Good bye Ostomy!
I am going to walk you by each day by day progression.
Day 0 - Prepare for surgery. Liquid diet, NPO after midnight. Pack bags, remove nail polish, find our dog a sitter.
Day 1- Illeostomy Take Down. Woke up early and headed to the hospital. Surgery took about 90 minutes. Pain was manageable and controlled with dilaudid. Diet consisted of ice cubes. Once gas or BM happens the diet will progress back to clear liquids.
Day 2- One Day after Illeostomy Take Down. Was given antibiotics and probiotics to clear up pouchitis. Both of these drugs made me sick. No surprise, these medicine shouldn't be taken on a empty stomach. Threw up 3 times, it wasn't pretty. Eventually, I passed some gas. Then my surgeon came in and advanced my diet to clear liquids.
Day 3- Two Days after Illeostomy Take Down. Was given different antibiotics and probiotics. Finally the nausea went away. My doctor came in and removed the baid aid so I could see the sight where the ostomy was, and it looks pretty good. My surgeon thinks that I will go home on Thursday if all goes well. Diet was promoted to full liquids.
Day 4 - Three Days after Illeostomy Take Down. Was promoted to low fiber foods. And Discharged from the hospital. Homeward bound.
2-Weeks after Illeostomy Take Down. The ostomy sight is starting to scab over and heel. The pouch is working, I am going 8-10 times per day and 2 times at night. I am feeling some pretty intense urgency which is a bit frustrating. I hope that all this improves. Haven't had much issues with butt burn, but I use calmoseptine as a preventive measure and I also have a bidet. Still on a low fiber diet. Overall I feel happy to be without the ostomy bag. I am now wearing jeans again, and in general I am much more comfortable.
Monday, October 20, 2014
Friday, September 26, 2014
Last Herceptin Treatment
Today was my last Herceptin Treatment!!!!!!
Herceptin is was used to treat the specific kind of cancer I had. Her2negatitive. Herceptin works by killing just the cancer cells, so it doesn't have all the mean side affects of chemo. However it is still a infusion and I received it every 3 weeks. It usually made me tired though. Maybe it is just the stress of having to been at the cancer infusion center. So I am happy to not have to go through that ordeal anymore. Yay, one more thing off the medical check list! :-)
Herceptin is was used to treat the specific kind of cancer I had. Her2negatitive. Herceptin works by killing just the cancer cells, so it doesn't have all the mean side affects of chemo. However it is still a infusion and I received it every 3 weeks. It usually made me tired though. Maybe it is just the stress of having to been at the cancer infusion center. So I am happy to not have to go through that ordeal anymore. Yay, one more thing off the medical check list! :-)
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Pouch O' Gram & Flex Scope
Yesterday had to run some tests on my J-Pouch to see if everything was healed up properly. This way, I can move onto the third and hopefully final stage of the j-pouch.
I had my Pouch O' Gram at 9:00 AM which was good, because I couldn't eat or drink anything after midnight the night before. So the Pouch O Gram involves inserting a small tube into the stoma and injecting die (iodine) into the j-pouch and then taking an e-ray. By doing this, they can see if the j-pouch is water tight. It felt more uncomfortable than I imagined it would, but it wasn't unbearable. I brought extra ostomy supplies with me, because they had to remove the bag to run this test.
The Flex Scope was shortly after. This test involved inserting a small camera rectally to see the inside of the j-pouch. My j-pouch was really inflamed. Which I am worried about, I've been having some bleeding for awhile now. When I notified my surgeon about this she thought the pouch was just healing or that I was having a UC flare (I guess they leave a small part of the colon so they can reconnect everything, and that part can still become inflamed.) Turns out I have a case of pouchitis. There really isn't a known cause of pouchitis. I am on antibiotics to try to clear it up. So we will see how all that goes. Anyways another thing they do in the flex scope, is blow air in the j-pouch to make sure it is air tight. I passed this portion of the test as well.
So my surgery is tentatively schedule to happen in a couple of weeks depending on my pouchitis clearing up. Keeping my figures crossed. Although I am so nervous for the 3rd portion, that I am okay putting it off for a bit.
I had my Pouch O' Gram at 9:00 AM which was good, because I couldn't eat or drink anything after midnight the night before. So the Pouch O Gram involves inserting a small tube into the stoma and injecting die (iodine) into the j-pouch and then taking an e-ray. By doing this, they can see if the j-pouch is water tight. It felt more uncomfortable than I imagined it would, but it wasn't unbearable. I brought extra ostomy supplies with me, because they had to remove the bag to run this test.
