bad bowels
Yeaah, I know. What an icky title.
This past Tuesday I had a colonoscopy. I've had symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) for over 20 years though at first I thought it was Giardia lamblia, an intestinal parasite that at the time had recently spread to the Adirondack Mountain watershed where I did a lot of hiking and camping. At the time my symptons first arose, when I was 23, Giardia was very uncommon in the US but now it's the most common intestinal parasite found here.
Of course that's all a moot point since my symptoms never went away so the cause wasn't infectious. Nor was it medical--which was the point of the colonoscopy, to rule out any medical abnormalities--which leaves IBS which is actually more a group of symptoms than what is typically thought of as a disease.
The actual procedure was quite quick as you can see by the write up to the left. From the insertion (ouch!) to removal of the scope, only 7 minutes had gone by. I must admit it seemed longer to me but despite not being sedated--against the suggestions of the nursing staff--the procedure was rarely painful and for the most part only slightly uncomfortable. At least during the procedure. Afterwards was a different story as the air that was pumped in began to expand. Talk about feeling bloated!
The reason the air was pumped in was so that the scope would be able to get a good view of the walls of the colon. As you can see from the pictures to the left, they came out just fine.
While I had the procedure without sedation so that I could go to work afterwards, a side benefit was that the doctor walked me through what was going on and even went the extra mile (actually more like one foot) and showed me what it looked like in the small intestine. It's amazing what a difference just going around one more curve makes. The walls look totally different. The villi of the small intestine give the walls this velvety texture that just makes them look all soft and cozy. LOL
Anyway, I guess it was worth the 4 liters of laxative and a day without food to make sure everything was okay on the inside. It's better to have IBS than something like Crohn's Disease or Diverticulitis where surgery might be necessary. (or so I tell myself)
This past Tuesday I had a colonoscopy. I've had symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) for over 20 years though at first I thought it was Giardia lamblia, an intestinal parasite that at the time had recently spread to the Adirondack Mountain watershed where I did a lot of hiking and camping. At the time my symptons first arose, when I was 23, Giardia was very uncommon in the US but now it's the most common intestinal parasite found here.
Of course that's all a moot point since my symptoms never went away so the cause wasn't infectious. Nor was it medical--which was the point of the colonoscopy, to rule out any medical abnormalities--which leaves IBS which is actually more a group of symptoms than what is typically thought of as a disease.
The actual procedure was quite quick as you can see by the write up to the left. From the insertion (ouch!) to removal of the scope, only 7 minutes had gone by. I must admit it seemed longer to me but despite not being sedated--against the suggestions of the nursing staff--the procedure was rarely painful and for the most part only slightly uncomfortable. At least during the procedure. Afterwards was a different story as the air that was pumped in began to expand. Talk about feeling bloated!
The reason the air was pumped in was so that the scope would be able to get a good view of the walls of the colon. As you can see from the pictures to the left, they came out just fine.While I had the procedure without sedation so that I could go to work afterwards, a side benefit was that the doctor walked me through what was going on and even went the extra mile (actually more like one foot) and showed me what it looked like in the small intestine. It's amazing what a difference just going around one more curve makes. The walls look totally different. The villi of the small intestine give the walls this velvety texture that just makes them look all soft and cozy. LOL
Anyway, I guess it was worth the 4 liters of laxative and a day without food to make sure everything was okay on the inside. It's better to have IBS than something like Crohn's Disease or Diverticulitis where surgery might be necessary. (or so I tell myself)
Comments
Here via Michele today!
Here from Michele's!
looked into.
I think I'd want to awake for the movie too.
Advocates of advanced screening for colorectal cancers say that taboos and fear about colonoscopies represent their largest obstacles to early detection. People just don't have the courage to bring it up with their doctors, and to get them tested.
Perhaps when they read this, they'll change their minds. I'm proud to know someone with the backbone to do this.
its been a while. nice to be here despite the ickiness. gonna read down a bit now.
Seriously...it was a good post on a highly important medical issue. You and Katie Couric ought to team up to make people more aware of this simple procedure!
Hi from Michele's.......
Here via Michele's
I went this route when I was 27 because of what turned out to be a benign polyp. I’ve had about eight since on a regular basis over 20 years. At the risk of sounding all Katie Couricy, I would remind your readers to get stuff checked out. Men are particularly stupid on this point.
I applaud your post and I’m glad you’re OK
BTW, I love your hummingbird layout... very beautiful!!!
Stopping by this evening/Early morning to say Hello, Michele sent me!! ::waving::
I'm glad to hear that everything came out OK. Pun intended. -)
Here from Michele
Thanks for stopping by my blog, via Michele. I'll be stopping by more!
You are very brave to do it without sedation. And the small bowel is soooo much more beautiful than the colon, less stinky too. All those "normal flora" in the colon really work on the contents, don't they.
Glad you got the all clear sign, even though that IBS can really be hard to take.
So they didn't give you the forgetful drug either so that you forget the pain?
Hugs from Michele.
IBS-like symptoms can be so many things; it's very frustrating to start finding out what exactly. Food intolerances (particularly lactose) can cause symptoms, plus the kinds of things I had wrong (gallbladder problems)...
Good luck. :)