My Journey With Crohns Disease - Part 4
Disclaimer - this blog is a little in depth so proceed with caution…
I am now 4 weeks post op. In general i feel my recovery is going well. I’m starting to be more active, increasing my steps as each week goes by, my wound is healing well and I’m feeling better in myself all the time. I’m also trying to gradually, week by week, increase my exercise, but this is very much based on how I am feeling on a day to day basis.
Having said this, there have been some low points this week. Trying to keep my stoma output to a relatively thick consistency is tricky. It’s very up and down. It goes from being quite thick to very watery in a matter of hours so I’m really having to think about the food I’m eating and how much fluid I’m drinking.
Also, last night was not a great night. I woke around 3am feeling wet around my stomach and pants and quickly realised I’d had a leak from my bag. I got out of bed and Char leaped into her usual, fantastic helping mode to assist with the cleanup operation. I’m not sure whether it was because I’d gotten up too quickly or because of being anxious, or whatever, but I then began to feel quite hot and dizzy and thought i was going to be sick so i had to go a lay down for 10 minutes until I felt better (I feel fine this morning apart from being tired)
The output had been very watery up to this point for a few hours and had been continuously active. This did not help with cleaning. I found myself knelt in the shower trying to clean myself and my stoma, but my stoma wasn’t playing ball, and continued to give output. Eventually it stopped long enough for us to replace my bag. The reason I mention these things in my blogs is to highlight that it certainly isn’t a bed of roses all the time and, as always, if anyone else is experiencing these issues, you are not alone. The problem was dealt with and we were able to go to sleep for a few more hours, albeit with me laying on another sheet in case it happened again.
My weight hasn’t increased as yet, but it is still early days and at least it isn’t decreasing anymore. I will continue to monitor it weekly for now. I am used to being around the 12st mark, and if I’m being honest, the lack of weight gain does bother me slightly, as I hate being this thin, but I am hoping, over time, it will begin to go back to normal. MUST STAY POSITIVE!!
17/7/20
