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crohn’s disease surgery

Read and learn more about crohn’s disease surgery. For more, visit the Crohn’s Disease website DrCrohns.org

Q: Crohn’s Disease – Resection Surgery?
I’m 26 and have had Crohn’s for about 10 years. During my most recent colonoscopy my gastroenterologist discovered a lot of scarring which is causing a partial obstruction. He stated that scarring is irreversible and will need surgery to correct. I would have to have 15 inches removed and then they would reconnect the ends of the colon. I’m looking for the pros and cons. Has anyone had this? Did it lead to more frequent surgeries? How long were you in the hospital? How long would I have to stay out of work?

A: I had resection surgery about 10 years ago when I was 27. They took out about 6 six inches of my small intestines and my appendix for good measure while they were in there.

So far this has been my only surgey. Since this disease varies between people there is really no way to tell how many more surgeries you may or may not need after the first one.

I’d say the pros would be that you should be in remission for a while after the surgery. Of course there is no way to know how long that will be.

Cons other than going through the surgery and recovery time would be that the disease mostly likely will come back near the area of the resection.

I was in the hostpital for about 7 days. I was stayed out of work for about 4 weeks total.

Q: Kids & Crohn’s Disease re: Surgery (question)?
Our 11 yr old has Crohn’s – went through a 6 week intensive feeding tube program Feb-March – then went into remission but only lasted until a few weeks ago. The pains came back & we noticed some malabsorption (only gained 1 pound in 3 months) were told at recent exam by GI Dr. there are 2 options 1) Imuran (which has some nasty possible side effects) or 2) back on 4 week feeding tube program using Peptamin (Nestle special high nutritional formula) The feeding tube program in combination with an anti-inflammatory gives the intestines a chance to “heal” and take in heavy duty nutrients that were not absorbed prior

We haven’t explored surgery and not sure we want to at this point until growth & developement are complete.

Let’s face it, there are only so many feet of intestine that can be removed…

Does anybody know how many years go by after surgery (on average) that perhaps add’l surgeries are needed?

And also how long after surgery (on average) before another flareup?

A: A flare can be caused by anything. Food poisoning is a common cause for a flare. Also, things like French fries and sometimes salad will cause massive fissures in the intestines and colon. I would only advise surgery if he can not handle the pain, or if the doctors advise it. Crohn’s disease is a mystery to us right now!

This is also a gene carried by the father and is most common in males. So make sure your son knows that when he gets older.

but to answer your other questions. Once the person has surgery, they will probably laps back into another flare sooner or later, but the hope is that it is going to be a lot less drastic.

Edit – to the post bellow me – While some of what you say is right, you are also very very wrong. I am sure that changing the diet of the patient will work wonders, excessive bile is NOT the cause of crohn’s. Crohn’s is caused by the patients IMMUNE system attacking, generally good, bacteria in the intestines. They attack it so much that fissures (small cuts) actually form in them! But what is worse, is that because the intestines are so packed, they often grow together and form new canals. These can often get infected since stool can get stuck in them. Also, Crohn’s can be anywhere from the mouth to the anus, bile would not be causing problems in the esophagus or the mouth unless they threw up all the time.

I really hate to say it, but this disease is caused by unknown problems with the immune system, and tends to run in family’s. Medications should be really down to mainly anti-inflammatory to try and stop the massive attack Crohn’s patients intestines undergo.

If your son is having a really bad outbreak, i would suggest surgery, they will only remove the portents of the gut that is badly infected. If he does go into remission, make sure he eats right, and is never confronted with food poisoning… this can, and most likely will cause him to flame up again.

Also, people with Crohn’s are a lot more likely to get sick because their immune system is in non-stop attack mode on their GI tack.

Best of luck to him, and anyone els in the family who might have it…

Q: Is it easier to gain Weight after having surgery for Crohn’s Disease?
I going to have Surgery soon (in about a month or two) and i was wondering how much better do you feel after Surgery?
Its hard for me to gain weight right now and im hoping surgery will help?

I have a very mild case but its near small intestine.

A: hi hhh, I am a female crohn’s pt. dxed at the age of 12. I have had several surgeries for the past 29 yrs. I’ve had it and have found that it was easier for me to gain the weight seeing as I couldn’t eat much before due to the severe pain I was in. Once I had the surgery at age 17, I was able to enjoy my mom’s home made meals again. After I got married, I needed surgery due to a stricture in my small intestines so I couldn’t eat much or I’d have a partial blockage. Thus, I lost weight until that problem was fixed. Then I regained it once I started to eat hubby’s cooking. (He is a great cook and knows what to make for me when I flare),

For more accurate information, go to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation’s site. There you will find stuff on medications, surgery, diet, locating a local support group near you plus they have a live chat & a hotline that is run by healthcare experts well versed in IBD. They have a forum where you can post questions to others like yourself & swap stories.

