Ulcerative colitis and the sleeve -- Can they coexist?

My husband is going through the 6-month approval process to have a VSG (mine was done earlier this year). He hasn't quite made up his mind to go through with the surgery but wants the option available.

He also has a history of ulcerative colitis. He went through a several-year bout with it in his early 40s (he's in his early 60s now). It was severe enough to hospitalize him several times. When the docs started talking about surgery, he did some research and found a diet that, along with his meds, cleared up the condition in a month or two.

Up until 4 weeks ago, he never had so much as a hint of relapse. But his terrible eating habits (pizza, ice cream, hot dogs, etc.) plus a very stressful few months this year (we sold our home, moved aboard our boat, and I had my sleeve surgery), brought on a new attack. He's back on his meds and diet and the flare-up has pretty much dissipated, thank goodness.

Here's his dilemma: When the flare-up first starts, no matter how much or how nutritious the food he eats, it literally shoots through him in about 30 minutes to an hour. He lost 20 pounds in the first 2 weeks of this latest bout from malabsorption. The food just didn't stay in his gut long enough for him to get any benefit from it. He's worried that if he goes through with the sleeve surgery and then has a flare-up in the future, the limited amount of food he would be able to eat would result in near-starvation for however long he has active symptoms, which he has no way of predicting.

I wonder if any of you have this condition or know of someone who does and, if sleeved, how they handle this potentially devastating problem. He plans to discuss it with his bariatric surgeon when he sees him again, but I'm curious to know now if there's a way to deal with this.

Thank you for reading through this rather unpleasant topic!

psychoticparrot

Now, this I know about. Lol. I'm 6 weeks post op with the sleeve. I have both Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease. I've had both for almost 20 years.

Your husband should definitely talk with his doctor. Because of my 2 issues, I was not a candidate for the bypass. And the band usually works better for those who have less BMI and health issues. That left the sleeve for me.

If you have the wls, you and your NUT can work out a meal plan that will be easier on your system. Vitamins will also be his friend.

For me, I focus more on protein and veggies. I try to avoid foods that I know can trigger a flare up.

The newest and by far the most annoying thing for me is constipation. People like me usually don't have that problem to deal with. Lol 

Bottom line is this surgery can be totally doable with colitis and crohn's. 

Hope this helps.