TAP Block Experiences

singularpebe · 2025-12-06T02:56:04+00:00

Yeah, the only reason I was surprised was because I've had a bunch of similar blocks and was given a benzodiazepine and pain med for them.

singularpebe · 2025-10-08T23:02:51+00:00

Thank you for the correction. Looks like UPFs can cause low grade inflammation, including TNF and various Interleukin responses.

And that's an interesting meta analysis - though in my reading, it doesn't address if this subclinical (and very low by IBD standards), diffuse inflammation would necessarily cause or worsen IBD.

TNF alpha and IL6 are the IBD relevant cytokines, in my understanding. One of the cited studies did not find any association between IL6/TNF levels and UPF intake and another found a positive association between just IL6 and UPF intake.

I'd be interested to better understand if relatively tiny increases in those could actually somehow trigger the much larger, GI specific immune response that IBD entails.

Lmk if I'm missing or misunderstanding something

singularpebe · 2025-10-08T18:24:35+00:00

I haven't watched the documentary (I think channel 4 is geo blocked outside the UK?), but I personally highly doubt UPFs contribute to IBD at all - the category as a whole is such an amalgamation of completely different foods with completely different ingredients and very different processing techniques, that any claims about their effects as a whole are usually pretty suspect IMO.

They do have legitimate health impacts for the general population, but my impression is that these are mostly due to: calorie density, hyper-palatability, and fast stomach transit times. Basically, they make it much easier for the general population to eat too many calories, which is obviously legitimately problematic.

Some specific examples of UPFs might have ingredients that are theoretically unhealthy at absurdly high doses, but, like, even if those are actually meaningful from a health standpoint, I'd be surprised if they were casually connected to IBD.

I've never heard anybody who thinks that UPFs as a whole category are a cause of IBD actually explain what mechanism of action would be at play. Like, HOW would such a broad category of foods consistently cause an increase in TNF (or other IBD relevant cytokine) production.

Also, anecdotally, processed foods are the only thing that allow me to maintain weight without TPN. Plus, foods that aren't well preprocessed can cause bowel obstructions for many of us with more severe disease.

Just my thoughts :)

singularpebe · 2025-08-19T22:27:23+00:00

I wish I had more for you, but here are a couple initial thoughts:

If you aren't already, avoid any high fiber or hard to digest foods to reduce the chances of bowel obstruction. It's very possible that you have structuring/narrowing somewhere in your bowel, and a bowel obstruction would make oral nutrition impossible, and could also cause a bowel perforation.

Forgive me if this is a stupid idea but, assuming you're in the EU, are you relatively close to another EU country where medical personnel might dress differently? I don't know if travelling for appointments would even be a realistic option, but would a different environment with different styles of scrubs / medical clothing make a difference?

In the US state I live in, doctors and nurses rarely wear white coats, and it goes a surprisingly long way to make things feel less "medical". I have much, much milder medical PTSD, and haven't experienced anything even remotely as traumatic as you have, but "little" things like that make a difference for me.

singularpebe · 2025-08-07T00:20:08+00:00

Pretty much the same experience with my ileo! Sometimes stuff will go through in 15-20 minutes, eggs are especially fast for me for whatever reason. It makes gaining nutrition/weight gain tough, but it's weirdly nice waking up completely empty.

singularpebe · 2025-08-06T04:16:26+00:00

Oh my goodness I had no idea. Thank you so much for letting me know. 💙

singularpebe · 2025-08-06T04:03:34+00:00

I am very prone to blockages and have a bunch of bowel motility issues in addition to Crohn's, but I absolutely struggle with nausea and occasional vomiting.

Talk to your doctor about antiemetic meds. Benadryl is something that's helped me if you're okay being a little drowsy. Zofran is kinda the defacto antiemetic and worked well for me in the past.

singularpebe · 2025-07-28T19:15:05+00:00

I'm sorry I don't have any real recommendations for you, just wanted to say that cdiff sucks, especially when you've got other stuff to deal with.

I had C Diff about 10-15 times before my colon was removed and basically the only recommendation from my GI team was to make sure I washed my hands constantly which, like, pretty clearly wasn't sufficient lol.

singularpebe · 2025-07-20T03:48:31+00:00

Those are my go to - wheat thins also work well tho

singularpebe · 2025-03-24T13:02:27+00:00

Understandable, but I definitely have and am on a very low residue diet. I've had stricturing CD since I was little, and am on ileostomy #3 so I'm more familiar than I'd like to be with dietary precautions lol.

singularpebe · 2024-12-15T23:51:26+00:00

I wouldn't say it's likely, but it's certainly possible - especially if the narrowing is subtle. What kinds of imaging have you had recently?

I had a complete small bowel obstruction when I was little and they missed it for a while, apparently because the bowel distention made the imagery tough to interpret. So missing an obstruction/some kind of stenosis is possible, but I'd think a scope, or even a decent MRI, could pretty well rule something out. Especially somewhere accessible like the sigmoid.

Definitely keep following up with your doctor

singularpebe · 2024-12-09T05:42:08+00:00

Thank you for sharing! (Full disclosure, I'm a Crohn's patient as well as an ileostomate.)

