Since having ostomy surgery, I’ve been feeling great! I’m gaining weight, I have more energy, and I’m no longer constantly running to the bathroom. My ostomy has dramatically improved my quality of life, but is an ostomy a cure for crohns? The short answer is no, but I think it’s slightly more nuanced than that. Let me explain why.
What is a cure?
The term “cure” has a vague definition, and there are many arguments over what “cure” truly means. Webster’s Dictionary has a bunch of definitions, including “recovery or relief from a disease,” “a course or period of treatment,” “to restore to health, soundness, or normality,” and “to deal with in a way that eliminates or rectifies.” Some of those definitions touch on the necessity of permanent elimination, while others leave the door open for simple relief to be the threshold of a cure.
For this article, I define the term “cure” as follows: “After medical treatment, the patient no longer has a particular condition anymore.”
You Said You’re Feeling Great Now! That Means You’re Cured, Right?
No. Because I have Crohn’s disease, and Crohn’s can affect your digestive tract, I wouldn’t call my ostomy a cure. Beyond the ostomy, I still need to take medication to keep the disease in remission. There’s no guarantee that Inflammation won’t develop somewhere else in my digestive system and cause another flare in the future.
It’s worth noting that many doctors look at surgery differently with Ulcerative Colitis patients. Ulcerative Colitis only affects the colon and rectum, so removing the colon is, in essence, removing the Ulcerative Colitis. Patients who TRULY have Ulcerative Colitis have a fair claim to calling their ostomy a cure.
If the bag isn’t a cure, what is it?
An ostomy can drastically reduce Crohn’s Disease symptoms and allow IBD patients to get their lives back. For me, the uncertainty of living with unreliable bowels took a toll on all aspects of my life. Since ostomy surgery, I’ve been able to live my life without thinking about Crohn’s Disease.
The Takeaway
An ostomy is not a cure for Crohn’s.
At the time of this writing, Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis are both incurable diseases. However, modern medicine has come up with many treatments to manage IBD. Ostomy surgery is just one of the many available treatments for IBD. It is usually used as a last resort when other treatment options have failed. Ostomy surgery is a life-changing procedure that can help IBD patients to get their lives back, but it’s not a cure for IBD.