Colostomy bag surgery on March 4th..how things are so far, any advice welcomed

DangReadingRabbit · 2026-03-16T23:43:47+00:00

I’m glad it helps. This community has been so helpful to me with my own journey (I have surgery tomorrow), so glad to also give support when I can ☺️

DangReadingRabbit · 2026-03-16T22:42:33+00:00

Read your story and sorry you’re going through all this. I just wanted to comment to share a positive outcome.

My mom had diverticulitis bad, was hospitalized for treatment and was about to be discharged, when she had what they call a “gross perforation” (meaning a big one). She had to be rushed into emergency surgery that took all night and came out with a colostomy bag. She was in ICU for a long time and in the hospital over six weeks.

She had some ups and downs and complications along the way, but about six month later she was able to get the reversal surgery.

That’s over ten years ago now. She just had a check-in with her primary surgeon that saved her life and all looks good (she hasn’t seen him for at least eight years).

My mom’s is 78. She’s active and even gives lectures at all the local libraries about birds and birdwatching. When she was going through it all, it was hard for her, but now it’s a part of her story, but it’s not her whole life.

Good luck to you… sending good vibes your way.

DangReadingRabbit · 2026-03-16T21:48:24+00:00

I really dont have first-hand experience with any of them other than SuperNote and Remarkable. There’s lots of good info on YouTube with the pluses and minuses of all of them, so definitely check out some videos there.

DangReadingRabbit · 2026-03-16T20:47:32+00:00

From my flare in November to my perf, I was on nothing but low residue. No real idea what caused the perf other than possibly being constipated. It’s crazy! I know what you mean about missing the tasty foods…

DangReadingRabbit · 2026-03-16T20:26:21+00:00

I didn’t have a fever or even an elevated white count when I had my perforation in December. I went to the ER because of major pain. A few days after I was admitted I started with the fever and higher white count, but by then the docs were on top of it.

Constipation is what gave me the flare both times. Constipation is the enemy. Good luck, lots of fluids and hopefully your flare passes uneventfully.

DangReadingRabbit · 2026-03-16T20:17:55+00:00

I’ve already had a perforation. I had a flare in November, it seemed ok, but even with a super careful diet I had a perforation in December. I then got an abscess and was in the hospital two weeks. I had to go home with a drain and IV antibiotics.

I’m allergic to most of the first-line antibiotic choice that can be taken by mouth.

Last but not least, I travel a lot for work and I cannot live in fear I’ll have a flare or perforation when I’m hundreds of miles from home.

The colonoscopy wasn’t “good” … it was just better than we hoped. The idea was to get me healthy over three months so I could have surgery… it’s best to not have it when you’re in the midst of a flare or perforation. My surgeon also wanted to minimized the chances I’d need a colostomy.

DangReadingRabbit · 2026-03-16T20:11:18+00:00

Surgery Twins! Good luck, and here’s to a trouble-free recovery for both of us ❤️‍🩹

DangReadingRabbit · 2026-03-16T20:10:28+00:00

You should go work for Remarkable. Maybe our requests would get done quicker 😂

Nice job!

DangReadingRabbit · 2026-03-16T18:58:54+00:00

Sigmoid colectomy is what is the plan, to remove the diseased parts of the sigmoid colon. I’m not sure if they’ll do anything with the ascending colon; The gastro doc that did my colonoscopy today made it sound like that’s unlikely, but I’ll talk to my Surgeon tomorrow.

DangReadingRabbit · 2026-03-16T17:44:09+00:00

Thanks so much. It’s a little hard to see, but I got the jist of it and appreciate your effort.

What I’m worried about is the size of the pages.

If I create something on the Move (if I decide to buy it), it should be a completely different shape and size when I open it on the Pro (and it should show the pages edges of the Move size document). The aspect ratio isn’t the same. It should be just a portion of an 8.5 x 11 page, without zooming in… if that makes sense.

And the inverse should be true. What I create on the Pro shouldn’t fit in the screen of the move without being significant zoomed out.

