J-pouch Life » UCSF http://www.jpouch.net Stories: Ostomy, Ileostomy, Jpouch, Colitis, Crohn's, Surgery and Support Fri, 30 Dec 2011 05:31:30 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 The Surgery Attack Plan: Part 1, Volume 1 http://www.jpouch.net/2009/04/13/the-surgery-attack-plan-part-1-volume-1/ http://www.jpouch.net/2009/04/13/the-surgery-attack-plan-part-1-volume-1/#comments Tue, 14 Apr 2009 04:05:55 +0000 Brevin http://www.jpouch.net/?p=1685 May 11th. That’s my surgery date. Now I know what you are thinking: “But Brevin, you accredited rocket scientist slash professional gunslinger, isn’t the Lost Season 5 Finale on May 13th?” Why yes, yes it is, but my priorities are shifting around. May 11th also gives me enough time to plan everything I need to address, like flying my mom out, taking care of the teams at work, and breaking up my 27 year old love affair with Kentucky Fried Chicken (it’s not you, it’s me. Although, you really let yourself go when you dropped the TransFats. Just saying.).
I had my surgery consultation this past week at UCSF and I was fully prepared going in. I had medical records, a collection of color-coded questions broken down per category, you name it. But the thing that helped me out the most going in was doing research and getting support from this community. The surgeon super squad pretty much told me everything that I thought I was going to hear and yeah, while it’s still overwhelming and scary as hell, the preparation lessened the shock value. I received a lot of pamphlets on what to expect, what the surgery entails, how to care for it, etc. I haven’t read all of it yet, but I’ll bet money it’s better than Twilight fan-fiction.
I’ll try to summarize as best I can on what they plan on doing with me. I’m still digesting the details, but this is what I gathered so far regarding the first surgery:

I’m Getting a Loop Ileostomy:

Poop comes out here!

Poop comes out here!

I’m not quite sure why some people get an End Ileostomy and others get a Loop Ileostomy, but I’m getting the Loop one. I bet they explain in my information booklets, and Eric mentioned that it’s usually based on the patient’s health and urgency. I doodled the two types for review (and conveniently did not include poop in the drawings, free of charge).

Where The Scars Will Be.
It seems that I’ll get a few lapro incisions with a 4 centimeter horizontal slice right above the pubic bone, similar to what Mark had. I’m amazed how medical technology can remove five feet of organ with these tiny scars. The more I think about it, the more I get creeped out by the mental image. The more I get creeped out, the more I appreciate the fact they can actually pull it off. My biggest concern was the already-present scar on the right side of my stomach (had it since I was a baby), but the surgeon said it shouldn’t factor into the surgery since I’m male (I guess this might have been a slight obstacle if I were female). I don’t know where the ileo-baggy will be placed yet, but at least I mentally blocked in the surgery scars:

I'm glad I remembered to wear pants.

The J-Pouch in Surgery One.
I’m set up for a two part surgery. The first will remove my large intestine and create the j-pouch, with the loop ileostomy configured for my ileo-baggy. I then heal up for three months and go for the second surgery, which should be the Take-Down.

What’s Next.
Pre-op is May 5th. That’s when they will check my tummy to see where the ileo-baggy will fit best. I’ll also be going for a CT scan of my small intestine to confirm that it’s not Crohn’s. Until then, I’m still shooting for my 2,500 to 3,000 calorie diet and trying to increase my protein intake. I’m allergic to peanuts so I can’t eat most of the protein bars, but I did find a giant box of chocolate chip Cliff bars at Costco. I also found an industrial size tub of mayonnaise, got some jerky samples, and regretted both 10 minutes later.

