Just to chime in again, partly to somedude who lamented the disappearance of the "old probiotic" lol. SD, even the old pro was never keen on the jpouch. My point has never been to bash say the jpouch vs the end ileo, or surgery vs dealing with flareups-- though on that front I completely disagree with NCOT and beatuc- dealing with a good stoma or good jpouch is like day to night vs UC with remissions and flares, I find. In my case, even my remissions were always simmering. I had virtually no days without some degree of inflammatory pain, and flares created unbearable chronic pain for me, and I had a bunch of miniflares per year and a full, multi month big flare around every two years or less.
Getting to my own decision making, about
the old orobiotic vs new probiotic, what I wanted to say to you, @somedude, is that the old probiotic was never really very keen on the jpouch. Though I undstand the stats that chronic pouchitis is fairly rare (a few percent I think, though I have seen as much as 10%- I think the higher number inckudes those who treat their chronic pouchitis well, and that there is 2% or so who cant find any effective treatment), the thought lf even isilated instances of pouchitis were not risks that I found acceptable to my own calculus. Too much of a risk of UC-like symptoms again, and deoendence on meds again, even if only for "flares". The other thing that I find "da bomb" about
the end ileo is that it affords me 100% control over defacation. NCOT once described a stoma as totally incontinent, but with the pouch attached it instantly becomes effectively 100% continent-- you empty it whenever you want, with a fudge factor time of a few hours to six hours (depending on how much you eat in the past 8 h or so- eg I never have any output at all for the first 6 h or so after i empty it around breakfast time) if you dont want any bulge down there at all, to a whopping 10-12 hours if for some reason it's simply not convenient. I dare you to not pee for that long, i.e. One will go eventually anyway, but there is no "need" to empty with any urgency ever-- with a jpouch, some people may onky have 20 minutes or so to do their business if say gas starts building up. I simply couldnt acceot that risk, even though I know not all jpouchers get any urgency-- the risk wasnt acceotable to me. When I was told I should go in 3-steps, it turned out a blessing to be able to "dry run" my end ileo. It worked so well, with no leak or skin issues, that I cant imagine risking a jpouch-- and as I say, even with a perfect jpouch, I don't think I'd want to risk the total control I have over pooping vs sometimes "having" to go. In that single respect, an end ileo is even superior to a normie's life.
I do completely respect everyones own feelings, in tune with what larasmom said. I think, however, one should base likes/dislikes on something rational-- not simoly disliking something because "i dint like it"-- if one dislikes a stoma because one finds it "gross", I guess that's a fair reason. But it's a rather superficial reason IMO aince the stoma jsnt seen or noticed in public. I love ya both tho, sd and NCOT-- nice cuppa, I will always be rooting fir you to find peace and move on-- to quote the Italian school of driving philosophy from the movie Cannonball Run, "throw away the rear view mirror- what is behind doesnt matter." Look forward, to new scifis, another season of Walking Dead, anything and evrything in this huge workd that rocks your boat-- you deserve to live again.
And on the self-image front, I was worried about
it pre surgery but post surgery I really had a transformation, realizing it is oart of me, and indeed is oart of me that gave me back my life. The day of my colectomy, When I saw the photo I asked them to take of my remived colon , before they chopped it up, I really did feel a sad feeling of "so long old friend," like Tom Hanks to his soccer ball Wilson in Castaway... Not though because I regreted the surgery in the slightest (I did not), but because it felt deep to know that this organ had hung with me through thick and thin year after year and now we would part ways, and it woukd not follow me to the grave one day after all... Still, the little stoma (still unnamed lol) is there to remind me that life goes on,d amn well, now without that organ. Which reminds me, i have a tennis match to head to so I need ti sign off.
Post Edited (Probiotic) : 4/24/2014 12:11:16 PM (GMT-6)