J-pouch Life

Hi, guys. I’ve officially scheduled the first of three surgeries to re-vamp my J-pouch.  The first is a loop ileostomy that we hope will give my innards time to cool off and chill the hell out.  Not gonna lie, I had myself all amped up for two surgeries after the exam under anesthesia (EUA).  When [...]

Guys, it’s been a crazy few months. For a while I was seriously starting to doubt the universe and its plan for me.  Things have been “not right” since December, and got noticeably worse by February. Cue MRI, CT, ER visits re: fistula. By March, it was clear I had to move up my exam [...]

      Hi, all. This will be short and sweet since I’m not really feeling up to amusing gifs and clever puns. Here’s the rundown: Went to ER last night because of pelvic pain and swelling accompanied by bad nausea and shaking. After ER doc determined that J-pouch=several surgeries, total colectemy and that total [...]

Hello!!!  fellow J-pouchers. When Mark and Megan asked me to be the Crohn’s “expert” on Jpouch.net I was honored and excited because I knew I’d have a lot of material to share with you guys. I knew that although most of my blogs would be about research/living with a J-pouch and/or Crohn’s day-to-day, a few [...]

Hi, all. Once in a while, someone comes along and says something that I just can’t ignore.  If you are a regular on the IBD blog scene, you’ve probably seen this, fumed, and snarked back.  If not, let me be the first to offer you this: Bathroom bill ends up where it belongs – down [...]

In perfect Cleveland Clinic fashion, it was an exhausting, informative, whirlwind week. Mom and my aunt, who have traveled with me to every damn hospitalization and major appointment since I was 16 were able to leave me to my own devices, now that I’m almost 30 (gasp!).  I put on my big girl Depends, and [...]

  Wow, where have I been and what have I been doing? Apparently not blogging. Most recently, I went to New Orleans for the Voodoo Music and Arts Experience to see some dude named Neil Young and another named Jack White.  There were so many good acts, and I have to say, I’m really proud [...]

Hello fellow colonless travelers! (Really, does that “colonless” greeting ever get old?) I have returned from Marfa, TX, the promised land!  Actually, it’s more like eccentric-artsy-fartsy- hippies-in-the-desert- in-the-best-possible-sense-land.  If you are an art nerd, like me, you may have heard of Marfa, best known for the instillations and work of Donald Judd (let me google [...]

So, friends without large bowels, how are you? What’s new? How’s the plumbing working? Mine’s been so-so lately. I feel like I’ve been on the verge of a pouchitis/Crohn’s flare.  It’s not bad enough yet that I have succumbed to my emergency meds.  I know I need to, but I’m stubborn like that.  I’ve pressed [...]