Surgery will definitely relieve you of pain and help if your well being hasn’t been helped by current treatments. The newer meds to take afterwards to help stay in remission are Humira, 6MP, Imuran, Remicade, and Entocort.

Feel free to email me if you have questions. good luck to you on your surgery. You will feel like a new person. :)

Q: Do you have Inflammable Bowel Disease (IBD), Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis (or know somoene who does)?
If you have Inflammable Bowel Disease or know someone who does, then please join my community of people affected with IBD at http://www.crohnsforum.com . We enjoy sharing information on the disease, surgery, nutrition, emotional support and fun.

Please join us or tell others who you know with this disease about us. I will vote + for everyone who joins (If I am allowed to) and if not then just list who you have signed up to the forum here and whoever signs up the most people (who actually have IBD and use the forum) will receive the vote(s). Ties will be determined by a random number generator.

Thank you and hope to see you all there!

A: My Aunt has Chrons disease .

Q: surgery should i get it?
i am so tired of knee surgeries and crohn’s disease surgeries. my dr wants to do my left this summer. i dont want to. so i am not. i had one in february and five others since october 2006. i dont want another one. what would you do? i just want to have fun this summer.

A: I think you have to ask yourself if your “quality of life” will improve after you’re finished with the surgeries. This will give your the hope & strength to get through the healing process.

Q: When comparing Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, which of the following is TRUE?
A. the cause of Crohn’s disease is known, whereas the cause of ulcerative coitis isnt known.
B. Ulcreative colitis is remitting, whereas Crohns disease is constant.
C.Patints with both conditions benefit equally well from surgery.
D. Crohns disease can be found anywhere in the digestive tract whereas ulcraive colitis is generally found in the colon and rectum.

A: D.

Q: Crohn’s surgery question?
I was told today that I would have to undergo surgery for my Crohn’s disease. They are looking at removing a small portion of my small and large intestine. I am a bit freaked out about it right now but fortunatly they wouldnt take out enough to make me wear a colostomy bag. Has anyone with Crohn’s undergone this surgery already? If so, how have symptoms been since?

A: Follow your doctor’s advise.

Q: How is the Surgery for people with Crohn’s Disease ???
I think im going to need Surgery later this year and i’m alittle scared because i never had surgery before.

Does the surgery heal you 100% ??? How do you feel after the surgery ??? How long was the recovery time?? What Meds do u take after words?
well the Dr. said my small intestine is the infected part and it’s going to removed and to put back during my surgery.

My crohns is a mild case but hasnt got much better in a year. Soo surgery might be the answer.

A: this sounds kind of bizarre, buut i was in literally the exact same siituation as you two years ago. i was in some pain and meds were not really working. the doctor told me i would need a surgery and i got pretty scared. however, i realized that it is best to just forget about it iin the time leading up to the surgery. my plan worked, and two years later i am in complete remmision. after recovering for two weeks i completely forgot about it and i was and stil am completely healed. i now take asacol which is just holding down the fort. after the surgery i felt mediocre. in the time just after the surgery it does hurt to walk a little, but it is easy to fight through with a couple short walks around the hospital ward a day. afterwards, the only thing standing between you and home is farting. concentrate on that, then you get to go home and be a glorified couch potatoe for a while. make sure you have video game systems and movies galore for this time period. anyways, good luck and try not to worry.

Q: has anyone heard of crohn’s disease that can only be help by surgery?
My doctor told me that I have a type of crohn’s dieasese that can only be helped with surgery that no meds will help me. Has anyone ever heard of this and if so what is it called?
Alexa, I know all about that I have had CD for 10 years. I was JUST told that it is a different type of CD that no meds will help that Only surgery after suregery wil help me

A: ———–WHAT IS IT———
Crohn’s Disease autoimmune incurable disease that manifests itself anywhere along the digestive tract (from esophagus to the anus). There are medications for it that can help put it into remission but nothing can be done to cure it.

———–WHAT DOES IT MEAN————-
Crohn’s Disease acts up when you consume certain types of foods, specifically anything with milk in it, caffeine tends to be a problem, foods with high fiber such as wheat, and really spicy foods can upset your digestive tract.

