I got meet up with two great gals to discuss life with an ostomy on their “Guts and Glory” podcast!
Two Toronto based women discuss their experiences living with IBD. Lisa has Crohn’s and Chantel has Crohns and ulcerative colitis. Together they share their ups and downs battling IBD. Lisa and Chantel explore what it really means to have IBD; the moments that require true guts and the glorious moments too. Real and fun advice from two gutsy women.
We talked about life before and after my surgery and I got to share some details on what living with an ostomy has been like these past four years.
Thank you for sharing that!
So glad that you’ve been able to get your life back, despite some ongoing health challenges.
I hope that anyone who’s been living with ongoing IBD that hasn’t been brought under control can at least see that surgery is an open treatment option for many.
Wishing you the best!
Eric
Hi Eric,
Thank you for doing this interview. My experience with Crohn’s is quite similar to yours, although more prolonged. I started getting sick in my early thirties, but did not have ostomy surgery until I was 59. I can’t even begin to descibe what happened over the years, just thinking about it gets me upset. I was extremely ill during the half year leading up to the ostomy. My surgery was done on an emergency basis. I had not considered that as an option or understood that was an option. I just kept on hoping that somehow the meds were going to kick in. I felt like I was going to die, and I would have given a couple more days. My colon was perforating in several places. Looking back, I should have been more forthcoming about going to the doctor, but hope springs eternal that it would go away, that I would get better. I was just trying to survive at the time.
Having an ostomy not only gave me my life back, it gave me life. And appreciation and gratefulness that I have this chance to keep living. Only those who have been there themselves can understand that. Yes, it is true for us and no joke — better with a bag than in a bag. I still have pain problems, neuropathy, skin problems, joint problems. But it is all manageable, and nothing compared to what I went through. I can do just about anything I really want to do, with some accommodation to having the bag. I can get out of the house, take a hike, without worrying about shitting in my pants! It’s the simple things in life that make us happy.