Preparing for Surgery – PACKING & SHOPPING LISTS

This post was originally written for Eakin’s “A Bigger Life”: http://abiggerlife.com/preparing-for-surgery-packing-and-shopping-lists/

If your surgery is planned and you have time to pack your own hospital bag, there are a few things I would include in my must pack list, as well as a few must haves for when you get home following the early days out of hospital.

You will have a lot of time on your hands, and whilst you will probably be sleeping a fair bit, I made sure I had plenty of other things to keep me busy (there is only so much day time TV you can watch before going mad!!).

Preparing for surgery: So Many Questions

This post was originally written for Eakin’s “A Bigger Life”: http://abiggerlife.com/preparing-surgery/

I remember seeing my surgeon and stoma nurse prior to surgery with a notebook full of questions I wanted answered! If you have any questions, concerns or worries – make sure you ASK! It’s one of the best ways to prepare yourself (especially mentally) for surgery. I had several pre-op visits with my surgeon and stoma nurse and I took the opportunity to ask about everything that was on my mind!

**Ostomy O-Week** PART 1 – OSTOMY SURGERY

This is Part 1 of Ostomy Orientation Week – all to do with surgery, hospitals, possible complications, the recovery period and more!

What lies beneath … the bag?

I posted a photo of my naked stoma (sans bag) on Facebook the other day. Someone I know quite well asked me, pointing at the weird little pink think poking out of my belly, “what exactly is that?”.

That’s my stoma, I answered. My small intestine. That’s how I poop.

She apologised for being ignorant, but really it’s not ignorant at all. I wouldn’t have had any idea before Crohn’s disease and knowing that one day I might have to have one what it was either.

The day of my temporary loop ileostomy

I used to belong to a writer’s club.  One activity was to write about an experience or place you have been, focussing on the detail, especially the sensory detail, whilst trying to elicit a human response to your experience from your audience. I chose to write about the morning leading up to my temporary loop ileostomy surgery. I wrote this a couple of weeks after the surgery. Re-reading it now, I still clearly remember all the details and emotions I was feeling on that day.

To Bikini or Not to Bikini?

That is the question … I am pondering in this post!

The morning of major, life changing surgery

I was going through my journal the other day. I came across these scrambled thoughts scribbled down on the morning of 24^th September 2013 – the day I was going in for my permanent ostomy surgery. This was where my head was at literally hours before leaving for the hospital that morning.

So in a few hours I’m heading back to the hospital. My home away from home. This time tomorrow, I’ll be large intestine, rectum, anus and inflammation free, and well on my way to being a much healthier and happier Laura again. So will begin a new chapter.

Thank Goodness I didn’t rush into Surgery

No, I’m not talking about my ostomy surgery. As I’ve discussed in previous posts, one of the biggest issues I’ve had post my ileostomy surgery are gynaecological problems which have impacted my periods and sex life.

World Ostomy Day 2015 – Help me increase the volume

And by volume, I’m not talking about Ostomy output! I’m asking for your help to increase the volume and to make our Ostomy awareness raising voice as loud as we possibly can! Let’s turn those dials all the way up to max!! Crank it!

As World Ostomy Day (WOD) quickly draws to a close here in Australia, I thought it important to write a post in honour of this important day. I was quite surprised to learn that WOD only occurs once every 3 years. I am a little unsure as to why it’s not an annual event, but I like to think that every day is Ostomy Day for me!

Happy Stomaversary to my little guy!!

Today, I am posting a special blog to acknowledge the 2-year anniversary of my ileostomy surgery. Some might find it an odd thing to do, observing the “birthday” of a stoma. Amongst ostomates, a stomaversary is actually quite common practice!

How to go about this? I want to honour and pay homage to my stoma (aka “my little guy”) with the respect it deserves. It’s not about mourning the death of, but rather celebrating the legacy of my colon (and what’s left of it)! Celebrating and rejoicing the creation day of something rather amazing!

So, I asked some of my nearest and dearest to send my stoma an anniversary card message on this, its special day.

To follow are messages from family, friends and others who have been in the life of my little guy, including a message from me of course!

10 Reasons Life is Great with a Stoma

Whilst having a stoma might have its challenges and take a bit of getting used to, for me it truly is a blessing and has given me my life back. So here are my TOP 10 REASONS LIFE IS GREAT WITH A STOMA!

The saga of the retroverted uterus continues

I’ve had a few people contacting me asking how my appointment with the gynaecologist went last week – thank you for your concern 🙂 There isn’t much to report on just yet, but I thought I would post a bit of an update. If anything, putting thoughts to paper might help with the whirlwind of information currently flying around in my head! There’s quite a lot to contemplate and consider.

It seems that I am rather unique! Surprise, surprise! My gyno has spoken to numerous colorectal and plastic surgeons about my case, but nobody has really come across anything quite like it (or at least not with the same symptoms as I am experiencing). Or if they have, it hasn’t been discussed.

A VLOG: CHANGING MY ILEOSTOMY BAG

Today’s post is a video blog. I decided it might be interesting to show you how I change my ostomy bag. What better way than through a video? Whilst I could explain the process in words, unless you actually see it, it is probably difficult to get your head around!

Let’s talk about SEX!

Next week I am off for a follow up appointment with my gynaecologist. I have to admit; I am quite apprehensive (more on that later). However, I thought it was a good opportunity to write my first blog post about SEX!

Before Crohn’s disease, I would say that I had a pretty “normal” and “regular” sex life. Now everyone’s idea of normal is different. For Michael and I, having been together for around 12 years at the time I was diagnosed, let’s just say we weren’t exactly going at it like rabbits every 2 minutes like we were at the beginning of our relationship! Once or twice a week on average seemed to be relatively healthy, and was our “normal”.

Roll on IBD, and that idea of “normal” quickly changed. As anyone with IBD knows and understands, dating and sex can be difficult, on a number of levels, and for many reasons. A lot of the time you simply feel too unwell. The symptoms of IBD take over and limit your sex drive and desires. You have stomach and other aches and pains, diarrhoea, nausea, or are just plain too tired.

Decision made!

On the 17^th of September 2013, I made the decision. I’d had enough. I was sick of feeling sick all the time. I was sick of the pain, the anxiety, the daily struggle. I had grappled over this decision for months. Should I keep fighting? Should I persist? I know others who have put up with far more than me for far longer. Was I being weak? Was I being hasty? I had managed up until this point, but I was miserable. Was it really even a decision? To me, it felt like I had run out of options. Not for lack of trying. The last colonoscopy my gastroenterologist did he couldn’t even get a clear picture of my bowel. As soon as he wiped away the blood, within seconds more would appear. There might be new drugs down the track, but who knows when they might be available. It was now at the point, my gastro said, that there were other risks in continuing on as I was.

Home away from home

A week later, I was back in the familiar surroundings of St George Private Hospital ready to have it all removed! It was a huge decision. There was no turning back from this one – a pan proctocolectomy with end ileostomy. It was permanent. I already knew what living with a temporary ostomy was like, but this was something that I would have for the rest of my life, until I was hopefully old (and quite possibly senile!). After 5-6 hours on the operating table, I woke up heavily sedated with Ketamine and Morphine, minus a few pretty major body parts! Basically the whole shebang was taken, except for my small intestine, which is now redirected through a stomal opening on my abdomen where I poo into a nifty little bag, requiring regular emptying and changing.