Important!!! Read if Having Resection Surgery!!!

[JohnnyCrohns]

Hello,

I just want to let you all know that I had my second bowel resection eight days ago. I had it done at the University of Chicago Medicine. I'm very pleased with the level of professionalism and care that went into my operation. The important thing that I want to tell you is in regards to Pain Management. My first and second surgery were complete opposites. My first surgery was ten years ago and they removed a foot (blockage) of my lower intestine. The second and present surgery they removed 8cm of stricture and conducted three other strictureplasty's on other narrowing parts of my intestine. For my first surgery I was definitely more sickly and malnourished. I was in the hospital for nine days with many pain complications. I was in complete agony and my healing process took me more than a year to recover physically and mentally. Eight days ago I was given an Epidural directly after surgery that was a complete game changer. Granted it took the team twice to insert it and correctly relive my pain but when the had it officially in it was as if I didn't even have any pain. I was talking, walking, and watching tv like nobody's business. I was released after five days and am now on my way to recovery. The whole point to me writing this is to inform everyone to get an epidural if you're having a resection. We as Crohn's patients have enough pain on a day to day basis that really never gets properly managed. So why not make the surgery bearable and less torturous. Perhaps they were not using epidurals ten years ago for Crohn's surgeries, which I don't understand why but thats not the point. The point is that it's available now and trust when I say you should not have surgery without an Epidural. I hope that this helps some people and just maybe I saved a person from having to go through the nightmare of a surgery like the one I had ten years ago. Good luck out there to all of you who are fighting this horrible disease. You are not alone. Now to heal/hibernate through winter and be ready for a new chapter in the spring. Thanks for reading. #iwillnevergiveup

 

[shamrock15]

They are definitely good for some people. Myself, I have a bit of a phobia about needles in my back. I have kept good physical condition through much of my illness, and in the past have chosen not to use epidurals. I have a pretty good pain threshold and have been able to go essentially free of pain meds within two days of surgery. I know this is not the case for everyone. It certainly does bear a good chat with your anesthesiologist if you are going in, and I believe they are now the preferred method of pain control as the relief is much more targeted. Glad to hear you are doing well, and make sure you discuss maintenance medication with your doc.

 

[Clash]

My son had the choice of epidural or pain pump. Since he also has SpA and his back is affected he chose the pain pump. The surgeon mentioned that it can take a couple of tries with the epidural on someone without joint inflammation issues and could be even more problematic for those with them.

My son did really well with the pain pump and like the poster above was off of it and px pain meds days after surgery.

I would choose the epidural if I was having surgery. My husband had it during gall bladder surgery(had to do it traditionally instead of laparoscopically). It didn't shorten his stay but was great for the pain.

 

[Layla]

I wasn't given a choice and to be fair I didn't ask if there were any options. I didn't have an epidural but like Shamrock I was off pain meds fairly quickly anyway. My op was laparoscopically assisted so only one bigger incision.

I do think it make a big difference how fit you are when you go in. I'm sure I would have been far worse off if I had been operated on when I was really sick.

 

[Absentminded]

I've been offered an epidural for each of my four surgeries and have refused to have them. I've always had a PCA (either morphine or oxycodone) instead which has worked brilliantly for me. Personally, I would never ever have an epidural for personal reasons and also that I have a number of friends who have had bad experiences with them. I totally understand why people have them, but they're not for me.

 

[DEmberton]

No choice here. Just the general anesthetic and PCA for 24 hours. But I was also walking, talking, watching TV and out in 5 days.

One surgery certainly doesn't make me an expert but it seems to me there are any number of factors as to why one surgery could be more painful to recover from than another and that the original poster is jumping to a bit of a dubious conclusion here.

 

[JohnnyCrohns]

I definitely understand all of your reasons to opt out of an epidural. Being afraid of needles in your back, having to kind of make that choice for your child, or just simply prefer the old fashioned way. From my history and experiences my morphine wore off and I simply got immune to taking it. Instead of it helping with pain it would just give me cold sweats and crazy dreams after a while. I agree that it is a scary thought to have a needle in your back but it something pregnant women have been doing for a while now. That doesn't excuse personal fear though which I understand. For me it did take them twice to put the epidural in. I remember just being in so much pain and the doctor asking me if he had my permission to try a lower area on my spine. Scary sounding I know but Crohn's disease can be scary enough. After that needle was in the right place though, I could have literally River Danced on my bed lol. Everyone's pain threshold and level of sickness vary's so thats definitely something to take in account. Trying to just bare through the pain for surgery like that just seems silly to me due to the fact that we as crohn's pt's bare through pain and issues all the time. I personally have built up a huge pain tolerance over the years. Due to six kidney stones and many ER visits due to flare ups where I thought my gut was going to perforate. Not fun at all. Thank you all for your replies and it's interesting hearing everyones opinion on the matter. I definitely think Crohn's is an individual disease and everyones is different when it comes down to what works for them. I just wanted to spread my experience in case someone did not know it was an option. I hope you are all doing great. I'm nine days out. Still pretty sore but getting better daily.

 

[The Real MC]

I turned down the epidural just before surgery. It was my first resection and I thought I had high tolerance for pain. Big Mistake. When I awoke the pain felt like a TWELVE. I was SCREAMING. They got the needle in my back and the epidural helped immensely.

Bear in mind that surgery was resection and removal of my gall bladder which was failing. Double whammy in my abdomen.

They kept me for twelve days, had the epidural almost that long. Frankly I never noticed the needle in my back. Was out on disability for 7 weeks, but it was too soon as I had not yet healed the abdominal muscles from the surgical cuts. You would be SHOCKED how many everyday normal motions you can't do because of the abdominal muscles...

 

[IofNewt]

I had one for my resection and it was pretty interesting. The worst part was all the tape on my back. I am violently allergic to the tape so it had to come off earlier than planned. The pain lasted a little longer than was predicted, but after 5 days I was home though still in quite a lot of pain.

 

[LindaS]

For both my resections I was offered either the pump or an epidural, and I chose the epidural for both. After the first surgery, in 1995, I had a tremendous amount of pain post op. However, I was able to recover fairly quickly (I think I was out of work for about 7 weeks).

For my second resection, in 2005, I had post op complications, and the epidural was absolutely necessary, as every tiny movement was painful with the epidural. I couldn't imagine what it would have been otherwise.

Having said that, if I needed another surgery, I would probably go with the pump now, as I have such bad arthritis in my spine that the idea of a needle in my back is unbearable.

It is nice to have the various options for pain relief, and I highly suggest anyone who needs surgery has a talk with their pain specialist/anesthesiologist beforehand.