I have noticed Ulcerative Colitis mentioned in quite a few threads lately and decided to start this one hoping that it might help someone.

I sympathize wholeheartedly with anyone who has Ulcerative Colitis or knows anyone with it. I suffered with UC for 7 years. Going between flare ups and remission. Being afraid to go out of the house at times and always afraid to travel that I would have to rush home to a doctors care. The good news is there is a cure. It's surgery. 6 1/2 years ago I had surgery to have my colon removed. This does not mean that I have to deal with an external or artificial "appliance" of any kind. I have what is called an internal "J-pouch" constructed of a portion of my small intestine. It acts as a reservoir and as far as I am concerned I am "normal" with normal bowel function. More normal than I felt with the disease that no one knew much about or understood, much less wanted to talk about.

If you want more information go to:

www.j-pouch.org


or if you want to contact me directly my email is:

dcrichards1@juno.com


I would be more than happy to offer my support and experiences to anyone.

Diane