The Flex Scope was shortly after. This test involved inserting a small camera rectally to see the inside of the j-pouch. My j-pouch was really inflamed. Which I am worried about, I've been having some bleeding for awhile now. When I notified my surgeon about this she thought the pouch was just healing or that I was having a UC flare (I guess they leave a small part of the colon so they can reconnect everything, and that part can still become inflamed.) Turns out I have a case of pouchitis. There really isn't a known cause of pouchitis. I am on antibiotics to try to clear it up. So we will see how all that goes. Anyways another thing they do in the flex scope, is blow air in the j-pouch to make sure it is air tight. I passed this portion of the test as well.
So my surgery is tentatively schedule to happen in a couple of weeks depending on my pouchitis clearing up. Keeping my figures crossed. Although I am so nervous for the 3rd portion, that I am okay putting it off for a bit.
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Complication with Reconstruction
Exactly 10 days after my breast reconstruction surgery I had a major complication...........
I noticed a bit of a bruise on lefty, didn't think about it much and went to bed. In the morning my entire left breast was black, blue, and purple. I called my surgeon straight away, and she informed me that I needed to come into the hospital right away. I was freaking out majorly and was an emotional wreck.
Turns out that one of my veins that they connected the new tissue with had collapsed. This was a major problem. I was to be what my surgeon called, "sat on" for a couple of days to determine a course of action. What does this mean?
I was to be observed in the hospital. If things got worse, I would need emergency surgery. And I would lose lefty once again. They gave me blood thinners, to clear up the clots. Luckily my surgeon used two veins, she informed that some only use one vein, had that been the case I wouldn't have been able to keep my left breast. I was informed that it is actually really rare to have a vein collapse. I was feeling partially depressed, why is it always me?! Lefty actually tried to kill me again, what a trouble maker.
The blood thinners seamed to help, after a couple of days the bruising improved. And I got to return home from the hospital. However the flap started to shrink and therefore opened up around my incisions. So I have a large wound that I am taking care of. Keeping it clean by doing wet to dry, twice per day. Which basically involves putting gauze on after I shower, and then letting the gauze fall off in the shower. Seams to be working. It starting to close up, just taking it's time.
I am super happy I got to keep lefty.
I noticed a bit of a bruise on lefty, didn't think about it much and went to bed. In the morning my entire left breast was black, blue, and purple. I called my surgeon straight away, and she informed me that I needed to come into the hospital right away. I was freaking out majorly and was an emotional wreck.
Turns out that one of my veins that they connected the new tissue with had collapsed. This was a major problem. I was to be what my surgeon called, "sat on" for a couple of days to determine a course of action. What does this mean?
I was to be observed in the hospital. If things got worse, I would need emergency surgery. And I would lose lefty once again. They gave me blood thinners, to clear up the clots. Luckily my surgeon used two veins, she informed that some only use one vein, had that been the case I wouldn't have been able to keep my left breast. I was informed that it is actually really rare to have a vein collapse. I was feeling partially depressed, why is it always me?! Lefty actually tried to kill me again, what a trouble maker.
The blood thinners seamed to help, after a couple of days the bruising improved. And I got to return home from the hospital. However the flap started to shrink and therefore opened up around my incisions. So I have a large wound that I am taking care of. Keeping it clean by doing wet to dry, twice per day. Which basically involves putting gauze on after I shower, and then letting the gauze fall off in the shower. Seams to be working. It starting to close up, just taking it's time.
I am super happy I got to keep lefty.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Breast Reconstruction-Part 1
After much debate about weather or not I should do breast reconstruction, I went for it.
I decided to do the Profunda Artery Perforator Flap (PAP)
This is an exciting alternative to abdominal, back, or buttock tissue flap for reconstruction of a natural looking and soft, shapely breast. The surgery was done by taking tissue and veins from the back of my legs, right under the but crease. That tissue was then shaped to mimic a mastectomy specimen, providing excellent contour and projection. The procedure uses the arterial perforator that run through or beside the abductor magnums muscle to supply blood to the fat and skin in the upper inner and posterior thigh. No muscle is harvested, and the scars in not visible from the front, so it is usually well-concealed.
A large part of doing the surgery is to promote self esteem and heeling. So it was important to me that I not be left with another large scar to look at on regular basis. With the PAP the scar is on my backside and unless I want to look at it, I'll never know it is there.
As a young athletic woman I wanted to have full range of movement for the quality of my life. And another huge benefit of the PAP for me was that no muscle was removed. Unlike the Latissimus Dorsi, TUG, and the DIEP Flap proceedures.
Since I received radiation, implants weren't a great option. And they would need to be replaced every 10 years. I didn't like the sound of that, just needed this whole thing to be done with.
The surgery itself was really long, like 10-12 hours long. And overall it was more painful than I anticipated. Mostly because the large incisions on the back of my legs, and I had to sit on them constantly. Still not able to sleep on side or tummy, so as not to mess up the newly reconstructed breasts. So I am still pretty uncomfortable.
