Intro to Me! :)

Hey there fellow Chronies ...! My name is Mike, and I have had Crohns disease for 25 years. I was diagnosed when I was 14, and had my first surgery in 1993. I had 15 feet, yes feet, of my small intestine removed. I have recently had major flares, which have resulted in a partial obstruction. I have a 30 cm stricture, and am having surgery at the Cleveland Clinicin October. Because I have only 4 feetmof small intestine left, we re hoping that the doctor can perform strictureplasty to save the small bowel. He did state that if stricturplasty isn't possible, I may end up with an ileostomy,and also TPN.

Sorry for the long intro, I am hoping to find folks on here with a similar situation, because im deathly afraid to have an ileostomy or to be on TPN.

Hi Mike! Welcome. I've never been on TPN or had an ileostomy, but there are lots here who have that experience. I hope your docs can do the strictureplasty.

:welcome: , Mike! Sorry to hear that things are so rough for ya right now. I haven't had any surgeries, but there are plenty of great folks on here who have. If you haven't already, I'm sure searching for "ileostomy" and "TPN" can get you started with some threads and give you a better idea of questions to ask/how to be prepared... not to mention give you some support!

Sorry for the run-on sentences... just upped my pred dose and I'm flying pretty high right now...!!!!

Anyway, welcome!

Hi Mike and welcome! When I was first diagnosed, I think my biggest fear was one day needing an ileostomy. However, so many on the forum have gotten their lives back after having the procedure done. Now, I am not as terrified after hearing these success stories. I sure hope you wont need an ileostomy, but if you keep having major flares, it could provide you the relief you deserve. Hang in there!

hi Mike, sorry you're feeling the crohns at the moment, i certainly hope all goes well with the stricture stretch. i've had one done, but it just went thick and horrible again, mine is around 20 cm and i put up with it. i'm not missing that much intestine, i don't think though! i know i not got much ilium left but have got half bowel.

can i ask, if its total parenteral feed, isn't that through the vein? so why would you need an iliostomy? sorry for the lack of knowledge there.

best wishes
Diane

No worries Spooky1. If they have to re-section the 30cm piece of bowel that is giving me problems, i will only have 3 feet of small intestine left, which will most likely not be enough to allow me to absorb nutrients. The ileostomy could be temporary to allow my small bowel to heal after surgery, or it could be permanent if they can't resect the 2 ends together because of any other issues they encounter.

i'm a bit like that myself. i sincerely hope all goes well.

best wishes