Colectomy

[nudibranch]

I have suffered from constipation for the last 20 years and none of the new medications have had any affect: Zelnorm, Amitiza, Miralax.  I see a colon hydrotherapist weekly for colon cleansing.  My last resort is colectomy surgery  to connect the small intesting with the rectum.  The surgeon has acknowledged possible complications such as scar adhesions causing an obstruction.   She was not clear on the probablilty of this complication and encouraged me to "do research" before making the decision.   Is this "possibility of obstruction" something that is more prevalent with surgeons with less experience?  Is "board certified by the colorectal surgeons" something that is important?

[Crash412]

Try the water cure It really works I should now I suffered from IBD for 3 years and cured something in 3 months that they said was incurable

[ng1031]

Just wanted to update everyone incase they experience the same thing. The reason I was experiencing so much cramping was actually NOT normal and was a sign of a very serious blockage.

On February 26, 2013 I was rushed to my local ER because of course I could not go back to Mayo in MN. After weeks of cramping my bowel movements started to slow down drastically. Each time I was concerned I would contact my surgeon at Mayo who would refer me to his nurse who would call me and tell me this was normal. Before I knew it I had not gone in 3 days and was feeling worse so I contacted my motility specialist at Mayo who instructed me to go to my local ER. I am glad that I did. The ileus blockage at the anastomosis came back with a vengenous. The doctors told me that the first blockage I got may have been due to the flopped over section of the small intestine blocking my rectum however the twist did not "form". The twist was the way my small bowl was when the surgeons connected it to my rectum. When they cleared the blockage the twist was still there and opened up but it formed a crease where it was flopped over. So now my body was trying to heal the crease and in the process was closing up that area of the connection. It was to the point they could not open me up with a decompression tube like last time because it was pretty much healed shut with only 2 cm if that to spare. Another surgery was the only way to fix it. The surgeon at my local hospital went in to do laproscopic but ended up having to do "open" surgery to be able to see and fix things correctly. He removed the healed up/closed shut anastomosis connection. He then created a new one that flows with my body and has a larger diameter. The small bowel no longer twists as it connects to the rectum. It not flows with the curvature correctly to allow bowel to flow the way it is suppose to.

[ng1031]

I had a laparoscopic colectomy with ileorectal anastomosis surgery at the Mayo Clinic on January 18th for slow transit constipation. I was suppose to be in the hospital for 1 week and ended up there for 3 weeks. I formed an ileus.. the most pain I have ever felt in my entire life. I was on decompression tubes.. one in my nose/throat to my stomach and the other inserted in my rectum through the small intestine until my body could do things on it's own. Before the tubes I was vomiting bile. I was on morphine drip and it still was not enough for the pain. It has been aweful. Now I am home and no more narcotics.. just tylenol which to me does nothing but I understand that the narcotics are not good on the stomach. Did anyone else form an ileus? The surgeon told me that it happens to 10% of people and that the type I had was very rare. He also scared me when he said there was no guarantee it would not come back later on.

I also formed a blood clot in my liver so now I am giving myself Lovenox shots in the stomac every morning. I go to a doctor on March 9th to start coumadin pills. Because of this I had to stop my birth control. They believe it could have contributed to why I got the blood clot during surgery.

I am going more frequently (which is great from never going at all or feeling like your being ripped apart when you go) but because I am still on the liquid diet the bm's are also liquid. From hearing other people's stories I am surprised I do not got a million times a day. How much I go is pretty tolerable. I am behind as far as food.. I should be on week 4 introducing foods etc but instead I am only a week into things. The doctor sortof started me over after the ileus cleared so I am still on liquid/soft food.

Now its a matter of trying to deal with the aches and pains and these cramps whenever my bowls decide to move. Did anyone else experience these cramps? They are aweful. The doctors say its the small intestine trying to figure out what to do and that if it's making noises and moving that is a good sign that they are still working. It might be a good sign but its painful and keeps me up at night. I also getting a shooting pain whenever I pass anything that is not liquidy.. like if my bowl has any bit of substance to it I get this shooting pain in my lower right abdomen. Anyone experience this? Doctors say its because my body is healing. It just makes me nervous as I really am scared of the ileus returning. They told me as long as I am not vomiting again, passing gas/bm and do not have a fever that I am ok.

Just curious if anyone else experienced anything similiar?

[Morecambe]

A total colectomy is perhaps a treatment of last resort if chemical laxatives etc have lost effectiveness.  I underwent this operation for torrential diverticular bleeding over five years and recorded my experiences on:-

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/523166

You may like to look at this and do come back if you have any questions.

I endorse mammo's comments above about finding a specialised colorectal surgeon rather than a general surgeon who carries out varied surgery such as hernias, ingrowing toenails etc etc!!.  Also I suggest that you try to arrange treatment at a specialised hospital where G.I. surgery is performed all day/every day.  I believe that there are such clinics (e.g. Mayo Clinics) in America.

regards
Morecambe

[mammo]

I've had 2 sons and a grandson have total colectomies.  For your doctor to tell you to do some research makes me suspicious of how competent she actually is.  Yes, scar tissue can cause problems but it is not likely, and has not happened in any of our family members.  I would strongly urge you to get a second opinion on this.  A competent doctor does not send the patient out to research this, they should be able to answer all your questions and put your mind at ease on this. You always want a board certified doctor.  Take care....