colonoscopy update
#1431 - 02/25/03 02:16 PM
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hey guys
had my colonoscopy today... ooh fun. the day before was pretty bad. the IV was bad. thankfully the drugs kicked in and i didn't remember anything and i don't feel too bad inside. the first thing i ate after i got home went right thru me but i think i'm pretty stable now. time for chinese for supper soon!
anyway the results: *drumroll please*
most colons are shaped like a ? but apparently mine is really weird and is shaped like a W . so this might be part of the problem. i was rather out of it when my doctor was telling me all this... my mom explained it to me later. he also took samples to send for a biopsy. so i'll know in a week about that. other than that he didn't find anything, which i think means i do have IBS. i guess that's okay cuz it means it's nothing serious but i was kind of hoping he'd find something and then be able to "fix" it so i wouldn't have to deal with this. oh well. i'll take what i can get.
have a good one
beth
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So glad everything went as well as it could. I'm also glad they didn't find anything serious. Thanks for keeping up updated. Enjoy your chinese food!
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i have been feeling icky ever since the procedure. i'm really hungry but feel nauseated at the same time, and eating neither makes it better nor worse. it's just a constant "gnaw" and also a dull cramping-ish pain lower in my GI tract, which gets more painful if i walk a lot. anyone else experience this after a colonoscopy? maybe i'm just in recovery mode.
beth
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It can take a while to get completely back to normal after a colonoscopy. This is a really invasive procedure, and you're coming off some serious sedatives as well. It's hard for normal people to get their GI tract going smoothly after this procedure sometimes - trying to do this when you already have IBS is much tougher.
Definitely start a soluble fiber supplement that you tolerate well, plus lots of water. I'd stick to the soluble fiber foods for a few days - just eat them totally plain. No fat, nothing but oatmeal, white rice, plain pasta. Have lots of strong peppermint or fennel tea, and try to be as gently active as possible. The exercise will get the muscles of your bowel functioning regularly again. Taking just a few days here to make a big effort to normalize should take care of things.
Best,
Heather
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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thanks! my insides are finally feeling a little more normal (at least normal for me...) but i've been absolutely exhausted. i slept at least 15 out of the last 24 hours. it's frustrating because i want to get back in the swing of things and i just feel like i can't. i was feeling pretty sick for about 2 weeks before the procedure, so i know i shouldn't beat myself up for it. but it's hard knowing that i'm falling behind in school and my mind has the will to go and do things but my body doesn't. *sigh* try again tomorrow, i guess.
i picked up some equalactin AT WALGREENS (didn't even have to order it or anything) the other day and i LOVE it. seems to be helping even more than Benefiber. thanks for letting us know about it, heather, and for just being on here and helping everyone out. when i told my mom that the author of these books i've been reading is actually posting and helping people and is a REAL PERSON (not to mention a sweet one) she was really surprised and thought it was great. i think so too. thanks, heather.
beth
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Beth,
I was interested to read that you found equalactin even better than benefiber. I use benefiber so was wondering if you could tell me a bit more?
Kerrie
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What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
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well, i've only been using the equalactin for about a week so i'm not really sure if it's lots better or if i'm just excited to try something new ;-) hee hee
i like benefiber, too, but i noticed a difference the first day i tried equalactin that i felt less spasming and actually i've had really normal BMs this week for the most part, which is unusual for me. i have IBS-A, so usually i have one or the other... it seems as soon as i control one, it switches to the other. so to have a whole week of only mild symptoms is a blessing.
like i said, it might be other factors, too, but so far i like it a lot. and besides, it's easier to chew a tablet than pour one of those benefiber packets (although also very nice) into a drink at a restaurant and such.
i'll keep you updated as to whether i feel it really is THE factor making a difference.
beth
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I am so new at this... is equalactin just a fiber supplement, that you can take in place of things like metamucil? I started taking metamucl a few days ago but am worried about getting gassy. I do like it because it is in capsule form... No chewing, no mixing with drinks...
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-h2
"Soluble fiber not included."
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equalactin is a chewable fiber supplement. you can use it in place of mixed powders if you want. you do have to chew it, though, and drink a whole glass of water (or other liquid) with it. fibercon is made of the same stuff but you swallow it with a glass of water instead.
beth
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If I could suggest, for your first week, you could try eating no more than 5 grams of fiber per day, next week, 10 grams per day, next week 15 grams per day.
If you fluctuate, after eating 0 grams to prepare, you could have problems.
& follow Heather's guide, no insoluble fiber on an empty stomach & other suggestions.
Really good to have the colonoscopic out of the way. When do you see the doc again? 
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