Earlier than planned colonoscopy - UPDATED RESULTS

Jaylo969
Jaylo969 Member Posts: 824 Member
edited March 2011 in Colorectal Cancer #1
I have been having dull, bi*chin' pains in the area of my resection for 5-6 weeks.Thought at first that I had a pull since I had recently started taking my walks uphill. Then 8 days ago I started getting the painful constipation symptoms with smaller/narrower than normal stools. Taking Colace 2x day ...not working. Taking Colace 2x day plus 2 Dulcolax, w/very little output. Absolutely NOT normal for me. Called Onc who referred me over to my gastro who says prep tomorrow and come in Thursday.

Only thing I suspect it could be, other than the thing which scares us all, is when I had my last colonoscopy the gastro told me that the ileo-colonic anastomosis was 'narrowed' and there was some inflammation. He biopsied the inflammation and was negative.

Well Y'all, I just went & bought some Gatorade and Miralax. Wish me luck.

-Pat

***UPDATE*

1.Stricture colonic anastomosis with benign appearing ulceration...dilated and biopsied.
2.( 2 ) 5 mm polyps. One in sigmoid and one in descending. Resected and retrieved.

Dr. doesn't feel like any of this is what is causing my pain. Because of my history a CT w/ contrast of abdomen and pelvis will be ordered.

So, I am home and feeling ok. I did not have any sedation or pain meds with the colonoscopy, didn't hurt too bad, so walked out of the hospital on my own two feet.

I appreciate your kind thoughts, talks with the buddy, sparks, etc. It really helped me, because of course I was nervous about all of this.

CT scan will probably be in a week or so and if there is any other news from that I will probably post it.
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Comments

  • pepebcn
    pepebcn Member Posts: 6,331 Member
    Pat wishing you luck and an smooth Colonoscopy !
    Good vibes from here!
  • Jaylo969
    Jaylo969 Member Posts: 824 Member
    pepebcn said:

    Pat wishing you luck and an smooth Colonoscopy !
    Good vibes from here!

    Thanks Pepe
    It will be smooth..LOL. Will be my 4th colonoscopy in 17 months. Plan a trip to Seattle in mid April to see my new Grandson and hope to have this settled by then.

    -Pat
  • Buzzard
    Buzzard Member Posts: 3,043 Member
    Jaylo969 said:

    Thanks Pepe
    It will be smooth..LOL. Will be my 4th colonoscopy in 17 months. Plan a trip to Seattle in mid April to see my new Grandson and hope to have this settled by then.

    -Pat

    Jaylooooooooooo
    all will be well....I'll talk to my buddy tonight....all will be well........love ya, buzz
  • AnneCan
    AnneCan Member Posts: 3,673 Member
    Pat
    I am thinking of you + wishing you well.
  • Jaylo969
    Jaylo969 Member Posts: 824 Member
    Buzzard said:

    Jaylooooooooooo
    all will be well....I'll talk to my buddy tonight....all will be well........love ya, buzz

    Hey Buzz
    Thank you. I AM nervous...feels like Deja' vu. Yes, talk to your buddy and mention my name if you will.

    - Jaylo
  • Jaylo969
    Jaylo969 Member Posts: 824 Member
    AnneCan said:

    Pat
    I am thinking of you + wishing you well.

    Anne
    Thank you. The pain has gotten worse and all I know is that it is in the same place where they took out that gigantic tumor. My imagination is on a roll!

    Anne, I think of you frequently and although I can't post very often I have tried to keep up with all of you guys.

    -Pat
  • idlehunters
    idlehunters Member Posts: 1,787 Member
    AnneCan said:

    Pat
    I am thinking of you + wishing you well.

    Hey Pat!
    I know Buzz's buddy pretty well too..... I will definately throw your name in as well. I think all will be fine too but I know how nerve racking this can all be.... bottoms up..LOL (Gatorade)LOL.... Take care

    Jennie
  • Jaylo969
    Jaylo969 Member Posts: 824 Member

    Hey Pat!
    I know Buzz's buddy pretty well too..... I will definately throw your name in as well. I think all will be fine too but I know how nerve racking this can all be.... bottoms up..LOL (Gatorade)LOL.... Take care

    Jennie

    Thanks Jennie
    64 oz.Lemon-Lime Gatorade, 238 grams of Miralax, and a good, thick book to read. What more could I ask for? Oh yeah, 4 Dulcolax tablets on the side!

