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Newbie Here.... Crohn's & Colitis and Gastric Bypass surgery?

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 12/27/2008 12:39 AM (GMT 0)
Hi All,  Boy am I ever glad I found this site.

I am new here and been newly diagnosed with Crohns and Colitis (??? no quite sure what that means). I was diagnosed with it in November 07 and went and had Gastric Bypass surgery in Feb 08...BIG mistake

I have lost 100lbs from the surgery but have stalled the weight loss completely because I cannot eat much and what I do eat goes right through me. Apparently my body is hanging onto everything because of the little amounts of food I do eat. Not sure exactly how this happens but it seems to be causing major problems for me.

Anyways, questions I have...well where do I start... I guess the big one for me is there anyone out there who has had both Gastric Bypass and Crohns.

I have not been free of bloody bowel movements since approximately Jan 07 and the meds they have put me on have not worked at all. I am on Saulfalk and just recently a enima.

Help if you can

 

thanks again...L

Posted 12/27/2008 12:49 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Welcome to Healing Well not many here have had the gastric bypass and cain't think of anyone who has had it although the question has come up before. You must eat frequent meals a day to maintain some weight benefit . Do you mind me asking what your weight is now? Glad you joined us. lol gail
Posted 12/27/2008 12:57 AM (GMT 0)
hey there Gail...thank you for the welcome. I am 288 now and have not lost anything in the last 5 months. I am completely discouraged by that. I keep hearing that Crohn's makes people lose weight and I really concerned that because of my malabsorption problem with gastric bypass that I am going to depleting needed vitamins. I cannot take the Gastric vitamins recommended either...they go right through me.

I am currently having anywhere from 6 to 12 bloody BM's a day...pencil thin. I think I need to get back in touch with my doctor... any suggestions??

Posted 12/27/2008 1:12 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Have you tried ensure or boosts to help get your vitamin supply? I don't have bleeding issues but others here do. What does your GI say about your vitamins? When I was very sick I lost weight but have put it back on and more. Any chance you have some narrowing going on there? lol gail
Posted 12/27/2008 1:16 AM (GMT 0)
Hi again... Yes the BM's are pencil thin. What does that mean? and the new enemia they put me on goes right through me as well?  I am leaving tomorrow for vacation for almost 3 weeks and I am so concerned about it getting worse while I am away...in addition I will be going with 6 other people (5 teenagers) on a cruise ship and am very worried about not getting to the bathrooms in time... any suggestions would be appreciated...L
Posted 12/27/2008 1:23 AM (GMT 0)

I'm amazed that any surgeon would perform gastric bypass knowing your Crohn's diagnosis.  It sounds like you need to get in to see your GI right away.  6-12 bloody stools a day means that your disease isn't under control, and you may need a change in meds.  Until you get stable you're not likely to lose more weight.  Or, you may drop weight rapidly and it will come back as soon as your health improves. 

It sounds like you have Crohn's colitis, which means Crohn's disease in the colon.  Small bowel is the most common location for Crohn's activity, but it can happen anywhere in the digestive tract, and there are several of us here who have Crohn's colitis.

Posted 12/27/2008 1:30 AM (GMT 0)
I do have crohn's colitis... I am not sure what means but I have that. My Gastric doctor didn't know about the crohns... When I first went to see the gastric doctor, I told him about the bloody diahrrea(SP?) and he thought I had colon cancer and sent me away to get it checked. That is when I found out about the crohn's colitis and I did not tell the gastric surgeon until I woke up after the surgery. He was upset and I didn;t think it would matter... I was determined to lose weight and that was the only way I saw to get that done... but now i am sorry i played God with my body like that...

With gastric bypass you lose so much as far as vitamins are concerned and now that is my fear.

Thanks for you help... What does the pencil thin stools mean? do you know?

Posted 12/27/2008 11:02 AM (GMT 0)
Pencil thin stools could mean you have a narrowing that could result in a blockage. Crohn's colitis is when you have inflamation in your large and small bowel, with resection a person needs vitamin supplements. Do you get B-12 injections alot of us here have a low B-12 .lol gail
Posted 12/27/2008 3:32 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Kemp and welcome to Healingwell, sorry you have to be here though. First off you need to get into a doctor asap and get this flare under control before you even think of going on this cruise. Untreated this flare is only going to get worse. Then your whole trip you are going to feel miserable. Maybe the doc can put on Prednisone to help quickly get this flare under control. Also, are you watching your diet at all? I live on a low residue diet all the time, it is a diet that is easy to chew, easy to digest. But definetly get in to the doc before your trip. Good luck!!
Posted 12/27/2008 4:29 PM (GMT 0)
Too late to go to the doctor now. I have a problem with wanting to take the meds prescribed..I guess denial is at work there. I have been taking Hycort enima's for 3 weeks now and it is not working.
What is a low residue diet? Is there a website that I can go to find this information.

thanks L.
Posted 12/27/2008 5:58 PM (GMT 0)
Well Kemperca to be quite honest, if you don't take any medication to get better, you are not going to get better. Once you flare, if you let it go you are going to continue getting sicker and sicker. Sounds as if your Crohns is already out of control. Why is it too late to go to the doctor? And if the enema's are not working, why not try something else. This is a disease not to let get out of control or you are going to end up having surgery or worse. The usual med to start off with is Prednisone. It is a steroid that helps to get the inflammation under control quickly. That sounds like what you are using in the enema's, but if they are not staying in they aren't doing any good. So maybe its better if you take it by mouth. If you google low residue diet you will find info on it. But you need medication to help you first. I wish you good luck, but I expect things aren't going to improve for you soon unless you accept that fact that you have a chronic and incurable bowel disease. This is not a disease to mess with by being stubborn and not wanting to take meds. Sorry if I sound harsh, but I have lived with this disease for over 33 years and can tell you from experience that if you don't take care of yourself now you are going to be in a world of hurt later.

Good luck,
Gail *Nanners*
Posted 12/27/2008 7:24 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Kemperca, I have crohn's colitis which is crohn's affecting the colon where ulcerative colitis typically hangs out, it's still crohn's, it's just affecting the colon rather than the usual small intetinal area, although CD can affect any part of the GI tract at one time.

The meds used to treat crohn's colitis are the same meds used to treat ulcerative colitis, it's meds like asacol, imuran ect that target inflammation in the colon.

:)
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