kazbern said...
she has it in the most common place. Something like 80% of people with Crohn's have disease in the terminal ileum. Since the introduction of biologic meds, most people do not require surgery. However, if her inflammation is not controlled well she might ultimately have to have a resection. You can search this forum for stories of people needing resections of the TI. NiceCupOfTea is preparing to have a surgery in the near future I think.
Update: I did have surgery about
a month after this post and have been whinging about
it ever since >_>.
I never had a resection though. My entire colon was affected, as well as the last few inches of the terminal ileum. The surgeon could cut out the terminal ileum right enough, but there was literally no healthy bowel at the other end to connect to: my entire colon was diseased.
Apparently that, combined with being on steroids, led to a 50% chance of an anastomotic leak (an anastomosis is the join where the segmented bowel been stitched back together). The only operation I could have was a total colectomy with ileostomy (not colostomy).
That's pretty much the only instance you'll ever need a permanent stoma for Crohn's disease, and it's rare: even rarer nowadays because of the biologic meds (Remicade/Humira). Most people with Crohn's do not have it throughout their entire colon.
Re B12. Shots are the best way. Oral B12 doesn't tend to be well absorbed, but you could try sublingual B12, which dissolves under the tongue.