Scared of complications

scared of complications

I have never been hospitalized or had any type of surgery. I am lucky considering that I have had Crohns for 11 years. I may not surgery now due to a stricture at the IC valve. I am a bit paranoid about complications
The doctor suggests an ileocecectomy to remove the IC valve, cecum, and
part of ileum. Does anybody know how common it is to have serious
complications with this type of surgery? What about complications from the anesthesia? I am 46 years-old and otherwise healthy.
I am worried about urgent diarrhea and not making it to the bathroom on time post-op because I will be moving slow due to post-op pain, and in the hospital it will be even harder to move while hooked up to IVs. How often have others had trouble making it to the bathroom on time?

Hi BoFin! I just had this surgery done on Thursday; although the original issue was due to a stricture in my terminal ileum (turned out to be more complicated than that). I've been told it's fairly common in people with Crohns (I was diagnosed about 5 1/2 years ago). Mine ended up being slightly more complicated than normal because I had a fistula that went from my ileum to my rectum (also had one from my ileum to my cecum, but I guess that's pretty normal); so I even had to have a small portion of my rectum removed. Overall though, I haven't really had any complications with the recovery...it was a little slow for the first few days, but each day seems to get a bit better. I have found the gas pain to be more painful than the pain from the surgery (and the pain meds don't help with it). This gets better though once you start to actually pass gas.

I had been hospitalized twice in the last 6 months due to issues; although a regular hospital stay doesn't compare well to one after surgery. Previously I was still able to move around fairly well, even hooked up to the IV. It's not the most pleasant place to be, but my nurses have always been really nice; which I think it helpful. I try to stay as pleasant as possible and keep a positive outlook.

I am 28 and had never had general anesthesia either, although otherwise in good health besides the Crohns, so I voiced some concerns before the surgery about nausea and things from it after since my mom and sister don't tolerate it well. They gave me a little patch to wear behind my ear before they gave me the general anesthesia and I was fine.

I haven't had any issues making it to the bathroom yet, moving around gets easier after a few days…my back it a bit sore though from using it more than normal while trying to not use my abs. I had a catheter for a couple days (they inserted it after I went into the OR on Thursday and it was removed on Saturday morning). As much as I didn't like the idea of it, it was helpful. Getting up in the middle of the night wasn't pleasant on Saturday to get to the bathroom…as you mentioned; being hooked up to the IV and everything is kind-of a pain and I hadn't had any pain meds in hours from sleeping.

I have just been trying to face one day at a time. Today is a good day and I am hopeful that I will be release tomorrow. I think if they are saying you need the surgery it's better to do it now than to wait for it to become an emergency or you do end up hospitalized a few times (went through all my sick time before I even had my surgery). I wish my doctor had told me that it was probably going to be necessary before things had gotten so bad. Mine was actually worse than they thought, and I have still been healing pretty well. Good luck!

thank you heather

Heather, thanks for the reply. It makes me feel better.
I had an MRE and there was no sign of fistulas. Did the surgeon know in
advance that you had a fistula? My stricture is also in the terminal ileum and
not just the IC valve.

I had an MRI and CT scan done prior to the surgery. The surgeon thought there might be one between the ileum and cecum (said he wont know for sure until he could see in there better), but didn't know about the other. I guess they don't always show up, so they don't know until they are in there. He wasn't able to do the rectum surgery laparoscopically, but the incision is still fairly small and down by my bikini line (2 - 3 inches). He was able to do the rest of it using a laparoscope though, so the other incisions are really small.

While i was in the hospital last month i made sure i had a commode in my room. I too was hooked up to IV's and NG tube. Having the commode in my space saved me from having to have issues . Good luck