- Joined
- May 21, 2012
- Messages
- 4
Hello All,
I am new to the forum. I was diagnosed w/ Crohn's 7 years ago, but I've probably had Crohn's for at least 16 years. I am about to have my first surgery next week. I have tons to do at home and at work to prepare, but I am so distracted thinking about what's ahead next week.
This will be my first surgery, but I have some rather complicated things going on. I have two main obstruction sites, one in my duodenum and one in my ileum. I have two surgeons that are going to operate together. A stomach surgeon is doing a gastrojejunostomy. Has anyone had this done? I haven't found much information on it in the forum. Basically, he'll create bypass of my duodenum and connect my jejunum to my stomach to bypass the obstruction. The obstruction has caused me to get a hernia and he's hoping that the bypass will help the hernia resolve on its own, so there are no plans to operate on the hernia unless it's way bigger than expected.
Secondly, like most people with Crohn's, I have severe stricturing in my ileum and the inflammation has spread into the first part of my colon. The colorectal surgeon is going to remove part of my terminal ileum, the valve, and the first part of my colon. I also have have Crohn's in my sigmoid colon--this is new. They are going to leave that alone unless, what they have seen in my scans turns out to be a fistula when they open me up. So there's a possibility that I'll have a temporary bag to give my bowels a break--especially since I have Crohn's in areas that they are not planning to operate on. We'll see. I have my pre-op appointment on Thursday. I won't really know anything for sure about a bag until I wake up.
So, one of my surgeons told me that I'll have a catheter. If you had one during your surgery, was it placed before or after you were given anesthesia? Has anyone had both of these surgeries, ileocolectomy and gastrojejunostomy done at once? I am beginning to get a little nervous about it all, but I know that it's for the best. I've been dealing with this for a long time and it's only gotten worse. I need relief. I'm also on Remicade and will need to stay on it after surgery--there's no guarantee that I'll go into remission immediately and there are areas with inflammation that are not being operated on. How soon after surgery did any of you resume Remicade? What should I expect immediately after the surgery? I know these are all questions that I can ask the surgeons on Thursday, but I'm anxious to find out now. Plus, I would rather hear from real people who've experienced this.
Any info or advice that you can provide is greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!
I am new to the forum. I was diagnosed w/ Crohn's 7 years ago, but I've probably had Crohn's for at least 16 years. I am about to have my first surgery next week. I have tons to do at home and at work to prepare, but I am so distracted thinking about what's ahead next week.
This will be my first surgery, but I have some rather complicated things going on. I have two main obstruction sites, one in my duodenum and one in my ileum. I have two surgeons that are going to operate together. A stomach surgeon is doing a gastrojejunostomy. Has anyone had this done? I haven't found much information on it in the forum. Basically, he'll create bypass of my duodenum and connect my jejunum to my stomach to bypass the obstruction. The obstruction has caused me to get a hernia and he's hoping that the bypass will help the hernia resolve on its own, so there are no plans to operate on the hernia unless it's way bigger than expected.
Secondly, like most people with Crohn's, I have severe stricturing in my ileum and the inflammation has spread into the first part of my colon. The colorectal surgeon is going to remove part of my terminal ileum, the valve, and the first part of my colon. I also have have Crohn's in my sigmoid colon--this is new. They are going to leave that alone unless, what they have seen in my scans turns out to be a fistula when they open me up. So there's a possibility that I'll have a temporary bag to give my bowels a break--especially since I have Crohn's in areas that they are not planning to operate on. We'll see. I have my pre-op appointment on Thursday. I won't really know anything for sure about a bag until I wake up.
So, one of my surgeons told me that I'll have a catheter. If you had one during your surgery, was it placed before or after you were given anesthesia? Has anyone had both of these surgeries, ileocolectomy and gastrojejunostomy done at once? I am beginning to get a little nervous about it all, but I know that it's for the best. I've been dealing with this for a long time and it's only gotten worse. I need relief. I'm also on Remicade and will need to stay on it after surgery--there's no guarantee that I'll go into remission immediately and there are areas with inflammation that are not being operated on. How soon after surgery did any of you resume Remicade? What should I expect immediately after the surgery? I know these are all questions that I can ask the surgeons on Thursday, but I'm anxious to find out now. Plus, I would rather hear from real people who've experienced this.
Any info or advice that you can provide is greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!