These posts might also help out:

]]> http://www.jpouch.net/2009/04/13/the-surgery-attack-plan-part-1-volume-1/feed/ 36 My Tongue VS Surgery: Round One http://www.jpouch.net/2009/04/01/my-tongue-vs-surgery-round-one/ http://www.jpouch.net/2009/04/01/my-tongue-vs-surgery-round-one/#comments Thu, 02 Apr 2009 03:21:29 +0000 Brevin http://www.jpouch.net/?p=1591 Time flies. Back on February 6th, I posted on this site about how long the wait was to see the GI at UCSF, and then, in a desperate attempt at optimism, threw out some possible perks to having UC. In your face, optimism! Turns out all I needed was a billion distractions and BAM! I saw the GI at UCSF last week and she referred me to Surgery. My Pre-Op consultation is this Friday the 3rd! I’ll hopefully have a huge update then.
In some sick, medical twist on Hansel and Gretel, the GI at UCSF is starting to fatten me up. I’m gunning for a 2,500 to 3,000 calorie diet, with an emphasis on carbs and protein. This sort of works in my favor, since I’m secretly training for the World’s Strongest Man competition anyway and am planning on lifting a small European car (with all Options included) to impress my boss. Not really, but I tell myself that as I’m taking protein supplements to help with my diet.

My biggest concern right now is my mouth. I’ve been going to the UCSF Oral Medicine department to have it checked out, and the most common thing I hear is “we’ve never seen this”. While I doubt I’m some medical anomaly, I want to check in with the UC and J-Pouch community to see if anybody has experienced or heard about this:
I have massive cracks (called fissures) on my tongue. They are deep canyons that look horribly painful, but I actually can’t feel. What I can feel are little ulcers on my tongue. Yeah. My tongue then becomes inflamed, swells up, and I have trouble eating (which sucks when you are trying to gain weight). The folk over at UCSF have never seen my specific condition, but they think it’s a strong chance that it’s related to the immune suppressants. There are also signs of a fungus infection and my gums are very sensitive. They are not sure how to treat it though. I had a total of four experts huddle around my mouth, taking dozens and dozens of awkwardly close pictures. And then the students came in and took even more pictures. I expect plenty of gift baskets if these students get As on their term papers.

My tongue looks really bad and they think there might be permanent scarring. I was going to post a picture on this site so you can see, but my conscience won’t let me.

The last person who saw my tongue

The last person who saw my tongue

The Oral Medicine department is now working closely with the GI department to make sure that my mouth’s treatment doesn’t counteract any surgery developments.
Has anyone heard of this, or experienced it first-hand?

These posts might also help out:

]]> http://www.jpouch.net/2009/04/01/my-tongue-vs-surgery-round-one/feed/ 18 Colonoscopy Results & Questions I Won’t Ask The Surgeon http://www.jpouch.net/2009/01/26/colonoscopy-results-questions-i-wont-ask-the-surgeon/ http://www.jpouch.net/2009/01/26/colonoscopy-results-questions-i-wont-ask-the-surgeon/#comments Tue, 27 Jan 2009 02:44:16 +0000 Brevin http://www.jpouch.net/?p=1379 My latest colonoscopy results are in. Prior to the colonoscopy, I was still in the decision making process and trying to overcome my fear of surgery. Well, the colonoscopy made the decision for me. After seven years of maximum dosage for my ulcerative colitis, I’m not improving. While I could suck it up and keep on trucking, my body is taking a beating from the immunity suppressants on top of the already unpleasant UC conditions. I can’t see myself putting up with this for the rest of my life. My GI is referring me to UCSF. Does anyone have any experience with UCSF, or have you heard anything about them through the J-Pouch community?

Results are in

Results are in

I have a kwazillion questions to ask the surgeon candidate. A kwazillion. Scientists maintain that’s a real number when it comes to questions regarding anything related to a scalpel. I’m currently compiling a list, spanning all areas from the ileostomy bag and the recovery process to insurance coverage and surgery experience. Each time I think of something, I add it to this list. If I don’t break the surgeon down into tears from the mass amount of questions on the list, I obviously don’t have enough questions. There are a few questions I won’t ask the surgeon about having a J-Pouch, though. Questions I won’t ask the surgeon:

1 ) Can I tell my friends I’m half android with a J-Pouch? Or is it half cyborg?
2 ) With the J-Pouch, will I still get nauseous from watching CW ads for 090210 and Gossip Girl?
3 ) Is it true I can time-travel with the J-Pouch if I eat enough chili?
4 ) What are we looking at for the percentage gain in Chick Magnetism with a J-Pouch?
5 ) Did you cry at the end of Titanic? The Notebook?
6 ) Since I weigh less (hello, I’m missing a colon), am I better at Pop-Lock dance routines?
7 ) Do J-Pouchers get discounts?
8 ) Are you House?

These posts might also help out:

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