I decided to do the Profunda Artery Perforator Flap (PAP)
This is an exciting alternative to abdominal, back, or buttock tissue flap for reconstruction of a natural looking and soft, shapely breast. The surgery was done by taking tissue and veins from the back of my legs, right under the but crease. That tissue was then shaped to mimic a mastectomy specimen, providing excellent contour and projection. The procedure uses the arterial perforator that run through or beside the abductor magnums muscle to supply blood to the fat and skin in the upper inner and posterior thigh. No muscle is harvested, and the scars in not visible from the front, so it is usually well-concealed.
A large part of doing the surgery is to promote self esteem and heeling. So it was important to me that I not be left with another large scar to look at on regular basis. With the PAP the scar is on my backside and unless I want to look at it, I'll never know it is there.
As a young athletic woman I wanted to have full range of movement for the quality of my life. And another huge benefit of the PAP for me was that no muscle was removed. Unlike the Latissimus Dorsi, TUG, and the DIEP Flap proceedures.
Since I received radiation, implants weren't a great option. And they would need to be replaced every 10 years. I didn't like the sound of that, just needed this whole thing to be done with.
The surgery itself was really long, like 10-12 hours long. And overall it was more painful than I anticipated. Mostly because the large incisions on the back of my legs, and I had to sit on them constantly. Still not able to sleep on side or tummy, so as not to mess up the newly reconstructed breasts. So I am still pretty uncomfortable.
Friday, August 29, 2014
Sold my dance studio! I am unemployeed!
I should have posted this a couple of months ago, but I have been
busy! So over the next couple of days I plan to get everyone updated on
the saga that is my life.
I sold my dance studio! Yep that happened. I never imaged that I would ever do such a thing. I finally got to a point in my life where nothing was working out. If it was meant to be it would have been. People keep asking me why, and I have many reasons so I am going to try to organize them here.
1.) I am no longer able to teach dance, due to my many health problems. I am not sure when I will be able to dance again, it is getting hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I still have 3-4 surgeries ahead of me and 2 Herceptin treatments. With my UC will I ever be continent again? Kind of hard to dance with an ostomy, you never know when you'll spring a leak. What will having a j-pouch be like? Will my BC return? If so will I survive it again?
2.) Time. Last week, this week, and next week I have three doctors appointments. I was told early on that things would eventually slow down, well they haven't at all. It is hard to run a business when you are spending %50-%75 of your time battling health issues. My students and clients deserved someone who could be at the dance studio, and that just isn't possible for the time being.
3.) Confidence.......The last year I've been spending a lot of time asking myself what if? What if I didn't make it, who would run the studio? Would that burden fall onto my family? Would it close?
4.) Priorities........Should I really be spending 60-70 hours a week working? Especially if those hours are nights and weekend (aka time with family and friends).
5.) Stress! What if all the stress of running a business caused some of my health problems? How is staying put and maintaining the same lifestyle beneficial?
6.) I need a CHANGE! Every heartbreaking experience (chemo, surgery, radiation, etc.) has been in this community. Owning a business like a dance studio nails you to one spot. With the studio I couldn't move on even if I wanted to. And I can't help but be reminded of all the negative stuff that has happened. I would like to someday be happy or even just okay.
I could go on and on about all the reasons why I decided to sell the studio. But it wouldn't change the fact I let go of my lifelong dream and that is just depressing. How many people honestly train their entire lives for their job? My stupid ongoing health issues forced me to cut my loses and move on. And I still feel sad about how everything worked out. I loved teaching and dancing. I miss it. I am hoping that someday I will be okay with my decision, but currently I feel defeated.
I sold my dance studio! Yep that happened. I never imaged that I would ever do such a thing. I finally got to a point in my life where nothing was working out. If it was meant to be it would have been. People keep asking me why, and I have many reasons so I am going to try to organize them here.
1.) I am no longer able to teach dance, due to my many health problems. I am not sure when I will be able to dance again, it is getting hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I still have 3-4 surgeries ahead of me and 2 Herceptin treatments. With my UC will I ever be continent again? Kind of hard to dance with an ostomy, you never know when you'll spring a leak. What will having a j-pouch be like? Will my BC return? If so will I survive it again?
2.) Time. Last week, this week, and next week I have three doctors appointments. I was told early on that things would eventually slow down, well they haven't at all. It is hard to run a business when you are spending %50-%75 of your time battling health issues. My students and clients deserved someone who could be at the dance studio, and that just isn't possible for the time being.
3.) Confidence.......The last year I've been spending a lot of time asking myself what if? What if I didn't make it, who would run the studio? Would that burden fall onto my family? Would it close?
