Good morning and a Happy Christmas to all. I’ve only just seen this place. After a big spinal operation which didn’t go well, my pelvic organs all failed and I had a major prolapse resulting in a big repair job. After this I experienced chronic and horrible bowel problems. I tried spinal stimulation and this didn’t work. I was offered the ace procedure, which involved washing out my bowel twice a day with some kind of a contraption hung from a hook in the bathroom. After such a long time of suffering with incontinence and constipation alternatively I did not find this solution appealing. At this point I was also intermittently catheterising. After my prolapse which was both pelvic and rectal, part of my colon was removed, but failed to return to normal function. Eventually I was offered an ileostomy and it was explained to me that this was irreversible. Frankly, the idea of just being in control again was very appealing, so I went ahead with this operation. This is called Total pan proctocolectomy. I have never looked back and it has not given me any grief. Subsequently, I also had to have complete removal of everything below, ie; rectum and anus, so there was absolutely no chance of a reversal. I have experienced the odd accident but I soon learnt how to deal with this and how to avoid it. Diet is very important, and I have to be very careful about not eating too late, too much, or too much fibre. I soon learned the foods I was able to eat easily and the ones I should avoid. For instance, an overindulgence of nuts landed me in the ER, for a unpleasant overnight stay with a tube stuck down my nose. I am now very careful these days, but I can honestly say I have never looked back and I am now able to do everything that I did before including swimming regularly. Also, these days there is no shyness attached to having a condition such as mine, and the subsequent solution, which gave me freedom to live my life without restrictions. All the best to anybody contemplating such a procedure, and think about it positively.