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Will removing Crohn's's ravished colon help?

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Posted 4/2/2016 6:04 AM (GMT 0)
Greetings,
I have had Crohn's disease for over 30 years and have had multiple surgeries. I suffer daily just getting anything through my messed up system, seems like I can't get anyone to diagnose and treat properly what wrong. I have tried most of what's drugs available without success. When do you just say it time to get rid of what's not working? My only fear is doing that going to be worse, I did have a temporary colostomy for 3 months and it was brutal. I could not wait for the reversal. So I have lots of doubts. I have seen 5 surgeons as the thought was it might be adhesions, but not one would do anything, not even just look inside? I'm suffering so much, please any suggestions.
Posted 4/2/2016 2:23 PM (GMT 0)
I'm sorry you are having so much trouble. I just had surgery to remove my colon and I feel so much better and I am very happy with my decision. However I had a temporary ileostomy before and knew I didn't mind having the bag. If you are miserable having a bag then you have to weigh how bad your disease is versus how much the bag affected you.

I was in so much pain and had no quality of life it was worth it to me to get my life back. Once my colon and rectum were out my daily fevers went away, all my pain was gone, the sores on my skin went away, and I don't miss running to the toilet one bit.

Another thing to consider is, is the disease only in your colon or is it also in your small intestine? My disease was Crohns colitis and right now only in the colon and rectum so surgery took all my problems away. For someone who also has disease in the small intestine that may not be the case and surgery may not be worth it.
Posted 4/4/2016 12:15 AM (GMT 0)
I think the first thing to do is find out if your Crohn's is currently active and, if so, where. That means having tests like a colonoscopy, small bowel MRI scan, etc.

Second, why was having a colostomy brutal? Having an ostomy of any kind is a steep learning curve and unfortunately you didn't have yours for long enough to know whether you would have adapted to it. You might have been fine after a year; I just cannot tell what the problems were from your post.
Posted 4/5/2016 5:47 AM (GMT 0)
Hi, the Crohn's has been in the colon only, I did have 1/3 removed and 3 other major surgeries in the abdomen unrelated to the Crohn's. I did have a temporary colostomy for 3 months and did pretty good with caring for it, I guess the problem might have been that the setup was temporary and not long term so I could have tried more stuff to make it work if it was permanent. Still leaving all options open, thanks
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