4.) Priorities........Should I really be spending 60-70 hours a week working? Especially if those hours are nights and weekend (aka time with family and friends).
5.) Stress! What if all the stress of running a business caused some of my health problems? How is staying put and maintaining the same lifestyle beneficial?
6.) I need a CHANGE! Every heartbreaking experience (chemo, surgery, radiation, etc.) has been in this community. Owning a business like a dance studio nails you to one spot. With the studio I couldn't move on even if I wanted to. And I can't help but be reminded of all the negative stuff that has happened. I would like to someday be happy or even just okay.
I could go on and on about all the reasons why I decided to sell the studio. But it wouldn't change the fact I let go of my lifelong dream and that is just depressing. How many people honestly train their entire lives for their job? My stupid ongoing health issues forced me to cut my loses and move on. And I still feel sad about how everything worked out. I loved teaching and dancing. I miss it. I am hoping that someday I will be okay with my decision, but currently I feel defeated.
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Ostomates Food Reference Chart
I was given this Ostomates Food Reference Chart in the hospital. I thought it was helpful, so I am going to share it with you all. Honestly I wish this would have been given to me a year ago when I first got my ostomy, because I have found it helpful.
This is for individuals who have had ostomy surgery, it is is important to know the effects of various foods on ileal output. The effects may vary with the remaining portion of functiong bowel. Listed below are some general guidelines of the effects of foods after ostomy surgery. Use trial and error to determine your individual tolerance. Do not be afraid to try foods that you like, just try small amounts.
Stoma Obstructive
Apple Peels
Cabbage, raw
Celery
Chinese vegatables
Corn, whole kernel
Coconuts
Dried fruit
Mushrooms
Oranges
Nuts
Pineapple
Popcorn
Seeds
Gas Producing
Alcoholic bev.
Beans
Soy
Cabbage
Carbonated bev.
Cauliflower
Cucumbers
Dairy products
Chewing gum
Milk
Nuts
Onions
Radishes
Odor Producing
Asparagus
Baked Beans
Broccoli
Cabbage
Cod liver oil
Eggs
Fish
Garlic
Onions
Peanut Butter
Some Vitamins
Strong Cheese
Color Changes
Asparagus
Beets
Food colors
Iron Pills
Licorice
Red Jello
Strawberries
Tomato Sauces
Constipation Relief
Coffee, warm/hot
Cooked fruits
Cooked vegetables
Fresh fruits
Fruit Juices
Water
Any warm or hot beverage
Increased Stools
Alcoholic bev.
Whole grains
Bran cereals
Cooked Cabbage
Fresh Fruits
Greens, leafy
Milk
Prunes
Raisins
Raw vegetables
Spices
Odor Control
Buttermilk
Cranberry juice
Orange juice
Parsley
Tomato juice
Yogurt
Diarrhea Control
Applesauce
Bananas
Boiled Rice
Peanut Butter
Pectin Supplement (fiber)
Tapioca
Toast
This is for individuals who have had ostomy surgery, it is is important to know the effects of various foods on ileal output. The effects may vary with the remaining portion of functiong bowel. Listed below are some general guidelines of the effects of foods after ostomy surgery. Use trial and error to determine your individual tolerance. Do not be afraid to try foods that you like, just try small amounts.
Stoma Obstructive
Apple Peels
Cabbage, raw
Celery
Chinese vegatables
Corn, whole kernel
Coconuts
Dried fruit
Mushrooms
Oranges
Nuts
Pineapple
Popcorn
Seeds
Gas Producing
Alcoholic bev.
Beans
Soy
Cabbage
Carbonated bev.
Cauliflower
Cucumbers
Dairy products
Chewing gum
Milk
Nuts
Onions
Radishes
Odor Producing
Asparagus
Baked Beans
Broccoli
Cabbage
Cod liver oil
Eggs
Fish
Garlic
Onions
Peanut Butter
Some Vitamins
Strong Cheese
Color Changes
Asparagus
Beets
Food colors
Iron Pills
Licorice
Red Jello
Strawberries
Tomato Sauces
Constipation Relief
Coffee, warm/hot
Cooked fruits
Cooked vegetables
Fresh fruits
Fruit Juices
Water
Any warm or hot beverage
Increased Stools
Alcoholic bev.
Whole grains
Bran cereals
Cooked Cabbage
Fresh Fruits
Greens, leafy
Milk
Prunes
Raisins
Raw vegetables
Spices
Odor Control
Buttermilk
Cranberry juice
Orange juice
Parsley
Tomato juice
Yogurt
Diarrhea Control
Applesauce
Bananas
Boiled Rice
Peanut Butter
Pectin Supplement (fiber)
Tapioca
Toast
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