So here I am starting my third and hopefully last message feed…the first was “6 months…what to do”, the second “11 months…and counting”. Here I am now – “34 months…LIS, that’s all folks”.
Had anyone told me that I would be dealing with this stuff close to 3 years I would not have believed them…but here I am. The good is that the last 12-18 months have not been so bad – in fact, I would characterize it as some discomfort, annoyance, setbacks and some periods of moderate pain and a bit of blood. The bad is the length of time it has all been going on..and the ugly, well the first 6-12 months were pretty darn ugly for me.
So tomorrow I am getting LIS and a removal of a large (so I am told) papilla that grew as a result of the fissure. Why am I doing this:
My CRS said I am a great candidate and will do well long term with the results – apparently I have a tight sphincter that could use some loosening and my papilla will always be in the way.
2. I do not want to think/worry for the rest of my life – what will happen if I have a hard stool, when will the ugly fissure reappear.
3. I want to get off miralax – I take a quarter dose now and have been taking it pretty constantly for over 2 years. I don’t want to rely on that for the rest of my life if I can avoid it.
How am I feeling – right now, quite positive. I am psyched to be dealing with this and hopefully able to put it behind me after I recover. I definitely have had nerves leading up and will likely have a few more before the procedure…but all in all I am feeling very good about this decision.
What sort of medical prep do I have:
Liquid diet today and until surgery tomorrow. Today I have to do an enema..and one tomorrow morning…then get my butt to the hospital so the experts can have at it.
What have I done to get ready…
I made myself a lot of soup with veggies for after the surgery – need to replenish my potassium, sodium etc afterwards.
2. I stocked up on stuff like apple sauce, apple juice
3. Spoke with a dietician who highly recommended taking magnesium forever – helps relax smooth muscles like the sphincter
4. Same dietician recommended a pro-biotic after surgery for a couple weeks – to restore the good bacteria in my colon that I will lose from the enemas.
5. I picked up a bunch of anti-inflammatory stuff – fish oil supplements, curcumin (take only after surgery, has a blood thinning agent in it) and some raw organic apple cider vinegar.
Before I sign off I want to THANK YOU and everyone in this community for being so amazing, supportive, helpful and generally wonderful. If you have any thoughts, feedback or ideas along the way please do not hesitate to share. I will keep you all posted on how it goes.
Canadabum