I’m a father!

So welcome to world baby Mills. His name is Colston Thomas Mills, born on 3/6/2010, he was 8 pounds 7 ounces (big!) and he’s perfect. Like Mark and Megan’s joke about the bowels, I have a bit of concern for the future of his colon. But, just in case you’re wondering, it’s working really well right now, and he has some fantastic pressure in both ends of his plumbing!

There was a time when I couldn’t lay on my left side because it aggravated my Colitis too much. 4, count them, FOUR years of my life I couldn’t sleep on my left side. Take that, Colitis! Here I am asleep with the little guy. Sleeping with him (on my left side!) is my new favorite activity.

I promise a full story of my Colitis, waiting too long to get it treated, surgery, and recovery. For now, though, please join me in welcoming our baby to the world.

You see, it gets better, I promise.

These posts might also help out:

• April 5, 2010 -- Home from Surgery #1 (1)
• April 6, 2009 -- 4 feet less but still the best: My Jpouch Story (7)
• August 8, 2008 -- Mark 9 month Jpouch Update (48)
• June 6, 2008 -- NY TIMES Jpouch Article (0)

We have a long comment from Cynthia C. and she has a handful of really great questions for the jpouch community. Would you take a few minutes to read her post and see her questions at the end.

Thanks so much!

Megan & Mark

# Cynthia C. Cynthia C. says: February 23rd, 2010 at 11:52 am

Hello Everyone, My name is Cindy and I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis in October of 2009. I first started having symptoms in February of 2008 while I was about 7 months pregnant with my son. I thought the mucus in my stool was a result of being pregnant with a very large baby. I felt fine, and had no other symptoms so I really didn’t have any clue I was developing Colitis. I’ve been healthy my whole life, active in sports and exercise, and at the time I had been a vegetarian for the last 12 years. I started eating meat again around the time I first noticed mucus in my stool. After I had my son, I noticed the mucus came back about three months later. But still no other symptoms. That went away, but in the fall of 2009 the Colitis came back and it was no joke this time. First it started with mucus. Then I began to notice I started losing weight and finally, I began to get really tired. I was starting to get worried, because trips to the bathroom were becoming more frequent and hard to hold. The next and scariest thing that started happening was the blood. I began to bleed little at first but by September of 2009 I was bleeding a lot. I began the process of “freaking out” with the idea that I had colon cancer. I can’t even tell you how scary it is to ponder the cancer cloud hanging over your shoulder. I would just look at my family, my new son and become so utterly depressed. My husband began insisting that we make an appointment with a doctor to really find out what was wrong so I could stop this fantasizing of the worst. I knew I was secretly avoiding this because I was so scared to find out what I had. Finally though, I scheduled an appointment and had my first colonoscopy done. I was so scared to go through with the colonoscopy! It turned out not to be so bad, but man, I’m sure a lot of you already know how disgusting the laxative is to drink. It’s the worst part. I never finished it and it turned out to be fine. We were told the results of the colonoscopy right after the procedure and that’s when I found out I had colitis. No cancer! It’ didn’t hit me right away and I really don’t know if it still has, even though I’ve been through the pain and suffering of having Colitis. My GI doc prescribed Asacol and Prednisone. After three weeks of suffering on Asacol, we discovered I was having a serious bad reaction to it. I became so incredibly sick. The colitis got worse, I could barely walk, I began seeing these intense spots through my eyes, my teeth looked like they were becoming transparent, I was losing weight, and then my liver became inflamed. Finally my GI realized it was the Asacol and I was then put on 6-MP. What a disaster 6-MP was. It had the same effect the Asacol had on me. Suddenly my life was at a standstill. Now its Christmas time and at this point I had been extremely ill for three months. My husband had almost used up all his vacation at work, and my daughter and son were feeling the effects of my illness. The whole family literally became depressed. We were all just so scared and i know I was definitely suffering from depression. I couldn’t spend any time with my 1 ½ year old son and he wanted me so badly. I’m a stay home mom, so he had been used to being with me every day. I know that Prednisone was having an effect on my moods and ignited the depression in me. I got to the point that I couldn’t even laugh