Post Surgery Questions/Thigh Numbness

[Zac with no K]

Hi everyone,

I had laparoscopic surgery on November 5th and the surgery itself went really well. I did suffer from a collapsed lung during the surgery and a full day of throwing up once my bowel started to wake up, but that was about the worst of it. I stopped needing any pain meds after about 4 days and so far, no sign of infection.

I have noticed a couple days ago, a part of my thigh has been numb and I have no clue how long it's been going on for. I thought it may have been just because I was laying down so much, but I've tried standing and walking around for a bit and that still doesn't seem to help.

It doesn't seem to be completely numb as I can feel pressure and sometimes the area of numbness will grow or shrink. I'll feel the tingling/needle/burning sensation at times.

Just curious if anyone experienced this or any tips to help it?

Also, any advise on keeping the crohn's under control? My dr decided to take me off any meds because the strictures removed were scarred and the surgeon couldn't find any active disease. I'm worried it will come back faster without meds?

 

[Jennifer]

Hi Zac with no K! Glad to hear that the surgery went well.

As for the numbness, that's something I've been dealing with as well yet don't have any answers yet. It used to happen a lot just last year but happens less often now. It's the outer portion of my left thigh. When I lay on my back or on my left side it often starts going numb. My advice to you is to start seeing a Neurologist to see what's causing it. So far I've had MRIs done on my mid and lower back along with my hips and had a nerve test done on my legs. I haven't gotten the results yet because my Neurologist retired and now my next appointment with a new one isn't until mid Dec but I am on the waiting list if there are any cancellations. It may be a compressed nerve in your back. With numbness you don't want to ignore it because if it is a nerve issue then it is possible that you may lose feeling there entirely if not treated due to nerve damage.

As for maintenance after surgery, I'm a firm believer in maintenance medication. I took Asacol and 6MP after surgery (I was on both before surgery) and have had a very long remission (13 years). Now that I started taking less meds and am now on no meds (switching from Humira to Remicade) I've started seeing more symptoms return along with a slightly elevated CRP (12.2). Talk to your doctor about going on maintenance medication. Its your body, not theirs. I stopped Asacol years ago and recently was taken off 6MP due to it starting to affect my liver. Started Humira (yes while in remission, because I want to stay in remission) yet that didn't work out and am now waiting to start Remicade (I've gone from remission to clinical remission within the past year from switching from medication to medication, I'd like to avoid a flare). Find what med/s work for you and stick with it and hopefully you'll have a very long remission that never ends.