What would cause one person with ulcerative colitis to choose a colectomy, while another does not? A study published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology takes aim at understanding more about people with ulcerative colitis who choose colectomy versus those who don't.
The research looked at three groups: people who didn't have ulcerative colitis, people who had ulcerative colitis and did not have a colectomy, and people who had ulcerative colitis who did have a colectomy. Those who had ulcerative colitis and not a colectomy felt that having a colectomy was similar to living with the ulcerative colitis. Those who had a colectomy preferred their current health status to that of living with the ulcerative colitis. One of the big differences between the two groups was social support: those who had had a colectomy had more support than those who had not.
The results of the study make some obvious sense: if you had ulcerative colitis and knew others with ulcerative colitis who felt they were better off after colectomy surgery, you might be swayed to get the surgery yourself. As it stands, there isn't exactly a universal way to "review" your surgery and its outcome for others to take advantage of your experience and potentially learn from your mistakes. Your gastroenterologist or surgeon may be able to put you in touch with others who have IBD, or a colectomy, or a j-pouch, or you could go to a forum or message board for people with IBD. Even so, I'm willing to bet most of us would spend more time researching our next vehicle purchase than we would researching colectomy surgery.
Have you considered surgery? Why did you do it, or why haven't you done it? Click on "Comments" below and tell me why.
Source:
Waljee AK, Higgins PD, Waljee JF, et al. "Perceived and Actual Quality of Life With Ulcerative Colitis: A Comparison of Medically and Surgically Treated Patients." Amer J Gastroenterol 2011; 106:794-799. 3 May 2011.
I had my colectomy in January as I’d run out of medications to treat my UC. Best decision I’ve made in years; my quality of life has improved dramatically. I’m grateful I had four years to decide what I wanted to do; many others are not as fortunate.
I had no choice. My surgery was an emergency, and I was never aware of any problems with UC. The surgeon did a colonoscopy and immediately did an ileostomy. I was the worst case he’d ever seen, he said. I am grateful to be alive, in spite of the drawbacks of having an ileostomy. The recovery from the surgery was long, because I was so sick. I think my surgeon might have been more empathetic, but he just kept saying, “You’ll get used to it.” My surgery happened just about 4 years ago. I gained 60 pounds within 6 months of the surgery, and have not found a way to get it off , but I went back to work after 4 months, and have had few complications. This is a challenge, and I wish there were more support groups nearby.
I don’t have UC, but I am Crohn’s patient. I had surgery in October. I had no choice but yo have surgery. I had failed to respond to all therapies on the market, even the most current ones. I do not regret surgery, even though it was my only option. I have a strong support system consisting of friends, family, ostomy nurses, GI doctor and surgeon, and a support group. Before my surgery, I had no choice but to drop out of college and quit working because my disease was so severe. Since surgery, I have completed one semester of college with straight As and begun working again. My quality of life is amazing, and I plan on becoming an IBD nurse practioner because of the success and support.
I had a colectomy and jpouch surgery 3 months ago and I am having my takedown surgery next week. I beg to differ on your opinion about researching more for a car than this surgery as I spent 3 years researching the surgery before agreeing to it due to low grade dysplasia in repeat colonscopies. I also suffered on and off repeatedly over the years from the disease with repeat rounds of toxic drugs like prednisone which were requiring higher and longer doses to tame the inflammation.
I would NEVER have had this surgery if not absolutely recommended by my surgeon who was following me for 3 years and you would have to be a fool not to thoroughly research the pros and cons of the surgery prior to agreeing to it unless you were and emergency situation. After all the alarm with repeat scopes showing low grade dysplasia, nothing appeared in my final pathology report after surgery.
So my lesson with this is…… beware….pathology is not an exact science by any means and they truly need a much more accurate means of prediicting dysplasia or the level of risk for colon cancer with people with long standing chronic ulcerative colitis, especially considering the only cure they currently have for the disease is complete removal of your colon, which can have a drastic impact on your quality of life.
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