anymore. It was like there was a block on laughter in me. Finally, my GI took me off the 6-MP because again my liver was inflamed. I now weighed 114 lbs (I started off at 138) and it’s now January of 2010. The prednisone I was on was horrible. I couldn’t sleep at night and I was so shaky all the time. To top it off, it wasn’t even holding the colitis at bay. By mid January things were getting bad. My husband and I began discussing surgery. I decided I didn’t want to be on meds anymore. This was extremely important to me. I don’t want to take medicine my whole life and then find out 1) they don’t work anymore or 2) I’ve developed some other disease from them, and 3)I wasn’t about to take Remecaid after reading up on all the side effects. So, we scheduled an appointment with the surgeon and set a date to proceed. I couldn’t believe I was about to do this. But if it meant no more colitis, then it’s worth it. I’ll do anything to take this feeling away!! My surgery was scheduled about a month away. At this time I was so sick, it was almost impossible to get out of bed. I was now 100 lbs. I looked like a skeleton and I had dark circles under my eyes. My surgeon decided to bump up my surgery ASAP so now I was scheduled for it to take place in one week! We went over different options and decided on a permanent illeostomy, which gave me the option of getting the j-pouch surgery when I was back to normal weight and my body was healthy again. I decided to just give the “bag” a chance. It was a great relief to know I could go back and get the j-pouch surgery at any point in my life. The week before my surgery I was so scared and nervous. I could not fathom that this was happening to me. I was very excited to get the surgery done, but that emotion was mixed with an intense fear. I’ve never been in the hospital before except to have my two children, so I was really frightened. I was also feeling this strange loss of the fact that I would no longer have a colon! My colon, the thing I was born with, was just going to be taken out and incinerated! Weird. Anyways, the surgery was not as bad as I imagined. The pain was intense at times, but nothing like having a baby! I just upped my epidural dose or took more pain pills and voila! The pain was gone. Being in the hospital for a week was probably the worst part. Even though I had some really awesome nurses, (and one HORRIBLE one) it was so awful being stuck in the bed and not able to move around. And then there was the BAG. I just kept reminding myself that the colitis was gone. My colon was gone too. Dealing with a bag of poop was okay compared to not having a life with my family. I was lucky too. A woman next to me was dealing with cancer. And people in Haiti were suffering big time. Now it’s been three weeks and I feel pretty good. I’m still sore, but I can go places, clean the house, take care of my toddler Finn, and laugh again! My family is back on track, no more sadness in the house, and I can drink coffee again! My husband was an unbelievable support. He not only held down the fort, but took care of our toddler, my 17 year old daughter, worked two jobs, and continued working on an MFA, AND took care of me the whole time. I wish I could give him a vacation to Mexico with unlimited fish tacos and beer. I’m on a low residual diet for a while and can hardly wait until I can eat regular foods and have some wine! The most wonderful feeling is not feeling the colitis in my body. It’s incredible. And the best part, is it will never come back! I’ll be off steroids in one day. I didn’t find that changing the bag was all that difficult. I can hardly wait to find a bag that feels comfortable and suits my needs. Clothing though is becoming a huge problem. My pants close right over the stoma. I need advice what to do about this! I’m not about to wear jeans that go up to my waist! Do they even make those anymore? Plus, I’ve lost so much weight nothing fits and I don’t want to buy anything until I gain my weight back. So thanks to anyone who took the time to read my story. I’ve left out so much believe it or not! I have so many questions to ask all of you- I’m hungry for advice! I appreciate any responses.. Thanks again!

1)Anyone have advice on some sort of “cover” for my bag to not only hold it in place but to conceal it a little better. It’s so annoying how the plastic clasp can hang between my legs. I’m looking for just some sort of band.

2)Advice on clothes!

3)What type of bag works best for you?

4)When can I expect to feel normal, with no more pain from surgery?

5)Did any of you have back pain after surgery? My back is killing me!

6)Should I expect a weird feeling after I stop taking steroids? My Doc said I may feel strange, even though I’ve weaned them off. Okay, I’ll leave it at that for now.

