flchurchlady

     I am scheduled to undergo a perm ileo on June 28th.  Is that the same as a total colectomy?  Right now I am flaring, ulcerative proctitis, and had to go back to 40 mgm of prednisone or wind up being hospitalized.  The bleeding has stopped but I still have terrible urgency and pressure, no formed stool.  I was up half the night after eating a low residue diet yesterday too.  I am 63 yrs old and the surgeon will not operate unless I pass a stress echo.  I have situs inversus (all my organs are reversed).  I had the stress echo on Tuesday and I believe the technician was inexperienced in dealing with people with situs inversus and my cardiologist said it didn't meet the standards where he would comfortably say I am  ready for surgery.  This has added to my anxiety.  Apparently, the frontal lobes of the heart didn't have a clear reading.

     Did you have to undergo such vigorous testing prior to surgery?

     Sorry this is late in reply.  Our computer had a virus and we just got it straightened out today.

     I have ulcerative proctitis and have become prednisone dependent over the last few years.  Sometimes I wonder if I have made the correct decision as reading some of these horror stories with complications following surgery really scares me.  about every other day I will have urgency issues.  My stools are soft, not really formed.   Depending on my diet, if I am BAD..lol...I pay dearly for it.  I feel constant pressure in the rectum.  I did take 2 teaspoons of liquid Immodium this morning after going about three times and I needed to get out of my house at 9:30 am.  The prednisone has stopped the bleeding.  I was tapered down to 7.5 mgm but the week before Memorial Day my flare worsened and I phoned the surgeon's office and was told to increase the prednisone in order to stay out of the hospital.  I increased it to 40 mgm (the dose my GI usually starts me at) and the bleeding stopped.  I am now tapered down to 35 mgm and will stay at this for five days.  I know the surgeon wants me on as little prednisone as possible going into surgery.

     I am scheduled to undergo a Nuclear stress echo next Tuesday.  This has me concerned because I don't like the idea of a dye being injected into me and it most likely will go through my intestines and I have no idea whether that will affect this flare.  I talked with the technician who will perform this procedure and she said it SHOULD have no effect...BUT does she know that for sure??  I am just so frustrated at this point.

     I know they will have to take out the rectum...that is my main problem.  If they could just take the rectum out and leave the colon, that would be great, but according to the surgeon, that is just not done in patients with ulcerative colitis.

     Situs Inversus is very rare.  Yes, my surgeon is aware that I have it but don't know if he ever operated on anyone who did have it.  This is very scary to me.  I will remind everyone a million times, don't worry..lol.  My appendix is on the opposite side too, so I guess I will be somewhat of a challenge.  Hope I am making the right choice.

When your colon and rectum are removed it is a Proctocolectomy.

got it