———WHAT ARE THE DANGERS—————
Inflammation can lead to severe cases of Crohn’s Disease where abscesses and fistulas can develop in which surgery would be required. An abscess is when a pocket of puss forms due to usually inflammation. Sometimes abscess can be cured with just heavy antibiotics depending on its size. If not, the surgery performed is to drain out the puss. The exact procedure varies depending on location but in my case, after they drained the puss, they stuffed it with cloth to heal the inside. The next day the took out the cloth (most painful thing ever), and was just told to clean the hole everyday until it healed up.

Fistulas may happen when an abscess is left untreated. A fistula is when a abscess connects two cavities together. For example, connect from the small intestine to large intestine, or large intestine to the skin. When this happens, your body fluids travel through these holes. The cure for this is to perform surgery where the doctor cuts the fistula in half and then ties the two ends.
You won’t necessarily develop fistulas or abscesses. In fact only 1/4 people with Crohn’s Disease get these.

———-MEDICATION———
There are many medications out there for Crohn’s Disease. Usually prednizone is the first medication your put on. Prednizone is a steroid used to suppress Crohn’s Disease before your switched onto a different drug. Prednizone is a hell of a drug. It makes you constantly hungry, I’d wake up in middle of nights covered in sweat with urges to urinate, it was horrible. Prednizone can also cause you to become steroid dependent if you stay on it too long so most doctors start with a large amount of prednizone and slowly wean you off it rather than abruptly stopping the medication.
After Prednizone, I was put on Azathiaprine. This is a relatively easy, convenient drug with few side-effects that suppresses Crohn’s Disease.

However, Azathiaprine does not work with all patients, which happened with me. So after Azathiaprine failed, I decided to switch to either Remicade or Humira.
Remicade is an infusion that you take at the hospital every few months or so.
Humira is an inject-able that you can do yourself at your home. You take this drug every two weeks. Humira is relatively new so many doctors try for Remicade. Humira and Remicade are very similar. The major risk is of allergic reactions. When first switching onto this drug, keep a close eye on your body. The only downfall is that both Humira and Remicade are relatively expensive.

There are certainly other medications out there for Crohn’s Disease. The above are just drugs I have had experience with. I ended up with Humira as my insurance refused to cover the costs for Remicade and so far, I have been well and healthy for approx. 6 months. I’m relatively new to Crohn’s Disease so I’m sorry if I left anything out.

————-OTHER————
I have also heard of non-medication treatments for Crohn’s Disease such as Homeostatic Soil Organism Probiotic a.k.a. HSO Probiotic. I tried Primal Defense and it worked while I used it but once I ran out, Crohn’s acted up again. I don’t know if it was coincidence or because I ran out but I would give it a try.

I hope that helped you out. It might seem overwhelming at first, (it sure did for me), but if you just stick through it and I promise things will get better =)

Q: Can I really heal myself from Crohn’s Disease?
I do not want to have an 8th surgery for my Crohn’s disease and I don’t want the drugs. I am going to a place called The Chopra Center and try to heal myself. Is it possible? Does Meditation help? Here is my blog so far…
http://www.aWellnessExperience.com
All this information is great, Thank You!

A: First, Crohn’s disease is an event, like Tuberculosis, that is a result of our modern diet. Primitive cultures were resistant to these types of diseases and many others because their diets contained high amounts of nutrients that are missing from our foods today. Just go to the Mausoleum where dead food is held in state and look at the junk as you walk down the death row aisles. There is very little nutritive value there. Most people are not aware that Cavities are a result of modern man’s diet as well. Primitive people did not have cavities and amazingly enough they didn’t put fluoride in their water supplies and didn’t need fluoride toothpastes either. In fact, they had no need to clean their teeth of tartar either. They had good jaw formations that allowed their teeth to come in and not be crowded.

Many studies have been done indicating pasteurized milk as one of the culprits in Crohn’s disease. Previous research found that the mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (MAP) was present in about 92 percent of patients with Crohn’s disease, compared to 26 percent of patients in a control group.

MAP is present in about two percent of commercial pasteurized milk. So, not only does pasteurization kill the beneficial bacteria available in milk, but it leaves a potentially harmful organism alive and well. Making matters worse, the conventional recommendation to drink milk that has been pasteurized at even higher temperatures is far from helpful.

What nearly everyone fails to appreciate about pasteurized milk is that although the pathogenic (disease causing) bacteria are killed during pasteurization so they can’t multiply, they are NOT removed from the milk. The dead bacteria are STILL IN THE MILK.

If the bacteria are there, they can serve as a stimulus to your immune system and cause all sorts of autoimmune diseases, Crohn’s disease being only one example.

