Ileostomy Reversal Timeline: How Long Did You Wait?

How long after getting your ileostomy did you have to wait to get it reversed? I'm 25 and 3 months post-op. I have a scope scheduled for the end of June, hoping to get my reversal scheduled soon after.

I had my consult about 6 months post-op.

I decided to keep the colostomy.

 

Everyone will be different. Most make you wait at least 6 months. It depends on how much of your colon is left and why you got your ostomy in the first place. Your doctor will do some tests and from there see if you're a candidate for reversal. I unfortunately haven't been well enough to go through the procedure and am high risk for other health reasons. (So I'm choosing to keep mine.) But know it's NOT the end of the world if you don't get a reversal. It does become easier and eventually will become normal where you don't really think about it much.

Thanks for the advice. Sorry to hear you aren't well enough for reversal; hopefully, that changes for you soon. I have a diverting loop ileostomy and have had nothing removed. They did the ileostomy via emergency surgery to give my bowel time to heal while I start on Skyrizi for my Crohn's. I was told after surgery it would be around 3-6 months before I could get it reversed, so we shall see after my scopes in June.

I struggle with my ileostomy still, but I'm only 3 months post-op. It was an emergency surgery so my bowel could heal, so I guess I haven't fully accepted it yet. I've also been to the ED 5 times since my surgery in January, with one admission about 2 weeks ago.

Accepting it will take some time. Luckily yours is a temp with lots of large colon left.

I hope the med helps get you into remission.

5 trips to E.D.? Since this past January? Why? What happened?

Just pain and still having inflammation. They had me on IV steroids in the hospital when I was admitted and did multiple CT scans. They showed on the first scan it was almost completely healed. A couple of weeks later, it showed mild inflammation was back. My local ED didn't tell me, but I found out from my GI in a different city that one of my earlier CT scans showed I had a kidney stone. They never told me that at the ED and just discharged me that time.

Hey... been there, done that.

IV steroids, scans, stones, biologicals. Sky Riz is brand new. Any other meds you are supplementing?

For example, there are usually two meds being used to treat

CD...

What have you tried in the past?

...

I was on Remicade for 10 years almost before I stopped responding, then there was Inflectra, Stelara, most recently Entyvio, and now the Skyrizi. I get my second induction dose next week.

Remicade... ugh... for some, it works. For others, not.

These biologicals, for me at least, upset the skin around the stoma.

I am trying this new one called Orencia. Which, after catching shingles four days after infusion, may have triggered the virus. So you can wonder at my hesitation to continue it once healed.

Shingles is a kick-ass event. It makes you sick. Body aches and flu-like symptoms I was not aware of. Plus those body sores... luckily from all the psoriasis meds I have been on, there was no itchy need to scratch. Whoa. Lucky duck me.

Let's talk about the heat and irritated skin... sensations of burning...

Contagious anyone? Yeah, I'm thinking Orencia ain't gonna be the silver bullet for me.

While you are on the biological, I hope you are taking notes on how it affected you. I understand your goal is remission.

My goal is controlling arthritic conditions since there is no more lower plumbing.