    -Pat
  • Aud
    Aud Member Posts: 479 Member
    Pat, hope all is well with
    Pat, hope all is well with you and that you're colonoscopy shows something minor and easily fixable.
    ~Audrey
  • Crow71
    Crow71 Member Posts: 679 Member
    Good luck!
    Your description of the symptoms made me shutter. What a yucky flashback.
    I know your mind is racing. Put on the brakes and don't worry.

    Are you going to stay awake for this one like last time?

    You know you've got lots of NC sparks coming your way.

    Roger
  • JoyceSteele
    JoyceSteele Member Posts: 145
    best wishes
    Pat, am thinking of you and hoping you get a good result. Nothing like what is going on in your head. Maybe it is the inflammation getting worse. Try not to think the worse, like I should do that myself! I will say a prayer for you right now. Will be waiting to hear you got good news. Hugs, Joyce
  • Jaylo969
    Jaylo969 Member Posts: 824 Member
    Aud said:

    Pat, hope all is well with
    Pat, hope all is well with you and that you're colonoscopy shows something minor and easily fixable.
    ~Audrey

    Y'all make me smile
    Thanks!

    Aud... I hope it is minor too. The gastro told me last year that it might need dilated in the future. Maybe that is all it is?

    Roger...I welcome those NC sparks. And yes, I plan to be awake and unsedated thru the procedure. I will accept a little Demerol though. If he has to do anything extra I might have to be sedated, but I hope not.

    Joyce....Thanks for your prayers and kind thoughts. Much appreciated.I'll try to get back on Thursday PM and update.Hopefully it will be good news.

    -Pat
  • CherylHutch
    CherylHutch Member Posts: 1,375
    Don't forget to breathe!
    Hey Pat.... breathe, breathe, breathe! And put your mind at rest, if one can do that while going through the yucky prep :)

    But seriously... you are saying the pain is in the area of your resection. The chances of having any kind of tumour activity in the exact same place as the original is next to nil.... and (worst worst case scenerio), let's say a new tumour or two were to grow there... first they would start as polyps that would have to be ignored so that they could grow up to be full fledged tumours. You have said you've had how many colonoscopies in the last 17 months? There is no way a polyp stands a chance of even thinking of growing into a tumour with that much monitoring ;)

    Soooo, I'm thinking you can totally relax on that front. More than likely, your gastro is correct in that the "what you called it" has narrowed and is causing inflammation (aka pain) and is causing a semi-blockage.

    Hang in there... it will be over before you know it!

    Cheryl
  • Jaylo969
    Jaylo969 Member Posts: 824 Member

    Don't forget to breathe!
    Hey Pat.... breathe, breathe, breathe! And put your mind at rest, if one can do that while going through the yucky prep :)

    But seriously... you are saying the pain is in the area of your resection. The chances of having any kind of tumour activity in the exact same place as the original is next to nil.... and (worst worst case scenerio), let's say a new tumour or two were to grow there... first they would start as polyps that would have to be ignored so that they could grow up to be full fledged tumours. You have said you've had how many colonoscopies in the last 17 months? There is no way a polyp stands a chance of even thinking of growing into a tumour with that much monitoring ;)

    Soooo, I'm thinking you can totally relax on that front. More than likely, your gastro is correct in that the "what you called it" has narrowed and is causing inflammation (aka pain) and is causing a semi-blockage.

    Hang in there... it will be over before you know it!

    Cheryl

    yucky prep
    I isn't usually that bad if I pace myself. Last time I was still on chemo and I got very nauseated midway through. Took a Zofran and that helped. Why was I having a colonoscopy while in the midst of chemo, 6 months after surgery? Because the dunce who did my hospital scope admitted on record that he had left numerous polyps in my colon but didn't dictate where they were.The doctors thought it might be best to go on in there and get the buggers out.

