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Day ten of being a j-poucher

Today marks just over a week since I had my loop ileostomy closed and my jpouch put to work properly. I’m not going to lie, it’s been a weird experience gaining back control over when I poop; weird and a bit painful.

I expected it to be painful so I’m not surprised. It’s similar to the pain I had when I still had my colon but it’s in a more concentrated spot.

I’m taking painkillers regularly but it’s difficult to get comfy, both during the day and at night. I’m finding ways around this though with cushions and laying on my side instead of my back (which I’ve found causes pain in my stomach as well as near my pouch).

As for food, I’m eating four to five small meals/snack during the day, with the last of these being no later that eight in the evening so as to lessen the risk of issues at night.

Speaking of night time, I was terrified I would have leaks and accidents while I slept but, so far, everything’s been fine. I have a pack of incontinence pants just in case but I’m hoping I won’t ever have to use them.

I am home!

Sorry for the lack of updates the last few days, there hasn’t been much to report. But now, I am home. I have been signed off work for the next four weeks so I’ll have plenty of time to adjust and get used to my new “plumbing”.

So far, everything is going well but it’s early days. Hopefully, things will continue to go smoothly and I’ll have little to no issues with my j-pouch.

Seen the consultant this morning…

I’ve started passing tiny bits of gas the last couple of days, as well as green mucus, which the consultant is quite happy with. I’m being changed to free fluids and my PCA pain button will be reduced over the next day. They recon I will be home within forty-eight hours but, knowing my stomach, it’ll likely be longer.

I’m trying to stay positive though, so I’ll give myself until Wednesday next week. That’s when I think I’ll be well enough to go home. If it’s earlier though, great!

Surgery update.

Everything went as planned on Wednesday. I’ve had my stoma reversed and I now have a lovely line of staples running across one side of my tummy.

I’m nil-by-mouth because there is still a lot of gas trapped in my gut but once that passes, I’ll be able to start eating a soft diet. (I’m so bloated, I look like I’m three months pregnant).

Other than that, I’m moving around quite independently and, although I get tired quickly, I’m staying awake for longer now.

It’s the weekend now so I’m going to rest and go for short walks up and down the ward corridor so by Monday, hopefully, I’ll start paying some of that gas.

I was admitted a day early

Last night my pain around my stoma returned and it spread to above my naval. At first, I tried a hot water bottle and drinking plenty but after a few hours, the pain only got worse. I called 111 who advised I speak with a Health Care Professional and put me on the callback list. Within about ten minutes of finishing that call however, my pain spiked and I started throwing up. My partner called 111 again and they sent out an ambulance. I was fitted with a cannula and given IV paracetamol in my bedroom before being taken to my local A&E. I waited for several hours, having blood and urine tests, and an xray of my abdomen done while I did so. I arrived at the hospital around midnight and was in A&E until five in the morning when I was taken to the Acute Surgical Unit. I stayed there all day and have recently been moved to the Surgical Day Unit in preparation for my surgery tomorrow.

The consultant I saw this morning said my small intestine below my stoma looked a bit dilated in the xray and it’s possible I have a partial bowel obstruction. My surgeon said they will need to check my bloods again in the morning before giving the go-a-head for surgery. My inflammation markers are high and my white blood cell count was high last night but went down this morning. Provided that continues to reduce overnight, all should go as planned tomorrow.

Quick pre-surgery update

The last few days I’ve had a pain just above and/or to the left of my stoma. It feels like a partial blockage but it’s not moving and my stoma is still working. I find laying down makes the pain a worse but my hot water bottle helps ease it enough to sleep. I’m avoiding food that can cause blockages or are hard to digest and drinking plenty so hopefully it’ll pass.

Well, that’s annoying.

I arrived at the hospital this morning at seven thirty with my partner and mum. We sat in the waiting room of the Surgical Day Unit for about an hour before I was taken through to see the anaesthetist. I then saw my surgeon to sign the consent form and he informs me I am second on the list. Great, so I shouldn’t be waiting too long, right?

Wrong. I was waiting until about half past three when the booking manager comes over and tell me there has been an emergency and they have to cancel my appointment. Frustrating but I completely understand; no one can predict an emergency.

We got home shortly after this and about an hour later I got some good news; they’ve got a new date in two weeks time.

I won’t deny I was annoyed about having to go home without having had my surgery, but I can’t blame the hospital, my surgeon or the emergency patient. This sort of thing happens and getting angry won’t solve anything. I’m just glad I’ve got a new date so soon.

Surgery tomorrow!

So, tomorrow I am having my stoma taken down. It’s odd but I’m not feeling as nervous as I was a few weeks ago; I’m sort of just impatient to have it over and done with now.

A few weeks ago, I was thinking perhaps I’d made a mistake to have the j-pouch but after talking things through with several people, including my partner and people on an IBD forum, I decided I may as well continue with this route instead of backtracking and arranging to have a permanent stoma.

On another note, I have finally sorted my prescription for
colecalciferol tablets. It’s taken almost a month to get it due to several delays but it’s sorted so that’s one less thing to worry about.

What a saga!

So, I had blood and urine tests done in December last year at the hospital which showed I am very low on vitamin D (among other things) as well as dehydrated. My surgeon sent me a letter requested I get a prescription from my GP for Colecalciferol (50,000 units). I had my partner take to letter to the doctor for me because I was working only for it to take over a week to get the prescription! Once I finally did get the prescription, it took a further week to get the medication from the pharmacist because it was a dose they didn’t normally carry and deliveries were delayed due to snow in the area.

I got the meds eventually only to realise they were huge capsules (I thought they’d be smaller, to be honest) that I knew I would have difficulty digesting with my temperamental stoma. I called the doctor and asked if it would be ok for me to break the capsules and empty the power into yoghurt, like I had done before with Lopermide. She said she wasn’t sure and to ask the pharmacist, which I did the next day. Unfortunately, because these are loading doses, the pharmacist said she didn’t think it would be a good idea to break them in case it altered the absorption of the vitamin. She advised I get the meds in tablet form instead which, thankfully, my GP had already done. I get it sent to my local pharmacy and nope! They can’t get them. So, I get my partner to collect the prescription so I can take it to a different pharmacy to see if they can order it instead.

The request letter was made by my surgeon mid-January. It’s been a month I still don’t have medication I can take. This wouldn’t normally annoy me but I’m due to have my stoma take down in just over a week and I haven’t been able to do what my surgeon wanted. I’m tempted to just leave it until after my surgery because then, I may be able to take the capsules instead of wasting even more resources (not to mention money) on getting these tablets when I’ve only got a week and a half to go until the stoma is gone. I guess I’ll see what the other pharmacy says about getting the tablets then go from there.