Questions about colectomy

Whether it is a symptom of something larger probably doesn't matter too much, since whatever it would be a symptom of is clearly unknown and untreatable at the moment. Hopefully in the future there is more that can be done to treat the "whole person" instead of removing the organ. That said, perhaps it is just the colon.

I know a lot of people said the moment they were back to being free of surgical pain, they noticed increased energy from being free of the inflammation caused by the diseased organ. I personally was fatigued before I had UC, and I still struggle with fatigue. I have my entire life. I didn't expect colon surgery to solve all of my problems.

I've heard people say surgery for UC is trading one set of problems for another, and while to some extent, it's true, my only problem since surgery is going ~5x a day, with no pain, urgency/blood. I don't know if that's a problem since i have some friends who go that much and do not have colon disease. I was a once a day goer before UC, so for me, it's an inconvenience. Going once a day after my diagnosis was becoming less and less likely the longer I dealt with the condition. I also traded some problems in a positive way, no more drugs, no more doctors, no more medical expenses - so it's not all bad trade-offs, no more anxiety about accidents. In fact, i'd say the majority of the trades, in my case, have been beneficial to me, with the exception of more trips and occasional butt burn.

This board is really anti-surgery to some extent. People would rather use a diaper, or drive around with a plastic bowl in their car than have surgery - so I hope you understand if you receive some negative comments, that's what you're going against here

You also have to take into consideration that surgical results aren't always the same and nothing is guaranteed. There is also no turning back. it's a big risk no matter how you slice is. Not something to be taken lightly.

conceivably the genes predisposing to IBD, could predispose to some other inflammatory disorder. For example, psoriatic arthritis. IF someone has joint pain secondary to IBD/flare, then ending flares generally ends symptoms outside colon.

But if you have a co-morbid 2nd condition, one springing form the same genes, but otherwise not caused by the 1st condition, then it is likely the symptoms of the 2nd condition continue.

Thanks for the replies, everybody. I am just the concerned husband.

My wife has tried many things: Remicade, Simponi, 6MP, Entyvio, etc. which have all failed. Steroids are no longer working either and she is currently in the hospital for a couple days. Her GI wants to try Stelara and has recently talked about the possibility that what she could have is Crohn's instead of UC.

Just trying to find out what other experiences are like.

I'm sorry your wife is in the hospital right now. This disease is very frustrating. NSSG provided a good perspective. Surgery isn't as cut and dry or curable if it is Crohns vs UC. A lot can depend on where the disease is, if it has ever been in the terminal ileum or small bowel.

My diagnosis always presented more as UC because it was confined to my lower left colon. I had the disease for nearly 2 decades with no disease in the small bowel. I'm considered to have Crohn's colitis. So in my situation the benefits of a colectomy greatly outweighed the risk, in my opinion and my surgeons. But Crohn's can appear anywhere so there is still that risk in my small bowel.

Similar to your wife I had been on all the drugs. Only 2 I hadn't tried with Xeljanz and Stelara. My GI wanted to try Xeljanz but after so many years I just wanted surgery. There are a couple folks on here who are having great success with xeljanz and some on the Crohn's board using Stelara.