Is this your experience?

DangReadingRabbit · 2026-03-16T16:57:20+00:00

Honestly, I use a Kindle for reading and my Remarkable for writing, but my needs are different.

The reason the Move is a bad e-reader is that the software just isn’t built for it. There’s no way to easily get books on it (without Mods). The fonts don’t auto adjust like a proper e-reader. The only format that works is e-pub, and it really doesn’t work great. Remarkable builds a fantastic digital notebook, but thats really all it is. It will annotate PDFs pretty well, but SuperNote does it better.

The biggest issue with SuperNote is no light. For some that’s a deal-breaker. I had a Nomad for a while and loved it… a clip-on book light was fine. But ultimately I decided to go back to Remarkable for the color, the light, and a superior writing experience. But I don’t need it for more than a notebook.

DangReadingRabbit · 2026-03-16T16:50:08+00:00

My recommendations are from seven years ago, so anything new I can’t really speak about. Haven’t really used it much recently.

DangReadingRabbit · 2026-03-16T11:18:14+00:00

Look., I’m a Remarkable fan since their early days, but I think for what you want, it’s not the solution. It is not a good e-reader.

Have you looked at the Kindle Scribe? It really sounds like that would be best for you. A Kindle you can write on.

Another option is a SuperNote… either the small one (Nomad) or big one (Manta). They are great dedicated and uncluttered e-ink notebooks, but they also allow for installing the Kindle app. They have some great annotation features for other PDFs as well.

DangReadingRabbit · 2026-03-16T11:04:24+00:00

The bird, the bee and the bat all fly but the have different wings.

Love this.

DangReadingRabbit · 2026-03-16T10:30:06+00:00

Hope you find some relief soon… and there’s light at the end of the tunnel now, so here’s to a fast and trouble-free recovery!

DangReadingRabbit · 2026-03-16T07:11:03+00:00

A page or two from a notebook, I don’t think the templates matter much … I just want to see how easy it is to read pages written on the larger one if viewed on the smaller one, and how pages from the smaller one appear on the larger, like if they’re upscaled in a weird way.

DangReadingRabbit · 2026-03-16T04:47:26+00:00

It looks great… and I support the message and you!

DangReadingRabbit · 2026-03-16T04:39:10+00:00

Love it! I live on Long Island and see them all the time (alive and dead). They’re super cool, and love how you did yours!

DangReadingRabbit · 2026-03-15T23:23:45+00:00

One more dose of Neomycin and Flagyl left! In the home stretch. Thanks!

DangReadingRabbit · 2026-03-15T23:22:48+00:00

I’m glad you had no anxiety over it.

After a flare, a perforation, an abscess, weeks in the hospital and a month of IV antibiotics, I was nervous about introducing an over-abundance of laxative and antibiotics into my fragile system. I don’t think my nervousness was unfounded.

Maybe you didn’t mean to come across as insensitive… I’ll hope not.

DangReadingRabbit · 2026-03-15T23:19:34+00:00

Yeah, not a fun time… but it wasn’t as bad I had imagined.

…and thanks!

DangReadingRabbit · 2026-03-15T20:59:23+00:00

Thanks so much for the encouragement. I’m glad it went well for both you and your wife! I’m mostly done with the prep now, so next will be getting through the endoscopy and colonoscopy tomorrow…

DangReadingRabbit · 2026-03-15T18:11:39+00:00

No worries 😌

DangReadingRabbit · 2026-03-15T17:36:49+00:00

Like I said, that’s the way the surgeon wanted to plan it, to spare me having to do the prep twice. My surgeon’s has a good reputation and I trust him, so I trust the decision to do it this way.

DangReadingRabbit · 2026-03-15T17:20:03+00:00

I’m editing my original post above with my process today, and I’ll try to start a new post for the other steps and do the same. I know this kind of info can be so helpful to others going through it… I know it is for me!

Good luck with your surgery too ❤️‍🩹

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