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Hello all,

My name is Manny, Im 29 years old and I am a new member to this website, however i have been following the forum since i was diagnosed with ulcerative colitits in May 2010. Just a brief description of my story. I was diagnosed in May 2010 during one of the most severe flare ups of my life; I was put into remission by remicade infusions and stayed in remission until May 2012 (pretty impressive i thought for just 3 infusions, considering the prednisone steriod nor any other medicine was working at the time) Anywho, I had my second real severe flare up in May 2012 and i was fortunate with this flare up as i was able to control it with 20mg of prednisone. Once the dr and I began to taper off the prednisone and tried staying with Balsalizide for control of the UC, I began to flare up again in Oct 2012. So, I was put back on the prednisone from Oct 2012 to March 2013. It was in March I decided to "take the plunge" and have my diseased colon removed considering long term prednisone use could do more harm then good. After my inital surgery, I have to say i didnt take to kindly to the illeostomy and was ready to have it removed on day 1. Oddly enough two weeks after my discharge from the hospital, I woke up one morning to find a ostomy bag full of blood because I was bleeding from my stoma sight and from my anus. I was rushed to the hospital where my surgeon met me and "felt" a perforation in my pouch.. I was admitted and stayed in the hospital a few days. It was set for my inital two stage surgery (removal of the colon and takedown) to become a three stage because the pouch had to be repaired (if possible). I went into the hospital again in July 2013 for the reconstruction of my j pouch only to wake up to an amazing surprise... THE J POUCH WAS PERFECT!!! The surgeon could not figure it out, he was blown away considering he could not find any signs of a perforation. So two weeks later, I was in the hospital once again this time for my takedown surgery and i must say this is the hardest recovery ive ever had to go through. The butt burn, the cramping, the spasms, im very weak and very immobile. This is extremely unusal for me considering I was very athletic pre surgery, I spent 6-7 days a week at the gym and was never much of a "couch potato". My question is when does everything get back to normal? i know this is a broad question because everyone is different but give or take, how long before I start to feel myself again and all these side effects go away???? any answers would be appreciated.. Thank you for letting me share.. Manny

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The reversal was far worse for me than the first surgery too. The adaption period will take time and you need to measure improvement in weeks, not days. The cramping, spasms, and butt burn are normal and either will recede with time, or you can address them with things like bentyl or calmoseptine. However your weakness and immobility might be related to diet and hydration. Are you staying adequately hydrated with more than just water? Are you getting enough to eat?

Sue Big Grin
suebear
It might be anemia which affects a lot of people who have had surgery due to the extreme blood loss. I was extremely anemic after my last surgery when I returned home and it took me quite sometime to get my hemoglobin back to somewhat normal levels. The normal for males is 13-17 and I was at 7. I had such a tough time getting up in the morning due to the exhaustion and lethargy that it caused me. When was the last time they took you blood levels. Have you seen a hematologist? Did they prescribe you some type of iron supplement?
P
I know it sucks but what your feeling is normal, i know how it sucks to hear that but honestly it does get better, it gets so much better. i havent had butt burn in....2 months now? I'm 3 months and a week or so out and the first month was just sucky, i regretted alot but it was too soon for me to be thinking like that. Time is the biggest healer here.
dgtracy
@phonix2g, The last time i took blood levels was about a week and a half ago when i was released from the hospital and the doc said everything looked good.. so i am assuming he checked for anemia.. it is a good theory however as i have problems with anemia pre surgery when dealing with the UC.. No iron supplements were prescribed, is that something i can get over the counter if needed?
K
@Dgtracy

Thank you so much for your reply, it's nice to know im not alone in my thinking habits as of late. As much as i disliked my ostomy bag, I miss it very much right now. I keep hearing the first month is the worse... Pain meds, Immodium and calmoseptine cream have become my new best friends. I can't wait till i begin feeling like the new and improved me, but you are correct.. Time is the biggest healer
K
Your best bet would be to find foods that are have a high iron level. That's the best way to absorb it. I believe you need a prescription but I'm not certain as I've never checked for any iron supplements OTC. I would assume the prescribed iron pills which I take 325mg of ferrous sulfate 2 times a day would be stronger than the supplements you would be able to just purchase without a prescription. I would still highly recommend setting up an appointment with a hematologist and have them test for any type of deficiencies. They test for things you've never heard of its not just like a normal CBC test that gives you limited results. Be prepared though they took about 10 bikes of my blood. They also gave me a Vitamin B shot which was really beneficial and gave me a burst of energy.
P

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