Instead, RAW milk from healthy grass-fed cows is actually one of the more profound healing agents you can turn to when confronted with inflammatory bowel disease, like Crohn’s. Rather than cause it, raw milk can send your IBD into remission. This is because if cows are raised properly and only fed grass, not immunized, given access to plenty of fresh air and sunshine, and not given antibiotics or harmful vaccines that impair their immune system, then they simply do not get sick or become colonized with these pathogenic bacteria in the first place. Thus there is no need to pasteurize their milk.

What many also fail to appreciate is that pasteurization is NON discriminate in its ability to kill bacteria. Pasteurization kills the GOOD bacteria in the milk that actually makes you healthy and can reverse diseases like Crohn’s.

An additional cause are parasites. These are not easily detected and in a lot of cases cannot be found until after death an a thorough autopsy is performed!

It is not easy to be healthy in America. In 1905, the CDC reported less than 5% of ALL Americans were chronically ill. In 2005, the CDC reported that over 53% of ALL Americans are now chronically ill. Does that sound like Americans are being fed good, quality food and that our medicines are really helping us to be healthy? NOT.

Inflammation is the body’s natural immune response to infections. It is how the body causes more blood to flow to the infected area, so it can deliver the necessary nutrients that can heal the injury. If the nutrients are not in the body, the injury won’t heal properly and the inflammation will become a chronic problem, like in Crohn’s.

An imbalance of the two essential fatty acids, omega 3 and omega 6 will make the body inflamed. Most Americans have huge stores of omega 6 and little omega 3 fatty acids. It’s not enough to just take a bunch of omega 3 fatty acids, but one should put foods in their bodies that are close to the 1:1 ratio of these essential fatty acids to fix this issue and avoid foods high in omega 6’s. Commercial beef found in the Mausoleums that house the dead foods (super markets) are very high in omega 6’s because the feed Angus Beef grain in feed lots and allow the animals to walk around in their own feces. Grass fed beef is healthy and contains a good omega 3 to omega 6 balance. Wild fish, NOT FARM RAISED, also are a good source of this balanced scenario, as long as they are not cooked at high temperatures.

Vegetable Oils, like Soybean, Canola, Cottonseed, and Corn are terrible for you and contain lots of omega 6 fatty acids and when heated, these unstable oils form TRANS FATS with just a very little heat.

Many parasites go undetected and Crohn’s is a result of this. A typical sign of parasites is the feeling of tiredness. Many doctors misdiagnose this as some other ailments with fancy names, like Epstein Barr, etc.

I suggest you do the following to make a good attempt at fixing the crohn’s:

Go to: www.organicpastures.com Buy your dairy products from them, especially RAW MILK, Colostrum, raw butter, and raw cream. Like the primitive people, this will provide nutrients that make you strong, not weak and contribute to disease. Eat fermented vegetables and make your own keifer milk and Kombotchu. These provide organisms that heal the body, not damage it like drugs with all their so called “side effects.”

Also, go to: www.healthline.cc (not .com) and purchase:

keifer grains — to make your own keifer milk from raw milk
Parastat — This kills the parasites in the intestine
Paracidin — This kills the liver flukes in the liver.

Take maximum dosages of both of those. They are natural herbs and no chemicals. I would also purchase the “super food trio” in capsule form, not powders.

All these things above will contribute to your solution. I think you will be very surprised at the results and how well good nutrition can work for you.

Q: I have Crohn’s Disease. Will I be elegible for Bariatric Surgery?
I

A: You need to ask a doctor. No one here will know for sure, because each case is different.

Q: I have Crohn’s disease and I feel like I can’t eat anything. Will I ever have a normal life?
All of this stuff I read about how I can’t have caffeine or alcohol. I’m 21 and I feel like I can’t have any fun for my age. I feel as if I can’t go out on dates because what if I eat something that bothers me. I feel like I can’t take trips because I might get sick. It’s so hard to figure out what bothers my body. I’m taking medicine in the morning to control the diarrhea because I had surgery for this disease and the doctor told me because of some sort of fluids left over (I don’t know they could have also been from my burst appendix) that is why when I ate everything was going through me and giving me diarrhea. I just don’t understand before I was diagnosed with his disease I don’t remember having diarrhea all the time. I don’t remember being in pain. I used to go to the bathroom every morning but it was solid. I have to take 4 pills 4 times a day and find it hard to remember to do so. Please help me, as I want to enjoy life and not be consumed by this disease.

A: To answer your main question- yes you will be able to live a normal life again.
The best way to manage this is to speak to your dr. Maybe your MD can give you something else besides the medication that you are on. I work in a GI office and I know how hard it is for patients to deal with this- and at an age such as your own. Crohn’s disease can go into remission and then “flare up” again. That would most likely explain why you don’t remember having diarrhea and being in pain.
I guess the best advice I can give you at this point (and on yahoo) would be to ask your MD for all options. Another thing that you may want to consider is looking into joining a support group. There are many other people out there dealing with the same disease and concerns. Good luck and I hope you feel better about this soon.

