat,when you eat and how much you eat.you and your body have to work together.I notice obese people alot more now and can see how they are so disconnected to their bodies and how their bodies work.

Francesca, for your return to work pack some wipes or damp paper towels (I used bounty) in a zip lock baggie or buy a travel bidet bottle to keep your bum clean and avoid bum burn. It would be great if you had access to a private washroom, but even in a stall you will be able to manage. If you need to go, go! Try not to put it off, which will make gas pains and bubbling noises even worse. Be mindful what you eat for breakfast, and during the day. Good luck with your return to work.

@Former Member I agree, but since being diagnosed with UC I've noticed a majority of people in general are disconnected from their bodies or quite frankly just don't care. I definitely have a firm understanding of my body and what a human needs to thrive between micronutrients, vitamins, etc. I'm 120 lbs far from obese, but despite not being obese and having the knowledge I have i still struggle with eating habits especially for dealing with a pouch. My mom is a trained health coach she told me im just being spoiled when it comes to food habits lol. Which I agree and now can understand what other people struggle with especially if they have major food addictions. Its hard to say no to the foods we love especially if its been a habit taught to us by our parents and then practiced for 20 or more years.

Right now im Finding that every time i eat cheese the pain comes on full bore. Yet I just can't seem to get a grip on self control and not touch the damn cheese. Im finding though I can beat food cravings easier if I stay busy. But it may be different for every person, no excuses but the struggle is real for those who have been "spoiled" 🤷‍♀️

@Winterberry posted:

Francesca, for your return to work pack some wipes or damp paper towels (I used bounty) in a zip lock baggie or buy a travel bidet bottle to keep your bum clean and avoid bum burn. It would be great if you had access to a private washroom, but even in a stall you will be able to manage. If you need to go, go! Try not to put it off, which will make gas pains and bubbling noises even worse. Be mindful what you eat for breakfast, and during the day. Good luck with your return to work.

!00% agree! LOVE THIS

@Francesca2020 posted:

@Former Member I agree, but since being diagnosed with UC I've noticed a majority of people in general are disconnected from their bodies or quite frankly just don't care. I definitely have a firm understanding of my body and what a human needs to thrive between micronutrients, vitamins, etc. I'm 120 lbs far from obese, but despite not being obese and having the knowledge I have i still struggle with eating habits especially for dealing with a pouch. My mom is a trained health coach she told me im just being spoiled when it comes to food habits lol. Which I agree and now can understand what other people struggle with especially if they have major food addictions. Its hard to say no to the foods we love especially if its been a habit taught to us by our parents and then practiced for 20 or more years.

Right now im Finding that every time i eat cheese the pain comes on full bore. Yet I just can't seem to get a grip on self control and not touch the damn cheese. Im finding though I can beat food cravings easier if I stay busy. But it may be different for every person, no excuses but the struggle is real for those who have been "spoiled" 🤷‍♀️

Yeah we are only human.Its summer where I live and I thought I couldn't have my favourite ice cream that is iconic in my country .but they just released a vegan variant that tastes just the same but made from coconut milk.and I've been noticing how popular they are.Its great that because of others going non dairy I can enjoy my favourite summer ice cream.

I got a text from my boss last night saying happy new year and how I was doing.I said I'm doing alot better and if my job was still there I could start back on the 25 th of January and he text back of course you still have a job and gave me the thumbs up emoji.It feels great to be appreciated.

Thats awesome news! Congratulations 👏 if your appreciated then you've clearly earned it dont let anyone tell you otherwise. The people at my work are quite the opposite. Rude degrading woman they are and make it hard for me to want to go back at all, I love my job and worked hard for 5 years to get it but sadly the environment is not for me. Ill always have a job to go back to and can't wait to get out of the house, start living a normal life again just not excited to see the people.

Yeah I understand.my job is still vacant more because nobody wants to do it but it pays well like they say the better the job the less the pay and so you feel screwed but the worse the job the better the pay so you feel screwed.but I feel a bad day at work is better than a good day bored at home.and alot of people have lost their jobs because of covid or because companies used covid as an excuse.but if I can go through three major surgeries and a shocking life changing experience +16months off work and still have a job In a country that has no covid in the community as yet I'm very lucky.

And also my surgeons were world class and you could tell they weren't in it for the money as one wore a backpack and looked like he caught the bus and the other wore a warriors jacket which is the team of the poorer community.i even had beautiful nurses who would give instagram models a run for there money but wete stunning  and worked through the holidays and different long shifts even though they were angels.

@Francesca2020 posted:

@Former Member I agree, but since being diagnosed with UC I've noticed a majority of people in general are disconnected from their bodies or quite frankly just don't care. I definitely have a firm understanding of my body and what a human needs to thrive between micronutrients, vitamins, etc. I'm 120 lbs far from obese, but despite not being obese and having the knowledge I have i still struggle with eating habits especially for dealing with a pouch. My mom is a trained health coach she told me im just being spoiled when it comes to food habits lol. Which I agree and now can understand what other people struggle with especially if they have major food addictions. Its hard to say no to the foods we love especially if its been a habit taught to us by our parents and then practiced for 20 or more years.

Right now im Finding that every time i eat cheese the pain comes on full bore. Yet I just can't seem to get a grip on self control and not touch the damn cheese. Im finding though I can beat food cravings easier if I stay busy. But it may be different for every person, no excuses but the struggle is real for those who have been "spoiled" 🤷‍♀️

Yeah my parents especially  my mum are hypocrites.they tell me not to drink alcohol  and how bad it is and even blamed my uc on it or for eating the wrong foods ,and eating too much fish even though when I was in hospital  they went around my house and found the fridge full of veggies and no junk food.

But when I went around their house before their four night holiday they were taking 24 beers and 4 bottles of wine.

@Former Member posted:

Yeah my parents especially  my mum are hypocrites.they tell me not to drink alcohol  and how bad it is and even blamed my uc on it or for eating the wrong foods ,and eating too much fish even though when I was in hospital  they went around my house and found the fridge full of veggies and no junk food.

But when I went around their house before their four night holiday they were taking 24 beers and 4 bottles of wine.

I am sorry that happened to you! Remain resilient and do not let nothing break you.