The United Colon Vlog

Stoma Guards by Stomaplex.com

Dennis — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:08:41 +0000

In these videos, Maggie models the Active-Life Stoma Guard ($148) and the Pure-Comfort Stoma Guard ($184), both sold by Stomaplex.com. In full disclosure, Maggie was paid to create these videos, and Nadia and I haven’t tried these products ourselves.

These belts are pricy, but they also seem to offer some protection to your stoma if you play really rough. There are, of course, a variety of belts and wraps out there that are much cheaper, for those of you who don’t need a shield around your ostomy and can protect it fine on your own.

Keep fighting,
~Dennis

C3Life Blog: What does a PhD student in communication do?

Dennis — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:00:05 +0000

My second semester of my doctorate program recently began, but instead of talking vaguely about how school is going, and I want to get specific. What exactly is involved with getting a PhD, especially in something as nebulous as communication? When I tell my friends or coworkers or family or people I meet that I’m working on a PhD, I usually get three responses: slight awe for earning an advanced degree, followed closely by thinly veiled revulsion that I actually chose to go to more school, and then confusion: what does a person do to get a PhD.

Read more

Keep fighting,
~Dennis

The Equalizer by Stomaplex.com

Dennis — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:49:14 +0000

In this video, Maggie models The Equalizer, an ostomy support product by Stomaplex.com. In full disclosure, Maggie was paid to create this video, and Nadia and I haven’t tried this product ourselves.

The Equalizer seems like a pretty handy product for getting a tight seal on your ostomy flange. However, at $34 it is significantly overpriced: it’s just a short length of clear plastic tubing, after all. You could go to any hardware store and buy a small length of plastic pipe that does the same thing: just look in the plumbing section (check out this short length of plastic pipe at Lowes for $0.61!). Just measure the width of your appliance (the ring, so you know how much space you have around your stoma), stroll through the plumbing section, and basically get a useful appliance tool for pennies.

Keep fighting,
~Dennis

Keeping stress levels balanced when dealing with IBD

Nadia — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 13:52:02 +0000

Here are some tips on helping deal with stress. Mostly intended to assist in dealing with stress when you have inflammatory bowel disease, but these are good tips for anyone. Although this is a serious subject, it became difficult to film this video at times. Many times I use bullet points on topics I want to cover, but it is difficult to think ahead of all the points I want to make. I show my frustration in the end of this video with a couple of bloopers!

“Give your stress wings and let it fly away.” ~Terri Guillemets

~Nadia

Life with a J-pouch: Sara’s perspective

Dennis — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:20:28 +0000

Recently I told you how my J-pouch was doing after three years, now for another perspective. In this video, Sara gives her thoughts on living with a J-pouch for three years. She brings up some issues that I haven’t talked about as much in my videos, as she’s had a slightly different experience than me.

If you have any questions for Sara, please visit her YouTube channel. She is not an official contributor to this blog so if you leave questions for her here they won’t be answered.

Keep fighting,
~Dennis

Three year J-pouch update

Dennis — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:28:44 +0000

The video you’ve all been waiting for…the three year J-pouch update video! I don’t really have a lot of new information in this video: this last year was pretty mild. But I guess no concerns is good news in and of itself.

To get a sense of how this year compared with previous years, check out these previous update videos:

One year J-pouch update

Scars after one year

Two year J-pouch update

Scars after two years

Keep fighting,
~Dennis

C3Life Blog: Six reasons to go to Camp Oasis

Dennis — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:41:35 +0000

It’s not too early to think about Camp Oasis for summer 2012! Camp Oasis is a weeklong summer camp held in 12 states across the US for children and teens with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), hosted by the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America. I’ve volunteered there for the past three years, and it’s been a truly life-changing and exciting experience.

My CCFA chapter recently informed me that staff applications will be available around the end of January. I’m not sure if all camps are on the same schedule as far as hiring volunteers, or when sign-up begins for children, but rest assured, camp will soon open up for volunteers and campers, so begin planning now if you want in on all the activities!

Read more

Keep fighting,
~Dennis

Cookin’ With Nadia: Gluten free chicken tenders

Nadia — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:59:39 +0000

Gluten Free Chicken Tenders

Chicken Breast
2 Eggs
2 Tbsp Poultry Seasoning
2 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese
4 Cups Gluten Free Rice Chex (or Gluten Free Corn Flakes)
Salt/Pepper

I demonstrate how to make this delicious meal.

“Eating is not merely a material pleasure. Eating well gives a spectacular joy to life and contributes immensely to goodwill and happy companionship. It is of great importance to the morale.” ~Elsa Schiaparelli

~Nadia

C3Life Blog: Home for the holidays

Dennis — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:07:35 +0000

I just got back to Florida after a two-and-a-half week visit to North Dakota/Minnesota for the holidays, and man, am I spent! Flying to the other side of the country and back wasn’t the exhausting part—seeing all my people was, in a good way!

I saw lots of people in North Dakota, first family, then friends, then family again for Christmas, then friends again, then I went to Minnesota to visit all my friends there, then came back to North Dakota to see friends again before coming home.

Halfway through the vacation I started counting how many people I saw. Between family, close friends, distant friends, former co-workers, acquaintances, and even a few new people I met, I saw close to 60 people!

Read more

Keep fighting,
~Dennis

da Vinci robotic colorectal surgery

Dennis — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:40:59 +0000

The following videos describe how the da Vinci robotic system is used in colorectal surgery: one video discusses surgery for ulcerative colitis, the other for colon cancer.

The da Vinci system has been around for over a decade now, and roughly 1,000 of these units have been sold worldwide. I, however, have never talked to anybody (as far as I know) who has had robot-assisted surgery before, so I can’t speak to how they work in practice. One misconception about this surgery is that the robot does the surgery itself: not true. The robot can’t perform any functions on its own. Rather, the system is a highly advanced extension of the surgeon’s hands.

Proponents of the da Vinci system claim it yields better results, faster recovery time, and smaller incisions. Opponents think that the high cost of the surgery, and the steep learning curve for surgeons, might not make the surgery worth it, especially compared to laparoscopic surgery, which is also an option.

To learn more about the da Vinci’s uses in colorectal surgery, visit the official da Vinci website.

Keep fighting,
~Dennis

Question: Have you had robotic-assisted surgery? You know the drill by now…tell us your story!