Sorry this is so long! Thanks! Best, Cindy

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• November 10, 2009 -- 6 Months Later: Jaypouchirifical (22)
• November 10, 2009 -- Just Dance! (8)
• March 27, 2010 -- Colston Thomas Mills (5)
• December 13, 2009 -- Welcome Lisa to the “No Colon Club” (1)

This is not me in this picture. But it was so ridiculous I couldn't pass it up.

I’m so over this colon. Its like a pair of jeans that I’ve had forever that I refuse to get rid of. They were great and useful, but now they have a ton of holes in them. But for some reason, I’m hesitant to throw them out. Granted throwing out my favorite denim is a tad different than removing my colon, but you know, same principal. With all the problems and discomfort that I get from this dang thing, you’d think that I’d be more than jumping at the bit to get rid of it. But I’m not. I’m not at all. I’m more than pumped about the possibility of getting rid of it and feeling healthy and maybe getting part of my life back, but the road to get there just seems so daunting. It feels endless. Not only does it feel endless but the road has a damn colostomy bag involved with it. The road is gross. The road is filled with potential problems and questions and uncertainty.

Can you tell I like metaphors?

I have been pondering this surgery for a few weeks now and in that time I have talked to a few nurses and asked a few people at various stages in their surgeries a barrage of questions. I’m pretty sure my last Q an A session ended with “Did you wake up with a butt tube?”  So I’m not afraid to ask questions, but am I a little afraid of some of the answers? Affirmative.

Every time my stomach grumbles, I think about chopping old the ‘ol colon. Every time I sit on the toilet. Every time I second guess eating something. Every time I worry about the location of a bathroom. Every time I am humiliated in one way or another by this disease….I know I need this surgery.

Much like many people out there who are in my diseased bowel shoes, the surgery sounds like a god send. It sounds like an answer to all of our problems, aside from one thing. The one thing that makes me and I’m sure others second guess the WHOLE thing. The one thing that makes me consider living like this for the rest of my life because I can’t even fathom it. You know what I’m talking about. I swear I could just not even say it and we’d all be on the same damn page. But for those of you who are reading this with your head cocked to the side in confusion….its the colostomy bag. Yea, that thing. That super gross thing that makes us all feel disgusting and subhuman. It terrifies me. Its ugly, its stuck to you, and its def a damper for intimacy. I mean seriously, I know people get around it, but how? How do you even think about sex with that thing attached to you.

Yea I said it.

I think I’d probably swear off sex for the entirety of stage one of my surgeries. I cannot imagine living like that permanently.

Yea, I said that too.

I’m not one for sugar coating. I still don’t know what I’ll do just yet. You know, through all of this, since the very beginning of diagnosis I have told myself it can’t get any worse. And without fail, every single time, it has gotten worse. I have had the most ridiculous UC journey, that if it wasn’t me, I might point and laugh. (Eh maybe not, but I would probably talk about me behind my back). It almost seems fitting that I go out with a bang. That this redonkulous ride called UC would end with the removal of a large organ and the attachment of a colostomy bag. Everyday, slowly but surely, I’m getting over this…but I’m not gonna like it.

P.S.  I’ve found the overwhelming urge to write about this crap probably more than usual. So I’m gonna do Jpouch double time and update every so often here and more frequently over here:  http://BloodPoopTears.wordpress.com/

These posts might also help out:

• March 27, 2010 -- Colston Thomas Mills (5)
• February 25, 2010 -- Commenter with Questions (8)
• December 20, 2009 -- New website for gay people who are affected! (2)
• December 13, 2009 -- Welcome Lisa to the “No Colon Club” (1)

We’d love to have jpouch.net give Lisa some great support and go visit her blog and UC to Jpouch Story Lisa’s UC to Jpouch Story .  She has just had Step 1 surgery and on the mend. She is new to the community and as we all know could use some jpouch support.  Meet Lisa in some of the below photos before surgery – we hope to see her in back to happy photos soon after this recovery! Lisa’s UC to Jpouch Story

These posts might also help out:

• March 27, 2010 -- Colston Thomas Mills (5)
• February 25, 2010 -- Commenter with Questions (8)
• February 19, 2010 -- Blood, Poop, and Tears (2)
• August 8, 2008 -- Mark 9 month Jpouch Update (48)

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:

