After spending October 15th – 22nd in the hospital, I was being admitted again Monday October 27th.  It took my body nearly five days to show me it wasn’t quite ready to be healthy again.  It told me I needed IV steroids, not pill-form Prednisone in order to run properly.  The hospital door is a revolving one.  <cue “Hotel California”>

I let my doctor know that I was ready to move forward with the colectomy, and that I was aware of the pros and cons (listed below).  My physician let the surgeon know, and the surgeon reserved the operating room for Monday November 3rd.  I have already been in the hospital for five days, and I will be in the hospital recovering during post-operation for roughly another week.

As I sit here typing, I am drowsy and loopy from the Dilaudid and Phenergan.  Two of the four pain killers and anti-nausea meds I have been taking.  I have been on steroids since mid-September 2014, and I can tell it is taking its toll on my body and mind.  I now have Godzilla’s temperament, a pimply back and a rounded face – all side effects of the steroids.  I do not like who I am, and how I am while on this stuff.   Fortunately, my wife has handled it with grace and patience.

I have been asked multiple times if I truly am ready to do this.  It makes me feel like I am missing something. I mean, I’ve done the research.  I’ve spoken with folks who carry the same burden, and I have read just about everything I can get my little mitts on.

For roughly a decade now my U.C. has not let up.  It has gotten worse each year with the past three years seeing the most decline.  Between 2011 and 2012 I had a siggy and two colonoscopies.  In 2013 I was put in the hospital.  In 2014 I was put in the hospital again and then again.  What will 2015 bring? How much worse will the pain be? What complications could the next big flare-up throw at my doctor?  This disease needs a stage to perform, and the colectomy allows me to remove that stage so no more performances can be ran.  I am ready for a life that resembles a normal life.

Below is are the main pros and cons that pushed me to make the decision to remove my large intestine.  I probably missed that you find important, but these were the ones that I dwelled the most on when considering the options laid out in front of me.

CONS

• Pouchitis!  This is an inflammation of the pouch that the surgeon created to replicate the duties (Ha, doody!) of the previous tenant. It can cause diarrhea and abdominal cramps as well as whole-body symptoms like fever, dehydration, and joint pain. It can be treated with antibiotics, and from what I have read usually occurs once in the patient’s post-op life.
• Infections!  We are working with a very messy area of the body full of bacteria.  And that bacteria is now dangerously close to open wounds.
• Bowel obstruction/blockage!  This can lead to a crampy abdominal pain with nausea and vomiting. It can usually be treated with bowel rest and intravenous fluids. About one-third of people who develop an obstruction need surgery to correct it [Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America].
• 8% – 10% of folks who get a pouch that doesn’t function properly and has to be removed.  When this happens, surgical conversion to an ileostomy is necessary.  As far as I can tell, that means I will have a bag of waste dangling out the side of my body for the rest of my life.  No bueno.

PROS

• The chance to lead a normal life.
• Long-term/permanent relief of symptoms
• The reduction or complete elimination of medication
• The “C” words (colorectal cancer) no longer lingering in the back of my head
• The chance to lead a normal life.  This one gets listed twice, because I have longed for a normal, active lifestyle for a long time.