Q: Surgery for Crohn’s?
I’ve had Crohn’s disease for 10 years now, and have never had surgery. That might be changing in the next year or so, however, since my insides have developed a large amount of strictures and scarring over the years. I’ve been on Remicade for a long time, which has kept things bearable, but not that long ago, the strictures began acting up and causing considerable pain. I started on Prednisone, and it has the symptoms back under control. I have no illusions about the lasting effects of it, though, and fully expect to get cut open at some point. So, I’m wondering if anyone here has had surgery to remove random strictures in their intestines and what it was like, how the recovery period was, the couple months following, and any other pertinent info there is to be had.

A: Honestly the surgery SUCKS! BUT, It is so worth it! Find a surgeon you love & trust, express to them all your concerns etc. I had a wonderful surgeon who had a great sense of humor, a day after my surgery he came to see me & told me that the foot of my small intestine really needed to come out & he told me they checked every inch to make sure that it was only located in the section that came out. He also told me that he had my “guts spread out through the hallway & started laughing i knew he was obviously joking. I was in the hospital fora week & was back to work a week later (no heavy lifting!!) I noticed it took at least 6 weeks to feel back to my old self again. Good Luck!

Q: Question about Crohn’s disease?
I started getting sick like once a month starting back last August, and after this happened several times, I went to the hospital and found out in January after having a colonoscopy among some other tests that I have Crohn’s disease. I have a bunch of ulcers in an area of my terminal ileum, and in another spot in my large intestine by the small intestine. I have been on and off Prednisone ever since November, and have been taking imuran ever since January. The thing is, it seems like every time I am back off of the Prednisone, I have another flare up. My GI is thinking about switching me to remicade, but I am wondering if surgery is not the better choice?

I hear that 50% of those who have a resection, will see their symptoms return 5 years after surgery. But, I also heard that there are ways to postpone the return of symptoms to 10 or more years. These include not smoking, eating healthy, taking medications, and I also heard that a recurrence in symptoms usually happens significantly later in males than in females.

The thing is, remicade is so expensive, and how smart is it really to supress the immune system? And, if I can be symptom FREE for let’s say the next 10 years, then not only would that time be much better, but also in the year 2019, they will probably have some better treatment options available when symptoms do recur.

So, has anyone had surgery on their Crohn’s disease? Did it completely remove all of your symptoms for several years and would you recommend it? Also, what cost are we looking at for surgery? With my insurance, I would have to pay for 20% out of pocket, while they pay the other 80%. Any other suggestions?

-Thanks!

A: With severe Crohn’s disease, I have been on every medication possible. Humira has been the one that has kept my steroid dependent Crohn’s at bay. Humira is expensive like Remicade, however, Abbot Labs (the makers of Humira) have a patient assistance network. They have two plans, one for those who’s co-payments are too high that offers a co-op payment plan (they pay about half your co-pay) and the second where you can qualify for a full payment assistance if you are unemployed, uninsured, or underinsured. You can not go on these plans if you are on Medicare, Medicaid, or any other state funded insurance plan.

Your doctor should have the information to apply for the patient assistance programs or you can contact them to get the ball rolling.

To answer your other question about how biologic treatments work and both Remicade and Humira work in similar ways. Each cell has receptors (think of it as a lock) on it and other proteins (keys to the lock) find these receptors to tell the cells what to do. Only the keys that fit into those locks will work.

Now, your body has too may keys floating around tells your cells to attack. What Remicade and Humira do is find these locks and block the receptors from being told what to do. In turn, your body no longer or has greatly reduced production of a protein called TNF or Tumor Necrosis Factor. So both Remicade and Humira are very smart in that they only stop that protein in your immune system. When you’re on steroids or Imuran you are essentially carpet-bombing your entire immune system and stopping all kinds of proteins from being made, even the good ones.

Surgery always sounds appealing when you want symptoms to go away, but try to explore other options before you have to have that done.

Q: What age can you operate on crohn’s disease?
My younger brother has Crohn’s disease. He’s about 12 now is it safe for him to go through surgery?

A: Hodel – Not everyone with Crohn’s disease needs an operation. Careful diet and medicines, as needed, often give excellent results. If his doctor (gastroenterologist) truly believess that surgery is required, this will be discussed with the family and the doctor. Operating comes only after other treatments do not give the desired good treatment results.

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