• February 25, 2010 -- Commenter with Questions (8)
• March 27, 2010 -- Colston Thomas Mills (5)
• January 25, 2009 -- Jessalynn (10)
• January 4, 2009 -- Boots’ UC Journey (0)

Surgery day, March 27th, seemed like torture as I laid in my hospital bed with the clock on the wall across from me. I watched the minute hand tick as I waited for my 3pm surgery. I was finally taken from my room and wheeled down to the basement where I would have my 6 hour surgery. My doctors told me that I would feel better almost immediately, and I really did. The day after surgery I felt a different kind of pain. It wasn’t my usual sharp pain that made me sit in the fetal position, but just normal pain from just having surgery. My colon was sent to pathology because it still had to be determined whether it was definitely Colitis or Crohn’s. My colon was diseased at the sigmoid colon and then it skipped a large part that was “healthy” and the colitis showed up again at the ascending colon. This is uncommon in Colitis which led to the possibility of Crohn’s. I was relieved when the results came back as Colitis. I think for a split second it was the only time I was happy to have Colitis.

I must confess when I found out I was going to have a temporary ostomy, I did not take it well. I thought I was going to look like a freak and everyone would be able to notice. I told my parents I wasn’t going to leave my house the entire time I had it, I wasn’t going to do anything and just sit at home. The first time I saw my stoma, I didn’t know how to feel. I couldn’t handle the fact that part of my small intestine was now sticking out of my skin, this is not how it’s supposed to be. I eventually got better with it and with the help of amazing ostomy nurses I learned how I would take care of it for the next couple of months. I remember seeing my doctors for the first time after my surgery and asking when I could eat, it was the first time in months that I actually had an appetite. My doctors told me I had to name my stoma, I told them I didn’t plan on getting that attached. Little did I know how attached I would really get to it. I eventually gave him a name, yes somehow I decided it was a male entity and his name was Jeffrey. I was finally released from the hospital and returned home where I had a home nurse for a few weeks. After a month or so I finally returned to school and was able to finish the semester only having to drop 2 classes and miraculously achieved a 3.75. My biggest fear of not being able to stay on track with school was over, it was now summer and I was in the clear, or so I thought.

My next surgery was scheduled for July 23rd. I figured this gave me 6 weeks of recovery to start school again in the fall. Everything looked good, my health was up, and I felt like a new person. I must say that though I thought I would never leave my house with an ostomy I did everything I would have done without having one. I went camping, went on a road trip to Ohio, swam, went to amusement parks and went on rollercoaster’s, went tubing on the lake, lived a normal life. My friends made living with Jeffrey so much easier. We joked about it and by having a common name like Jeffrey made it possible to talk about it no matter where we were. My friends never treated me differently and I appreciated that the most throughout my whole ordeal

I went in the morning of my surgery; everything went as planned though they were unable to connect everything in one surgery, so I still had Jeffrey which was a disappointment. I would continue to be let down when I found out I had gotten an infection inside near my pouch and another one in my incision. On the plus side, due to my infection I received a private room which made it easier for my mom to stay the night. I must mention the hospital I had my surgeries done at was an hour from my home so my mom stayed with me every day and night. I am thankful to have a mom who stuck by my side as much as she did, I don’t know how I would have gotten through it all without her. Due to the infection in my incision I had all my staples removed and the incision was wide open and it was packed. Doctors would come in daily to check and see how the infection was. When I say doctors I mean many doctors, there were like eight of them standing all around my bed and they would lean in to see my huge incision. I felt like I was a patient on Grey’s Anatomy.

I was finally released from the hospital 17 days after my surgery to go home on antibiotics for my infections. Once I returned home, my home nurse was re-instated and things seemed to be going ok. That all went downhill really fast. I was vomiting and became really dehydrated. After 8 days of being home, I returned to the hospital to get liquids and was admitted once again to keep an eye on me. After being in the hospital for 8 days I went home with my second picc line for antibiotics, my first one was taken out after a few days because I developed a blood clot in my arm. Things seemed to be going well and after a CT scan showed the infection near my pouch was gone I had my picc line removed. I returned to classes but my health started deteriorating again. The second week of classes I found myself back in the hospital due to dehydration. After finding out that the infection had come back I had a third picc line put in. I also had a tube placed through the top part of my butt and placed near my pouch where the infection was to hopefully help drain it. Now I really looked like a freak. I had a tube attached to a bag coming out of my back that I had to pin to the inside of my sweatpants, a picc line hanging out of my left arm, Jeffrey was still there and I had lost about 50 pounds since the whole thing started which meant all my clothes were falling off of me. Still I was determined to go to school and with the help of family they drove me the 45 minutes from home to St. John Fisher College. Things definitely started to look up, I had my tube removed, then eventually my picc line and I felt fantastic. My third and final surgery was scheduled for December 10th, the day after I finished my finals.

