Hi dawnc7. I lost my ileum, cecum, appendix and a couple of other parts of my intestine to surgery 25 years ago. Yes, you'll have a tendency to get diarrhea afterwards, but no, not continuous. Expect a lot of diarrhea for the first couple of months though while you're recovering from surgery, but it diminishes after awhile. At least after your initial recovery, it's OK to use drugs like imodium and biѕmuth to help control diarrhea. Biѕmuth is milder, so maybe start with that.
The diarrhea is caused by the fact that the ileum is the only place in the digestive system where bile salts are absorbed, so once the ileum is gone, these salts are free to cause problems. There is a drug called Cholestyramine (brand-name Questran) which binds the bile salts, and this is extremely effective at preventing diarrhea in people who have had the ileum removed.
The other long-term issue of axing the ileum is that you'll also lose the ability to absorb vitamin B12 in your diet. Taking B12 pills won't do much good. The ileum is where that vitamin is absorbed - no other part of the body can take over this function. That puts you at risk of a vitamin B12 deficiency, which can lead to lethargy and even more serious affects as time goes on.
Fortunately, it's a pretty easy problem to solve. Many of us Crohnies take vitamin B12 injections. Your body can store B12 for quite some time, so you don't need daily injections. Some people do it monthly, I do it every 2 weeks. The injection can be done IM, not IV, so you can learn to do it yourself. Or have a friend/lover/spouse do it. Not so hard, with a little bit of practice. Biggest problem is just remembering to do it, so set a date, like the first day of each month, or first and the 16th if you're doing twice monthly like I am.
I buy my vitamin B12 ampules 10 at a time, so that's a five-month supply. I keep them in the refrigerator. Where I live (Taiwan) I can buy B12 ampules and syringes across the counter, but maybe you need a prescript
ion depending on your country's rules.
Tips about
surgery: as soon as you're able, get out of bed (maybe three days after the operation). Walk as much as possible, without hurting yourself. This is important - you'll recover from the surgery faster, and this will help prevent adhesions, which can begin to form just days later. Doing some walking everyday for about
six months after surgery will probably keep you adhesion-free. Adhesions are the most serious potential complication.
Tips about
inflammation: the surgery will greatly relieve your symptoms, but the disease won't be gone. So you'll still have to take some measures to avoid recurrences. Anti-inflammatory drugs, most likely - your doctors will probably subscribe something. Dietary things to avoid (from my experience): caffeine and hot spices definitely make inflammation worse.
Hope this helps.
cheers,
Oz
Post Edited (ozonehole) : 5/28/2015 7:12:41 AM (GMT-6)