Hello,
I am sharing my experience and hoping it will help anyone who is dealing with or has dealt with similar issues I have had over the years.
I have have had Crohns for 5 years and was quickly progressing with no healing. I failed on Remicade, Entyvio, and Humira. My Crohns was confined to my large intestine and was very aggressive in my rectum, leading to many fistulas and abscesses. My doctors said that my perianal Crohns was one of the worst that he has seen.
When I was first diagnosed with Crohns and was dealing with multiple perianal abscesses and fistulas, I decided to undergo a procedure for a temporary loop ileostomy to allow for my colon to heal. After having the loop ileostomy for 3 years, there was no healing in colon which I decided to have a colectomy with an end ileostomy. The plan was to have a complete proctectomy a year later, which I just had performed last week.
This last procedure was very nerve wracking as I was planning on having plastic surgery in addition to the proctectomy due to the old abscesses and fistulas. This was going to extend my hospital stay to 3+ weeks, which was going to be very tough with not seeing my family due to COVID. However, the surgery went significantly better than the doctor had hoped and performed the proctectomy with no plastic surgery. My doctor removed my rectum, sewed everything up, and reconstructed my perineum. I was discharged after 3 days (which blew my mind) and am currently recovering at home.
I have had a very long 5+ year battle with severe perianal Crohns and wanted to share my experience with others in case anyone is in the same situation.
All in all, my ileostomy has saved my life. I hope anyone who takes the time to read this can see that there are better things to come with the advancement of surgeries for Crohns.
Thank you all for your time!
Post Edited (Jlang12) : 11/21/2020 11:08:46 AM (GMT-7)