Re:UC and Dr. wanting to remove sons colon

[Guest guest]

This is a difficult decision you need to make for your son. The balance

is to decide between continuing some of the drugs which can lead to

osteoporosis and fractures, lymphoma and cancers versus removal of his

colon (which " cures " the UC) and removes the need for steroids.

Remicade is not a cure. It may control the UC, it may not. There is the

possibility of reversal of the colostomy down the road. But this is not

guaranteed and is more difficult in smaller people. But he could have

that done later in life. And there are tradeoffs there that others can

speak to. Only you and your family can decide on this difficult issue.

It's made more difficult by the long range effects of all the possible

options. Best of luck in making this decision.

Aubrey, MD

PSC '81, UC '90, LTX '98, Recurrence '05

[Guest guest]

I know, it is such a hard decision for us. We may consider the liquid diet for a few months as hard as that may be, as it will give the colon a chance to heal. We want to try everything before we resort to removing his colon. It sounds so awful... Anyone out there had it done???

sgedgaud@...

Caroline & Aubrey

Caroline & Aubrey

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10/12/2007 12:22 PM

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Re:UC and Dr. wanting to remove sons colon

This is a difficult decision you need to make for your son. The balance

is to decide between continuing some of the drugs which can lead to

osteoporosis and fractures, lymphoma and cancers versus removal of his

colon (which " cures " the UC) and removes the need for steroids.

Remicade is not a cure. It may control the UC, it may not. There is the

possibility of reversal of the colostomy down the road. But this is not

guaranteed and is more difficult in smaller people. But he could have

that done later in life. And there are tradeoffs there that others can

speak to. Only you and your family can decide on this difficult issue.

It's made more difficult by the long range effects of all the possible

options. Best of luck in making this decision.

Aubrey, MD

PSC '81, UC '90, LTX '98, Recurrence '05