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My GI doctor has advised me to get a second opinion about surgery.  He feels I may be a candidate for it.  I will be visiting the new doctor in a few weeks.  I was wondering what helped everyone make the choice of surgery.  I have been on Asacol, 6mp and Remicade since February and have a minor flares.  Nothing that would send me to the hospital, but it is physically draining and painful at times.  The medication is leading to side effects and I am suffering from the effects of mal-nutrition.  Would anyone else go through the surgery with these symptoms or deal with the effects and continue with the medications? 

 Reply posted for Kar.

I'm having surgery tomorrow and I've just now gotten hit by nerves and worry. I really don't have any say in the matter anymore, I have gotten terribly bad, losing 10 pounds roughly per week. A lot of people say it's painful when recovering and that the bag is something they can't stand, but if you're at the end of your rope, you need to think about how much better your life could be. The quality of life is what it's all about. For me, I can barely get to school, I haven't seen my friends in a week, I'm unable to go anywhere that doesn't have a bathroom every 2 feet. I can't speak about UC, because I have Crohn's, but if you and your doctors feel the quality of your life will be brought up by surgery, a bag could be a small price to pay. The best of luck to you.

 Reply posted for Kar.

Sometimes you just have to go through the surgery to try and make things better.  The grass always seems greener on the other side though.  I went through surgery nearly two years ago because I vowed never to go back on prednisone and that was the only thing keeping me well at the time.  Not a single day has gone by since my surgery that I haven't hated the results.  now my docs want me back on steroids.  Don't look at surgery as an end all solution.  Everyone one of us responds differently so don't look here for the answer to your question.  You'll know when its time.  Good luck.

 Reply posted for Kar.

I'm going through the same thing and ironcially enough taking the same meds. You are lucky to have a doc that is even thinking about surgery because mine is not.  As long as you have a good support system, you should do what you think is best for you.

 Reply posted for Kar.

I have had uc since I was 15 and currently am on Asacol 400 mg tables-  4 tablets 3 times a day and Rowasa enema 1/2 bottle in the am and 1/2 in the pm.  Occassionally I do have some side effects, I don't think its from the medication.  I think it's just a part of the disease and how its progressed over the years (I'm 28)  Sometimes I feel nausiated and get some cramping and fatique but my flares are minor at times like you mentioned that yours were.  My sed rate was very low and when I went into have my annual colonoscopy last week and there was an indication of some uc but not very bad.  My dr just said to stay on my meds and I have been doing better since my colonoscopy.  Sometimes I get busy and forget to take my meds and that's why I flare.   Once you get on a medication regiment that works with your body there will be no flaring at all-  trust me I know.  The key is to go to a gastro specialist who knows what they are doing for treatment.  I live in Nebraska and drive 3 1/2 hours to Omaha to see mine but like I tell everybody, he's one of the best out of the Med Center and I'm not going to change.  In my opinion, I would do everything possiple in my option not to have the surgery.  That is one of my biggest fears is to have to have a coloscopy bag.  My life would be totally different if I had to have one of those.  So in my option, if the side affects for you are minor-  that's just something to live with.  You may not be taking enough Asacol.  I take the max that is allowed for the drug since my uc is really bad.  That may be an option for your to increase your asacol.

 Reply posted for Kar.

I had surgery 4 weeks ago.  I no longer had a choice in the matter because I had a stricture and it was getting so bad that I had to be put on pain medication and was beginning to miss work.  However, my GI doctor and I tried for the last four years to treat the stricture with the medications (Remicade and Humira).  It took a long time for it to get as bad as it got but I wouldn't have changed anything.  I know it sucks to feel bad and to be in pain but surgery isn't always the answer if you have Crohn's.  If you have UC then it probably would be easier for you.  I now have a colostomy because of where my stricture was and the surgeon not being able to reconnect good intestinal tissue to bad rectum tissue.  I am 27 years old- this isn't how I pictured my life being but it is something that I am now faced dealing with.

Getting the second opinion is good and I hope that you are able to make a decision that you can live with because at the end of the day that is all that matters.

Good luck!

Nichole

 Reply posted for Kar.

I don't know if you have Chrone's or UC.  But for me, I had UC and had surgery two weeks ago.  It's hard to go through, but now i'm feeling a lot better.

Even though it's a tough decision you just have to weigh your options.  For me, I spent a good 4 months with a bad flare and then ended up in the hospital for 2 weeks and still wasn't responding well to treatment so surgery was looking like a good option. 

I thought about all the goods and bads about it.  What I liked was that I would have no future risk of colon cancer, I wouldn't have ulcerative colitis anymore, I wouldn't have to be on medications anymore, and i would feel a lot better than I had been.  Mine was so bad that I couldn't work or go to school for the past few months and I was in so much pain. It started to affect my joints and bones and I couldn't even walk sometimes.  So surgery looked like a good option for me.

If I were you, and you havn't been hospitalized and you are able to manage things mostly with medication I would put surgery off for awhile.  Unless your doctor really feels it's a good option for you.  Maybe get his opinion as to why he thinks so. 

Good luck!

Choosing surgeryMy daughter was diagnosed in Feb.05 and had surgery in June by Dr. B in NY. She had a perforated intestine and had 20 inches removed. She was able to go back to college in Sept and graduated in December. She is still on 1 med and still has some flare ups but thank God  and Dr. B she eating and living her life as best as she could. She still has some flare ups but nothing like before. She lived on gatorade and chicken broth.Good Luck and stay well.