Having Surgery Soon - Some Questions

[Brizzyce]

I've been in and out of the hospital all summer after being diagnosed with Crohn's in April. I've tried flagyl, cipro, clavulan, prednisone, and a few other drugs over the last few months, but nothing has seemed to work. Well, this morning I had my second colonoscopy (the first was under a local anesthetic, this one was under a general anesthetic) and for the second time they were unable to get past the obstruction in my bowel.

So the doctor wants me to have surgery to remove the bad part, and he wants to do it sometime over the next few days because of how fast things seem to be progressing down there. It hit me as a pretty big surprise because just yesterday we were discussing other treatment options like Remicade. I'm excited to have the bad part removed, but kind of freaked out too. So for now I have some questions...

1) What is the recovery time usually like? I'm going back to school in five weeks and really don't want this to interfere with that, especially since a good portion of my tuition is non-refundable.

2) Is this actually gonna work? So far everything they've tried has looked promising at first but failed miserably in the long run. It would be a shame if they took out a third of my small bowel just to have it spread to the rest of it.

I have more questions but I can't think of them right now. I just found out about all this in the last hour and I'm currently sitting in the hospital bed alone with my thoughts. This whole day has been pretty shitty if you ask me. =\

 

[Dallies]

Meg is having surgery in three weeks for the exact same reasons you describe ( she can't eat any solid food until after the surgery) We have been told she will be in hospital for 5 days. She is also hoping it won't interfere with her going back to school for A levels, 2 and a half weeks after surgery. We were told they cannot guarentee it will not return. They feel taking out the diseased part and stricture away is the way forward and I'm sure surgery will be the best thing for Meg. Many people on here have had surgery and I'm sure you get many responses. Try not to worry, you are in safe hands. If you think of any more questions post away. Thinking of you and sending you a big cuddle. xx

 

[Kanonu03]

I had the same surgery Feb of this year. I was in the hospital for 10 days and was pretty well medicated to help with the pain. It was hard when I got home and needed alot of help moving about but each day there was a improvement. It took me about 3 weeks to feel somewhat normal. I was able to move around and slowly getting back into the things I did before. It will take your body time to fully heal but you will be up and at it in a couple weeks. I am not sure how they are doing your surgery but I had a cut all the way down. If they do it laproscopic (spelt wrong im sure lol) then the heal time is quicker. I was not able to have it done that way as they wanted to see all my bowel in case they were forgetting something. So far so good for me. I have not had major problems since the surgery but do keep in mind that everyone is different. The disease can come back and attack another area in a matter of days or years. No one will be able to tell you for sure if or when. The surgery is a gamble but worth taking if it's going to make you better. I hope this helps alittle. Everyone story varies and depends on severity and our own personal bodies. Keep your up head..you will be great and hopefully it relieves some of your issues right now. Thinking of you..any questions feel free to ask!

Shanan

 

[DustyKat]

1) What is the recovery time usually like? I'm going back to school in five weeks and really don't want this to interfere with that, especially since a good portion of my tuition is non-refundable.

2) Is this actually gonna work? So far everything they've tried has looked promising at first but failed miserably in the long run. It would be a shame if they took out a third of my small bowel just to have it spread to the rest of it.

I have more questions but I can't think of them right now. I just found out about all this in the last hour and I'm currently sitting in the hospital bed alone with my thoughts. This whole day has been pretty shitty if you ask me. =\

Roo had a Right hemicolectomy 4 years ago. Her surgery was an emergency and she was in very poor condition when it was done but she had an eventful free post op recovery time. She had open surgery and was in hospital for 6 days. You generally need to stay in 4-5 days as that is how long it normally takes for your bowels to start working and they won't discharge you until that happens. Roo was back at school 3 weeks post op.

As you know Crohns is incurable so there is always the likelihood that it will return, so you do your utmost to prevent that. Roo has been in remission since her operation with the help of a maintenance dose of Imuran daily. Also be aware that you will require B12 injections for the rest of your life and perhaps some other iron type supplements as they are removing the area of your bowel that absorbs these.

I was scared out of my wits when this happened to Roo, mind you we had no time to think about it, but at this point I haven't been able to fault the outcome in view of what she was like before it.

HTH,
Dusty

 

[5 iron]

I've been in and out of the hospital all summer after being diagnosed with Crohn's in April. I've tried flagyl, cipro, clavulan, prednisone, and a few other drugs over the last few months, but nothing has seemed to work. Well, this morning I had my second colonoscopy (the first was under a local anesthetic, this one was under a general anesthetic) and for the second time they were unable to get past the obstruction in my bowel.

So the doctor wants me to have surgery to remove the bad part, and he wants to do it sometime over the next few days because of how fast things seem to be progressing down there. It hit me as a pretty big surprise because just yesterday we were discussing other treatment options like Remicade. I'm excited to have the bad part removed, but kind of freaked out too. So for now I have some questions...

1) What is the recovery time usually like? I'm going back to school in five weeks and really don't want this to interfere with that, especially since a good portion of my tuition is non-refundable.

2) Is this actually gonna work? So far everything they've tried has looked promising at first but failed miserably in the long run. It would be a shame if they took out a third of my small bowel just to have it spread to the rest of it.

I have more questions but I can't think of them right now. I just found out about all this in the last hour and I'm currently sitting in the hospital bed alone with my thoughts. This whole day has been pretty shitty if you ask me. =\

Brizzyce just had my surgery July 29 home on Aug 1,you will be ready for school,you will have no crohns in body when there done,you have a 30% chance crohns will not return,if you take a maintenence drug like 6mp after surgery you a 70% chance crohns will not return,the surgery is very bearable you are young and you will bounce right back,Good Luck.

 

[gmm]

had a hemicolectomy in 2003 as a colonoscopy went a bit wrong and didnt know a thing about what was going on lol, the bad part in the gut burst when trying to open it with a balloon, woke up after the scope ready to go home then bang, in comes the pain conked out and next thing i knew i was in the surgery room getting shaved hahahah , conked out again and woke up in the ward with a 12 inch zipper down my front, the few days after were sore no doubt about it but do get up walking about as soon as the pyhsioterrorists tell you. it makes all the difference, was in about 7 days and when i got home and the actual scar pain allowed me to sleep on my side i was actually in bed smiling cause there was bo more gut pain that i had for years, a week or so later i was out fishing again, at the time of the surgery i wasnt in good shape , but after i felt so much better best thing that ever happened , so hopefully you will have the same feelings after the surgery