Posted , 9 users are following.
Posted , 9 users are following.
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madeline27614 Dan76865
Posted
You get better but it takes time. Also flair ups may occur from time to time. This forum will help you in many ways.
🙏
Dan76865 madeline27614
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1231Pecan Dan76865
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Dana, I did get better, but the problem is the flare ups. My GI doc is tired of prescribing meds and has suggested surgery. I've read pros and cons about surgery, so I don't know what I'm going to do. It's a life-changing condition to be sure.
Dan76865 1231Pecan
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Dan76865 1231Pecan
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Guest 1231Pecan
Posted
I was diagnosed 18 years ago. In the first 14 years I had just 3 flare ups, because I took the daily stool softener and cut out the foods that were aggravating my condition. In the UK you have no choice - surgery is not done unless an emergency like a blockage, fistula, perforation, or the infection just never clears and your quality of life has become unbearbable - you can't work, leave the house, are in constant pain - you get the picture. Abscesses are just drained and treated with medication. If you have got to that stage, then perhaps you need the offered surgery before it becomes a life threatening emergency.
But if you have just had a couple of flares, and not been good about managing your condition, you should think very carefully. If you have read the cons you know there is a good chance the condition will simply recur higher up, you can develop a hernia and require further surgery and a mesh, develop infection. Plus it takes 3 - 6 months to a reasonable recovery and 18 months to be fully fit again. Are you ready for the possibility of a stoma and colostomy bag?
But some posters say it is the best thing they have ever done. Only you can decide, but it might be worth getting a 2nd opinion on the state of your disease and whether surgery is the best option.
1231Pecan Guest
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Guest 1231Pecan
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jasmine75579 Dan76865
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You've come to the right place for help, l was diagnosed just over a year ago & given a leaflet by the Hospital with information to help me! Luckily I found this site & with help from the posts have been able to find a way to help myself. It does get better but doesn't go away unfortunately, please don't be afraid to read through the posts as they can help. Hope you're feeling better by now.
Dan76865 jasmine75579
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susan95516 Dan76865
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I was only given a wesite to look at it was about wind I don't know what I would have done without this forum. It has helped me so much. I was afraid to eat when I was first diagnosed I thought it would just come straight through me. But listening to people on her they gave me the encouragement and confidence to start eating again. I hope you feel better soon xx
Dan76865
Posted
1231Pecan Dan76865
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Dan76865, my experience with DD is that it takes patience, diet changes, and sometimes medication to manage. I'm doing better, but it has taken 90 days since I was hospitalized for IV antibiotics, a CT scan, and a colonoscopy to rule out colon cancer. I am extremely careful to eat very soft foods (yogurt, cottage cheese, vegetable broth, liquified fruit smoothies) and absolutely no red meat, fried foods, spicy foods -- you know, all the stuff we like. Also, I drink tons of water, a minimum of 10 glasses/day. I take a probiotic because I'm presently on Amox-Clav. It is crucial to keep your bowels moving with soft stools to avoid constipation at all cost. I also avoid heavy lifting and lay down to rest when I feel any discomfort in my ab. If all of this sounds frustrating, it most certainly is. But I would do anything to manage the condition rather than under surgery. So far, it's working.
1231Pecan Dan76865
Posted
Dan76865, your post wasn't directed to me -- sorry to butt in -- but insofar as smoothies, I practically live on not smoothies, but daily Vitamix-prepared veggie drinks (organic carrots, apples, bananas all blended together) to get needed vitamins, along with vegetable or chicken broth, yogurt, applesauce, with steelcut oatmeal a few times/week, and an occasional chocolate milkshake for calories. Seems to be working so far -- I'm scared to death to try incorporating "real" food for the present time.
Dan76865 1231Pecan
Posted
1231Pecan Dan76865
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I was first diagnosed in 2015 when a weird feeling in my stomach in the middle of the night sent me to the ER thinking I might be having appendicitis. A CT scan revealed it was DD. After 2 nights in the hospital with IV antibiotics, I was sent home, thinking that was the end of it. I forgot about it, went on my regular (bad) eating habits, and very little water since it's not natural for me to drink water -- I don't like it. Lo and behold, January 2018 the DD reoccurred, at first mimicking kidney stones, but again, a CT scan revealed DD. This time, it got my attention. The condition has settled down, but I still feel something not quite right in my ab. The antibiotics (Amox Clav and Metronidazole) are debilitating. I follow a strict soft diet and tons of water. My GI doctor is a proponent of surgery to correct DD, but a consult with a surgeon, followed by a second opinion from another surgeon, indicated I'm borderline for surgery. So, I'm trying to manage it. The surgery option just has too many potential complications for my liking. In the absence of blockage, bleeding, severe pain, I'm not willing to risk it at this point. Give yourself time; it takes awhile to feel better.
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