My third surgery went so well, better than I could have guessed. I went in on Wednesday and returned home on Friday, my shortest stay yet! It’s been almost a month since my surgery, my incision isn’t completely healed but I feel great. I feel like I’ve been given a second chance, I feel like I’ve started a new life. When I was going through it I would sometimes find myself asking “why me” but feeling bad for myself wasn’t going to get me anywhere so I sucked it up, dealt with it, put my best foot forward and kept going on with my life, trying not to let it take over me. So many people have said, “You’re too young to go through something like that”. I feel it was the best time. I was at the age where I could understand what was going on, research stuff on my own, had the ambition to go on and achieve all that I wanted, and had the great support of amazing friends to help me through it all. I think surgery was the best thing that has ever happened to me, my best decision (not that I really had a choice). Now that it’s just about a month since takedown I find myself going to the bathroom about 6 times a day with the help of Imodium. This seems like nothing compared to the 20 or more times before my surgeries. What doesn’t break us makes us stronger, and I feel like I have grown a lot as a person since all of this has happened.

These posts might also help out:

• March 27, 2010 -- Colston Thomas Mills (5)
• February 25, 2010 -- Commenter with Questions (8)
• January 4, 2009 -- Boots’ UC Journey (0)
• May 11, 2008 -- UC to J-Pouch Surgery (22)

Men in Boots

Hi, my name is Mike and this is my story of living with UC and having the surgery. The unique point of my story is that I’m a 22-year old gay male, and so, living with an intestinal disease has had a rough effect on my identity as a gay man and my overall self-esteem.

I was diagnosed with a severe case of Ulcerative Colitis in February 2008. In December 2007 I started going to the bathroom about twice day

Read my full story here and pictures are coming soon!

Photo via: ljcybergal

These posts might also help out:

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Over the next 5 years I tried multiple medications, Prednisone, Immuran, Asacol, Lomitil, Rowasa enemas, nothing gave me relief. Also over those 5 years I had a child, though advised not to, and continued working, I run a group home caring for developmentally disabled adults. But pooping my pants in public and paranoia that surrounded being in public and begun to take their toll, I was not the happy person I once was, the UC was controlling my life, as much as I tried not to let it, I had become it’s prisoner.

In June of 2004 I had another Colonoscopy, I had been doing some research and had learned about j-pouches. In my groggy state during the colonoscopy I remember looking on the monitor and seeing my colon, it was a bloody, pus filled ulcerated mess, my insides were rotting inside of me, I told my GI right then and there that it needed to come out. I found a CR surgeon that I liked and scheduled a 3 step, possible 2 step j-pouch surgery for September 24, 2004. I woke up with a total proctocolectomy, rectum and colon removed, no j-pouch formed, my rectal stump (anus) intact, and an end ileostomy…A BAG!

I never went back and had the j-pouch done, as I came to the realization as I lay in Hospital recovering, I was laying in the Hospital recovering, I was not jumping up to use the bathroom. My recovery was not easy, I had some complications, but once I got back on track, I felt my old self, my true self returning. I was able to be the Mother my son deserved and needed, and the Woman my Husband had married in the first place. Yeah, I had a bag hanging from my belly…so what? At least I could sit through a movie, wait in a line, and hold my sleeping child in my arms, things that were not possible for me before.

One of the things that also has helped me on my journey has been my involvement with the UOAA, it started when I heard about the 2005 National Conference to be held in Anaheim, CA. Since Anaheim is only about 90 minutes from our front door, I decided that my Husband and I should attend, it will be good for us I thought, and we would probably never go again.  Well that Conference was a life changer for me, I already was confident and secure with my ostomy, but did feel alone.  Walking into a room with hundreds of other ostomates, and specifically about 75 other Young Adults with ostomies was one of the most empowering moments of my life, and really changed the course of my life, it gave me a new focus.

