How does pain of jpouch surgery compared to worst pain of a flare?

I am increasingly accepting that jpouch surgery is in my near future. One thing all the veterans seem to say is that it is rough- albeit great once it's all over. I'd probably need 3 steps (last I was told by surgeon)... Now, for even minor surgeries like exploratory surgery of the knee for example, I have experienced pain far, far more intense, for 24-48 hours, than the worst pain of a flare (and my Biggest UC issue by far is relentless pain). I am talking pain that is unbearable. In theory, that shoukd be managed if need be with morphine for a day or so, but it seems too many places undermedicate. Just wondering if, with decent pain meds, the post surgical pain is not that horrible. Can one be largely off all pain meds within a few days after each surgery?

Thanks, OM. Is seprafilm used in laparoscopic surgery too, or just open? If I do take the plunge it will be laporoscopic for all 3.

Still hoping I am going to pull a rabbit out of a hat. GI not advising surgery, but I am just so fed up with pain, meds, and compromising on my life, and with endless disappointment on every alternativebtherapy and drug I have so far tried.. And with the 4 or 5 decades left in my life think its time to be done with this asinine disease. GI kind of refuses to let me try triple antibiotic therapy- says data for it is weak. I am a but scared to try it actually given how badly I flared in the past with antibiotics. GI Just wants me to keep cycling immune suppressing drugs. If things sudden,y improve I may live to fight another day but it seems I am close to the end of my rope. Cheers

Post Edited (Probiotic) : 9/16/2012 7:38:50 PM (GMT-6)

Like I said dont know what they are doing
today with lapro,they may not even have to worry about adhesions. Since I would imagine the small intesting is less disturbed.
Old Mike

Yes, they restrict you from driving mainly because you are on pain meds for a while. I went home with Vicodin and I happily used up the whole bottle. Lol. So I suppose if you are off the pain meds you can drive. You can of course walk as much as you want afterwards....that's encouraged. You cannot lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk for 6 weeks. Then after that you would have to check with your surgeon for the okay to resume your fitness routine. As long as you have no complications after each of the surgeries and you are feeling strong, you are able to do whatever you want as far as travel. I will tell you that even thru the post op discomfort, I felt SO much better getting that diseased colon out of me. It was really remarkable.

Hey byebyeUC- if you are still reading this- is that typical, to need vicodin, House-style, for a month after surgery? Was that due to complications? I was hoping the typical periodof significant pain with laporoscopic surgery is just a few days at most, though it is what it is (a few weeks of nasty pain without a break after all is fairly typical for my UC and I take no pain meds for that- but, like I said, post surgical pain for me from rather minor surgeries has been far worse albeit for just short stretches like 24-48h).

Right on byebyeUC- thanks again for hanging around here as opposed to disappearing given how your life is back- very helpful info.

The pain is pretty bad, I mean you've been cut and had your insides moved around, how could it not hurt? :). Is it worse than UC pain? At first I thought it was. The difference is, the pain from surgery was short lived, and I knew that it wouldn't last long, and I knew that at the end I would have my health and my life back. Which made it easier to get through. Plus, there are drugs, lots of them,lol. To me it was kind of like when I had my son, it hurt, and it hurt horribly! But it was worth it to get my baby!
If you are in good shape now I recommend having your core as strong as possible that will really help with recovery. After you have healed completely you should be able to go back to anything you do now. The driving is partially because of drugs, but also because after surgery its hard to sit up for a long period of time comfortably and you will tire very easily. You don't want to get 50 miles from home and be too tired to drive home.
I know you plan on lapro, and usually it all works out that way, but prepare for the possibility that they may have to open you up. I'm not trying to scare
you, just giving you the facts. Good luck!

Thanks, ActiveUCer... That sounds excellent. I too would almost certainly be a threestepper. Yeah, something tells me that whatever surgery involves pouch creation must be the toughest recovery... But it sounds like lapro plus excellent, proactive pain intervention by the docs and nursing staff should keep that managable. I admire the courage you had to make the jump. At heart I have a bitof beautUC in me but, having failed pretty much everything (well, havent tried triple antibiotic therapy- that's about all I havent tried) , I realize that I am not getting any younger and should start making plans for the rest of my life UC free. I am trying to reconsult with a surgeon I spoke to a few years ago and get ready for the leap too, barring my pulling a rabbit out of a hat. Good luck on 2 and 3 and thanks for staying on this forum too.

Thanks for your encouraging comment. The moment I started having accidents at even 30 megs of Prednisone and while on Remicade, I decided that was enough UC for me.

Just to clarify my pre-surgery meds that necessitated three stpes, I was on 40 megs of pred for two months before my surgery, on 25megs for two months before that. And varying levels of pred since Nov 11. In addition, I had had a full dose of Remicade (10mg/kg) about six weeks before my surgery.

In addition, I had mine done at the Cleveland Clinic and I think the surgeons there are more likely to go with three steps. So maybe you will get away with two?

ByebyeUC- I sure would love if 2 steps woukd be fine for me. When I consulted a few years back I was on biologics, and he said that those or Imuran/6MP necessitated 3 to drastically reduce the likelihood of sepsis. I have been off biologics for about 16 months.. However I am currently on 5-10 mg pred and have been on various doses of pred, averaging around 7.5 mg, for the past few months- so althiugh it has all been low dose, I bet he woukd want 3 - we'll see. Even if I do pull a rabbit out if a hat soon, I am going to get surgery pre-authorized again so I can yank the emergency stop (or rather, go) cord at a moments notice.

Thanks, byebyeUC- and ya kmow, even if I pull the rabbit, I am now doing annual or close to annual colonoscopies with tons of biopsies, and the recovery from these scooes is freakin' brutal- I flare each time. That means an annual flare even jf I didnt have a bunch of other flares... So it needs to be one heck of a rabbit now, lol. We'll see, we'll see. Didn't you say that you almost cancelled your first surgery because of the jitters? Or did you feel ironclad once you made the decision leap?