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valve removed from my small intestine that controls stool consistency?

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 6/19/2008 2:36 PM (GMT 0)
so, i'm 23 years old, had CD since age 16 after surgery for an obstruction.

been on 6mp off and on for the past 6 years and always had D pretty much all the time unless i didn't go for a number of days.

at a recent visit to my GI because my prescription had run out and i was having a considerable amount of bleeding, i asked if there was anything that could be done about my having D ALL THE TIME.

he said that during my surgery [they took 7" of small intestine] they removed a valve that basically controls the consistency of my stool and that i'm pretty much doomed to have D all the time, forever.

this came as a bit of a shock to me, as he'd never told me about this before when i told him i had loose stools all the time no matter what.

anybody else heard of such a thing? i just had a small bowel series done on tuesday and it showed either fistula or stricture at the point of my resection. they weren't sure which at the time. colonoscopy scheduled for july 2. oh joy. :(
Posted 6/19/2008 3:48 PM (GMT 0)
must have been the ileocecal valve. during my scope my gi found an ulcer on my valve and i may run into the same problem as you. he told me my crohn's is in the last part of my small and in the beginning of my large.

i got this little excerpt from a webpage:

The ileocecal valve has two main functions. The first is to prevent the backflow of fecal contents from the colon to the small intestine. The second is to prevent the contents of the ileum from passing into the cecum prematurely.

i am sure someone with a resection where their ilececal valve was removed will come along to share their personal experience. good luck on july 2!
Posted 6/19/2008 3:54 PM (GMT 0)
I too have lost my valve but luckily I don't have D all the time.  Some people that have problems after resection with D use Questran to help firm up their stool.  Maybe you could ask your GI about it.  Also,  my second resection was because I had another stricture at the reconnection site.  I was told that when Crohns returns after a resection it usually comes back at the reconnection site....Hope that helps.

Posted 6/19/2008 4:03 PM (GMT 0)

Hi,

I have also had parts of my colon and stomach reworked/removed so I understand what your going through. I am currently taking pain medications and one good side effects is that they slow down my digestive tract and that has helped me with "d". Maybey that might work for you.

Posted 6/19/2008 4:04 PM (GMT 0)
glad to hear that this valve isn't fictional!

i was looking at the monitor screen while they were doing the real-time x-ray [as i call it; im sure theres a name for it. ultrasound? i dunno] and i could easily see the narrowed portion of bowel that they were talking about being either a stricture or fistula at the point of my resection.

i was reading another thread about people with constant D and attributing it to fat mal-absortion. they talked about something called cholestyramine.

questran is new to me also. are these OTC types of things, or Rx?
Posted 6/19/2008 4:19 PM (GMT 0)
Questran is cholestyramine. I take Colestid for the same problem. Both of these are prescription meds. Speak to your GI about them.
Posted 6/19/2008 5:26 PM (GMT 0)
br4d-
i have also heard that bile is collected & dissipated at that part of the intestine. also that the bile causes some of the burning & irritation that goes with the constant D. like i said it was something that i heard along the way so i don't know if it is true or not.
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