Unsure and desperate

Hi, first post.

Does anyone know if ostomies are performed on people with chronic severe anal canal issues?I had my second hemorrhoidectomy 4 years ago and it did not go well at all. Left with severe pain, irritation, incontinence and on and on. I have been to 4 specialists that basically say that there's not much that can be done except diet and environmental changes. Well, i've done all that and still the agony persists. I'm convinced there is some kind of nerve damage and god knows what else and this will plague me for the rest of my life. It has left me a shell, no quality of life and dominates everything i do.

I need to use stool softeners everyday or bowel movements are unmanageable(too hard and large). Even when they are perfect, the pain still returns and persists all day every day. I hate having them because this triggers everything. I also have chronic hemmorhoids because of this. Desperation has set in. Is there any way an ostomy of some kind might give me back my life? I have lost a lot of weight due to depression and fearing too many bm's that make this nightmare worse.

My rectum and colon are fine, just a basically destroyed anal canal.

Thanks for the welcome.

I know little on this subject but it's good you are pain free now. I have a colorectal surgeon now but have not run this by him yet but i will. I'm not sure what his reaction will be but at this point i don't care. It's ironic, the last time i there, one of his new associates was the surgeon who destroyed my butt. I was hoping to never see his face again. One of the most uncaring doctors i have ever dealt with.

Sorry for my ignorance as i don't know anyone personally who has an ostomy but i have a few concerns. I'm worried if i had this surgery i would still be in discomfort after recovery. Do you think they would remove the damaged area? Also having a good colon and rectum, would they be left in tacked or is that not possible?

Post Edited (gravy) : 9/24/2010 7:16:25 PM (GMT-6)

esoR said...
gravy,

If your colon is OK it sounds like a colostomy could certainly be done. I would highly recommend a consult at George Washington University Medical Center (if you can get there) they may have something that could be done regarding the anal canal, but certainly you could get a colostomy. Lahey Clinic in Massachusetts is also excellent in my experience.

Rosemary

Hi,

i live in Toronto Canada but thanks anyway. Every specialist i see advises against anymore surgery as it could make things worse since i have had 2 already. I think colostomy would be my only choice now to rid myself of this horrible situation.

If the colon is left untouched is digestion pretty much the same after surgery and healing? Is irrigation only an option for some? I watched a video on utube in which a guy demonstrated how it's done. Very informative. I have plans to move to SE Asia next year but i'm afraid if i had this surgery that might not be possible. Being a third world country with questionable medical services, i'm not sure it would wise...

Gravy, we too are in Toronto. My son's guardian angel ( in our view) is Helen MacRae who is a colo-rectal surgeon at Mount Sinai. I would see another doc and make sure they know exactly what you are going through.

Allison77 said...
I had the surgery last Nov. and have never looked back.

If i may ask, what was removed and what kind of surgery? Are you still in discomfort at all?