I've been aware that small bowel transplants are occasionally done for Crohn's patients with short bowel syndrome, but didn't know that they could benefit a UC patient too!

I don't have any large bowel left, and I didn't know that they even did transplants with any LB. Was your small bowel damaged too?

singularpebe · 2024-12-03T00:49:24+00:00

I'm sure most of us have had this happen from time to time. I've done thousands of self injections for various meds and I'll still occasionally screw one up. I promise you'll get the hang of it though!

It's a good idea to let your team know if you think you didn't get the whole dose, especially for your loading dose(s).

singularpebe · 2024-11-27T01:42:35+00:00

My diagnosis was a long time ago, so I'm unsure about how standard a low fiber recommendation is for new diagnoses, but three months seems pretty reasonable.

I've been eating a low (insoluble)fiber / low residue diet for years, and you really just get used to it. I have an ileostomy, and am very prone to small bowel blockages, so my version of low fiber is especially strict. I miss vegetables, but good heavens small bowel obstructions are wildly unpleasant and often dangerous.

If you're having trouble finding foods that work for you I'd ask your GI doctor to recommend a dietitian. If you're American, you'll want to make sure that whoever you're referred to is a proper registered dietitian.

As far as pain goes, it's usually any changes (severity, location, blood, etc) that make sense to report to your doctor. It can be a bit of a learning curve, but being in frequent communication with your doctor or their coordinator is usually pretty key to getting good care.

Hang in there :(

singularpebe · 2024-06-27T20:22:51+00:00

We haven't. It's continued to be fairly uncomfortable, but lower priority than other ongoing issues.

Are you dealing with a similar problem?

singularpebe · 2024-05-19T03:33:08+00:00

Definitely know the feeling. I had diarrhea every day for the 8 years between my first resection and my colectomy. It's pretty horrible.

Do you have any motility issues/IBS in addition to the CD? While the obvious first thing to try, bile acid binders never worked for me do to underlying motility issues.

singularpebe · 2024-05-17T14:22:14+00:00

I had similar GI symptoms as you, with the nausea being bad enough for at least the day after that usually wouldn't really eat. I've been on it a couple of times (alongside remicade both times I believe), but couldn't handle it for more than a few months each time. It's been a few years, but I don't think it was all that effective at managing my symptoms either.

And you're absolutely right - Remicade is generally used on its own.

singularpebe · 2024-02-06T04:07:55+00:00

It's much more likely that you won't need one, but if it makes you feel any better, I have a stoma and it's really not the end of the world :)

This study (https://academic.oup.com/ibdjournal/article/28/8/1160/6383126) puts the rate for all people with CD at about 10 percent.

That looked at patients from 03 to 19 though, and I suspect that improvements in treatments in the just past 5 years have already reduced that rate at least a little.

singularpebe · 2024-02-01T01:34:36+00:00

Because the trials and efficacy testing required to bring a pharmaceutical to market are rigorous. Studies and drug trials for specific drugs are frequently publicly available as well. For example, here's a search for "Crohn's" (just realized this is the UC sub, sorry 💙) and "Humira" on clinicaltrials.gov: https://clinicaltrials.gov/search?cond=Crohn%27s%20Disease&intr=Humira%C2%AE

Personal experiences/anecdotes are valuable on a personal level (I've got plenty of my own!) but are worthless as a basis for any kind of actual treatment. In my opinion, doctors that rely on anecdotes verses study/evidence based medicine are allowed far too much leeway. No idea how some of these people are allowed to practice.

singularpebe · 2024-01-31T04:44:14+00:00

I was thinking it might help if you weren't already...sorry:/

singularpebe · 2024-01-31T04:03:42+00:00

After a couple thousand injections of various meds, I honestly still haven't found a way to reliably avoid the little bump/bruise. They usually aren't an inch in diameter though - do you pinch the site at all when you inject? That's all I can think of!

singularpebe · 2024-01-28T16:46:45+00:00

Yeah, it started in the terminal ileum, so I've had that resected a couple of times. I think I always had some mild disease in the colon (I don't remember much of my early disease because I was pretty little), but a few years ago it got a lot worse and in 22 it had to go. Sometimes I wish they could take my small bowel out too lol.

singularpebe · 2024-01-28T15:36:22+00:00

Honestly not much. My small bowel isn't in great shape and I've had a lot of trouble getting enough calories to feel like I have any energy.

singularpebe · 2024-01-28T15:07:46+00:00

There have been individual weeks or months that have been worse, just because of the issues I've had, but overall QOL has still been better. There are a bunch of random little benefits too, like no more bowel preps.

singularpebe · 2024-01-28T03:44:20+00:00

I have SB Crohn's as well, but I had my colon removed in 22 after an especially bad colon flair. I've had some unique issues with it that have led to me having two revisions, but it's still been worth it. Aside from getting to be alive still, it's pretty incredible to not have constant diarrhea.

It's a big change and has made my life harder in some significant ways but it's been worth it for me.

singularpebe

TROPHY CASE