Since then I have become the Vice President of the Ostomy Association of San Diego, and continue to serve in that position, traveled to Irvine, CA, Chicago, IL and Cleveland, OH twice for UOAA (United Ostomy Associations of America; www.uoaa.org) and YODAA (Young Ostomate and diversion Alliance of America; www.yodaa.org) Conferences, and plan on attending the UOAA’s 2009 National Conference in New Orleans, LA. This past summer I was a volunteer Counselor for Youth Rally (www.rally4youth.org) a Summer camp for kids 11-17 with ostomies, diversions, IBD and bowel and bladder incontinence. I always look forward to spending time with my “second family” the people that I have met along my journey. We all share an instant bond and connection, we have walked similar roads and understand what the other has been though, you won’t find pity, but you will receive support, love and understanding.

Looking back, of course I wish I never got sick and would never want to have an ostomy, but this is the path my life has taken. I choose to find positives and lessons in everything, and make it my mission to reach out to other people helping them find acceptance and happiness with their ostomies just as I have.

I feel that support is very important, when it comes to ostomies you have to seek it out, you would never know another person on the street has an ostomy or diversion, so using the internet and support groups is a wonderful resource and I encourage everyone to learn more, whether at a local support group meeting or online on the wonderful discussions boards available, especially at www.uoaa.org.

As for me, I continue to run the group home, my son, Hendrix just started Kindergarten, and my Husband and I are about to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary. I continue to have great adventures and good times, we have traveled, my son and I take Kung-fu, I swim, snorkel, ride my bike and live a happy and active life. My ostomy does not hold me back; it has given me back the life I always wanted.

Hiking with my Family on the Road to Hana

Me, swimming in Maui, HI

These posts might also help out:

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Jacobs didn’t take care of himself when he was out of rehab. He chained-smoked, ate poorly and soon developed ulcerative colitis, a stomach ailment involving the chornic inflammation of the large instestine (his father died from complications relating to this disease). “It was really debilitating,” says Jacobs. “I was in a lot of pain, and it kept getting worse, with more outbreaks and flare-ups. I lost so much time every day in the bathroom, uncomfortable and ill.” He relasped in 2006, but decided to try a different way to address his problem: He hired a nutritionist who advised a drastic lifestyle change, with no sugar, dairy, coffee or flour, plus exceercise, macrobiotic food, a nap and sunshine every afternoon. “Instead of Wendy’s five times a day at weird hours, and Coca-Cola after Coca-Cola, now I’m drinking six bottles of water, green vegetable juice and wheat-grass shots iwth giners,” he says laughing.

(Grigoriadis, 2008, p. 136)

Here is a video with an interview with Marc Jacobs, showing how he eats healthy, he even takes VSL#3…

Video from Style.com of the fall/winter 2007 Marc Jacobs Fashion Show below.  People living with UC achieve great things. Hopefully, Marc will do public advocacy for UC since it affects him and affected his father.

Reference:  Grigoriadis, V. (2008, November 27). The deep shallowness of Marc Jacobs. Rolling Stone, Issue 1066, p 61-65, 136.

These posts might also help out:

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Hi everyone. My name is Casey, I’m 21 and live in Florida. I took a lot of pictures through the last year of my surgeries and decided to share in hopes of helping someone going through the same situation. Feel free to ask questions or just leave comments! my email is yesac87@hotmail.com

sick times

I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in Jan ’07 when I was 19. I was put on Asacol and did not respond. For some reason I missed the learning period of being able to swallow pills and was chewing them unaware that they were a time release medication. About 2 mo. later I was hospitalized for a month to get the first flare up under control. They took me off Asocol and started me on IV steroids and Cyclosporine. I had many blood transfusions because I was losing a lot of blood in my stool. It was a very tough month, I was vomiting everything I tried to eat and lost about 30lbs. I was still taking cyclosporine and prednisone 11 mo. later when I decided to go through with surgery.

big face

Casey’s Blog and Photos Here

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