    Maybe you can answer this for me. My tumor was in my ascending colon. The whole right colon was removed through surgery. The took my small intestine, pulled it up and attached to my transverse colon.My logic is that it is in the same place but not the same colon.Am I overlooking something?

    But I do like your theory better than the thoughts that keep creeping into my head.I'll pick door #1....Cheryl's idea.I'm just hoping the prep has no trouble going to where it needs to go and coming out where it needs to come out. If not my stomach is gonna' be in trouble!

    Thanks Cheryl.

    -Pat
  • dorookie
    dorookie Member Posts: 1,731 Member
    Good Luck
    Once you get past the gatorade and Miralax its all down hill from there....Keeping you in my prayers...keep us posted...

    HUGS
    Beth
  • OtherShoeFell
    OtherShoeFell Member Posts: 37
    New here but well wishes and lots of luck all the same!
    Hi Pat,

    Good luck with the test; I like Cheryl's door as well. I haven't had 17 but in the past week I have had two preps, plus the barium (yum, lemon flavored) for the CT scan, so I understand just a little of what you're going thru - but I wanted to pop by and wish you BEST of Luck and let us know!

    Cheers,

    Bev
    aka OtherShoeFell
  • kristasplace
    kristasplace Member Posts: 957 Member
    Hi Pat...
    Anastomotic stricture...It's a term i know all too well. I've suffered with one ever since my ileo takedown in May of 09. It's been a very hard thing to deal with, and i hope very much that isn't what you have.

    If that is what you have, i can give you some tips on how to ease it's discomfort. I opted out of dilations after about my fiftieth time because the prep was almost impossible to do, and because it got to the point where it wasn't helping anymore.

    Good luck with the scope!
    Krista
  • kristasplace
    kristasplace Member Posts: 957 Member
    Jaylo969 said:

    yucky prep
    I isn't usually that bad if I pace myself. Last time I was still on chemo and I got very nauseated midway through. Took a Zofran and that helped. Why was I having a colonoscopy while in the midst of chemo, 6 months after surgery? Because the dunce who did my hospital scope admitted on record that he had left numerous polyps in my colon but didn't dictate where they were.The doctors thought it might be best to go on in there and get the buggers out.

    Maybe you can answer this for me. My tumor was in my ascending colon. The whole right colon was removed through surgery. The took my small intestine, pulled it up and attached to my transverse colon.My logic is that it is in the same place but not the same colon.Am I overlooking something?

    But I do like your theory better than the thoughts that keep creeping into my head.I'll pick door #1....Cheryl's idea.I'm just hoping the prep has no trouble going to where it needs to go and coming out where it needs to come out. If not my stomach is gonna' be in trouble!

    Thanks Cheryl.

    -Pat

    I didn't realize your resection was so high. if you have a stricture up that high, they may want to resect you again. I think that's too high to dilate, but i'm not sure.

    A stricture will very much interfere with the bowel prep. And it's terribly painful. All the fluid gets caught up behind the stricture, and can't force the stricture open wide enough to get the waste through. I hope i'm not freaking you out! My stricture got so much worse as time went on, that now it's very difficult, and nearly impossible for me to pass liquid stool. I started the master cleanse last week, and could only do it for two days because the waste was too liquidy to come out. It was horrible. Sometimes i wish they would resect me again, but they won't do it. I think because they've already taken a of of colon, including half my rectum. Dang it.

    Good luck, and keep us posted!
  • Hi Pat...
    Anastomotic stricture...It's a term i know all too well. I've suffered with one ever since my ileo takedown in May of 09. It's been a very hard thing to deal with, and i hope very much that isn't what you have.

    If that is what you have, i can give you some tips on how to ease it's discomfort. I opted out of dilations after about my fiftieth time because the prep was almost impossible to do, and because it got to the point where it wasn't helping anymore.

    Good luck with the scope!
    Krista

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator
  • Jaylo969
    Jaylo969 Member Posts: 824 Member
    unknown said:

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator

    Thanks everyone for your
    Thanks everyone for your positive well wishes. Bumping up for the update.

    -Pat