My Crohnstipated Life

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT!

Humira wasn’t working for me, which was a complete bummer and huge disappointment. So, back to the gastro I go, but I felt like I wasn’t getting through to him, almost like he was on auto-pilot and more concerned about me getting a shingles shot than anything else. Feeling deflated after leaving his office, after much contemplation, I decided it was time to find a different gastro. It took some time, but I found another who had mixed reviews on Yelp, but decided I needed to take a step one way or another, the appointment was made.

After meeting with him and going over the last 2 years of Crohns misery, he decided another colonoscopy (my 6th) was in order. Oh, how we love to have them, right? Upon completion of the surgery, he said to me “it’s surgery young lady!” I just looked at him with a blank stare. Once I caught my breath and calmed down, and got some color back in my face, I had a chance to ask a few questions. My new doc said that the most common form of surgery used to treat Crohn’s disease is called a resection, and it is what I needed because I had a blockage like he had never seen before. He said that many people with Crohn’s disease will need surgery at one point or another to manage their Crohns or a complication, which made me feel a little better but still scared the hell out of me.

From what I had learned during a resection, the portion of the large intestine or the small intestine affected by Crohn’s disease is removed, and the intestine is reattached together using the two healthy ends. In some cases, surgery can put a person with Crohn’s disease into what’s sometimes called surgical remission. This can bring on a period of few or no signs or symptoms of Crohn’s disease. The portion of my intestine that has been causing havoc was the cecal section.

And we’re off to see a surgeon. Before I knew it, I was scheduled for surgery and in a complete panic. Although I hid it very well with my bubbly smile and sly sense of humor. But deep inside, I was so scared and unsure of who, what, where, when or why. It was one of those sinerios.

Facing surgery is always difficult, but with Crohn’s disease, a resection can mean a chance to heal and recover, and that’s what I kept in the back of my mind. I just wanted my life back, I wanted to do the things I had to stop doing because of Crohn’s disease. I’ve never had any other type of surgery other than a colonoscopy, so when I tell you I bit all my nails off, believe me!

3 weeks of waiting for the insurance to approve the procedure and countless sleepless nights and boom….the day was here. I was acting cool and calm, but I was literally dying inside from fear of the unknown. They gave me the wrong surgery time, so there I sat in the waiting area for 4 hours before they called me back. Me and my heart palpitations sat in the room patiently waiting, waiting for what- I didn’t know. Nurse came in and she put the IV in and wheeled me into the room, I literally had no idea what was going on. There are so many people in the operating room that you can’t concentrate on any one thing and before you know it, you are in your hospital room recovering.

The 1st day was bit of a blur, but the next few days were really not bad. Mainly because of my best friend called “Mr. Morphine,” but all kidding aside it went really smoothly. I  got up and walk a lot, but by day 6, I was ready for home.

The surgeon sent me an image of what they pulled out of me and I couldn’t believe it. Here is the alien I gave birth to. That the image you are seeing below. It’s quite shocking, right?

Well, I’m post op 4 weeks now and aside of the incision site, I feel wonderful. Taking things slow, but really feeling great! And moving forward it’s clean eating (mostly) and exercise (lite). If you are facing the same surgery, take it from one that is horribly afraid of her own shadow, it really was not bad at all.  And friends, so glad I finally did it, although, wish I would have done it sooner.