HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

colonic inertia

Support Forums
>
Ostomies
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 3/23/2006 4:15 AM (GMT 0)
hi all. i seem to be suffering from colonic inertia. am i really that screwed? from what i am reading, it seems that it is a matter of time before i call it quits and go have a colectomy.

unfortnately i have CD and it is active in the rectum/anus, so i'd be having a colostomy. i dont want a bag (heck, no one does) but then it appears you all say you are doing well and have gotten your lives back, so i am trying to come to grips with what seems to be my eventual future.

are there any physical restrictions with a colostomy? will i still be able to surf? that kind of stuff.

since the colon is gone and there is no water absorption, can i expect liquid stools all the time and to be going often, or is different from person to person and things come and go? how is life with an ostomy? what i can i expect? i am thinking of going to a support group for ostomies i saw posted on the CCFA website.

the docs really have no idea why this happened to me. i had surgery in july 2005 where i lost about 8 inches of the sigmoid colon and another 2 inches at the ileum. surgery went great and i made a full recovery and was back to normal doing everything by november. then around thanksgiving my system just stopped and i havent been able to go to the bathroom since without laxatives. those dont seem to really work anymore - they just turn the stool to liquid but dont promote evacuation since i have a motility problem. i am on zelnorm. i am doing slightly better on it than off it, but still, it aint a solution and it is no way to live.

oh, i posted about colonic inertia in the CD forum, but i dont think any of them had ostomies, but then i didnt really ask about it like i am here.

thanks for any help, advice, words of encouragement, etc etc
bryan

cd since 1993
Posted 3/23/2006 6:15 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Bryan,
I had colonic inertia and surgery with slight complications that landed me with an ileostomy for 4 months. I found after about 6 weeks that I was up and about, working, etc. I did not find any physical limitations. I obviously protected the bag. I wore underwear that covered it and that fit, not too tight or too lose. The small intestines takes over absorbing water and diet helps to prevent liquid stools all the time. You'll figure out through trial and error what foods work for you and what ones don't, believe me! I don't think that I'll ever eat refried beans or brussell sprouts again.

I have just recently had the ostomy reversed, so I am back to the drawing board as to what works, etc. I am again 6 weeks out and just back to work fulltime. I'm not going to say that it was all easy, but I will say that all in all, I am better than I was before.

Hope this helps,
Cathy
Posted 4/5/2006 1:59 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Bryan,

I know how you feel in a way. I am currently in the USAF in Japan, Okinawa to be specific. I am a 23 year old male who came from work one day and felt kind of funny with pain on my left lower side. I have been in and out of doctors. I have spent weeks in the hospital with certain things making the pain worse then others. I have been dealing with constant pain for at least 2 years which is nothing compared to some of the people stories I have read so in a way I feel blessed they found it this soon in me. Anyways I have been told I have colonic inertia and they have me scheduled for the surgery on 5 May 2006. I am scared to death and don't know how to react. I know it is in gods hands and he has a will for me but it doesn't mean I want fear the unknown. They did a siztmarker test on me and when they took the xrays I had all 24 markers in from beginning to end. It has gotten to the point that the pain causes me to topple and they have me on pain killers which is a little stupied because the pain killers constipate you more. Anyways if there is anything I can do that might help you or make you feel a little more at ease I will. I will keep you informed with how my surgery goes as well as checking on your condition as well. I hope I don't have to have the bag but if I do I will survive the issue and move on. My biggest thing is loosing my career in the military when it has just only began.

Cathy I have noticed you respond to alot of these cases I was wondering if you have any advise for dealing with this and anything that might help to make the transition easier. I am sorry to hear yours went so bad and I am glad to hear you are doing much better now.
Posted 4/6/2006 2:12 AM (GMT 0)
thanks. i hope things go well for you. i cant comment on your military status since i am not a member of our armed services. but try not to worrry. a job is a job. there will always be jobs. and who really has their dream job anyway? you'll be ok. try not to stress. let me know how things go. be strong. from what i've read this is by no means the end of the world.

i am doing ok at best on the zelnorm. i am functional, let's put it that way. i am better off on it than not. there has been a few days were the pain was bad and i have had to take vicodin. one time i had to go to the ER the pain was so bad. the doc wants me to keep taking it. we'll see how things go for another month. i am highly skeptical things will get any better. i am going all day, but when i do go i am hardly going. that is no way to live. but before surgery i want to make sure i exhaust every possible option since surgery is final and absolute.

i am at the point now where if i do need a bag, then so be it. it seems that most people are able to reclaim their lives and get living again. my life is totally on hold now and that irks me more than having crohn's disease. life is full of adjustments. any one who has a disease knows this. sure you get depressed at first, but then you accept your plight and adjust and move on and make the most of what you have and can do. i cant run or play tennis any more cos of the effect long term prednisone had on my joints. it sucks, but at least i had fun when i did play and i was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to do it. that is how you have to look at things. you just get new hobbies is all and be thankful for the time you had doing something else. you cant play football your whole life.

the biggest thing i have learned is that life never turns out how we might plan it or have liked it to happen. only through something miserable do you achieve enlightenment and a greater/deeper understanding and appreciation. those who are healthy really take things way too much for granted and in the end just never do get it. it is only when you get knocked down a few rungs that you realize how precious life is, how valuable time is, and how lucky and blessed you are to have your friends and family. we all need to be humbled now and again. sometimes i just wish i could have a longer time between humblings.

ok, that is all the preaching for me from today. i'll get down from my pulpit.

bryan
Posted 4/6/2006 9:06 AM (GMT 0)
Why the preaching was great! You said it all I never realized how much I took for granted the time I was able to spend with my family and everthing else before I started having these problems. But like you said let us be thankful for what we got because we could always be a little lower or a little worse. Its like you said we have friends and familys who love us and support us and to me that makes a world of difference. I am young and will bounce back from this and so will you. Just keep your positive attitude and don't let things get you down. If you ever need anyone to talk to just put a post and you will have a support group here that will be glad to support you. Or at least that is what I have experienced so far. Keep me posted and if there is anything I might do to help let me know. Thanks for the advice to.
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply