# Fun colonoscophy - not!



## Shipwreck (Jan 26, 2006)

Well, I went thru this whole thing this morning. The worst part was drinking all that nasty stuff yesterday afternoon. I was supposed to drink a glass every 10 min, but it took me 10-15 min just to get each glass down after about the 3rd one. Almost threw up a few times - that stuff is nasty. Waking up at 5am and arriving at the hospital at 6am wasn't fun either, after being up late. But at least the whole thing is over with now...

Don't wanna go thru that again for a while  - I had to drink some other nasty stuff a few months ago for an abdomen CT scan - that stuff was even worse to drink - but there wasn't quite so much of it.


----------



## Hal8000 (May 8, 2006)

God! I hate those! Well, at least it's all behind you now. Hmmm, come to think about it, it was all behind you yes'terd'ay too.... 
Glad you survived Ship. (almost mispelled ship) <evil grin>


----------



## Shipwreck (Jan 26, 2006)

Well, now that is 2 tests that can't find why I have an intermittent abdomen pain on my right side (its not the appendix or gall blader). I guess an MRI is next - then I just live with it I suppose...


----------



## Thor (May 11, 2006)

Is that pain just under the rib cage and maybe three or four inches down ??


----------



## Shipwreck (Jan 26, 2006)

No, its above my front left hip bone, below the belly button level. 

I've had it on and off since Feb. I cannot associate it with a particular food. And, even when I do not have the pain, if I press on that 1 particular spot. it is tender to the touch. The doctor told me previously that there is no organ in that area but the colon. And, he told me that if they run tests and cannot figure it out, its just called irritable bowel syndrome. 

If everything is fine, its not like the pain is incapacitating. I'm just worried about what it COULD mean. Thats why I went thru this test today - it was my choice. But, its just strange that it iminates from only 1 spot, and if I push on it myself, it hurts. And, its not a muscle pain either.


----------



## Thor (May 11, 2006)

Shipwreck said:


> Well, not that is 2 tests that can't find why I have an intermittent abdomen pain on my right side (its not the appendix or gall blader). I guess an MRI is next - then I just live with it I suppose...


OK, you said the right side, so I was wondering. I find it kind of irritating that these Doctors can't figure stuff out very well. I've a couple of chronic problems that Doctors can't "diagnose" or fix. I think they need to take a course in electronics & troubleshooting. Half the time, it just seems as if they're guessing.


----------



## Shipwreck (Jan 26, 2006)

Well, in my case, they admit they are guessing....

:smt076 :smt076 :smt076


----------



## scooter (May 9, 2006)

Shipwreck said:


> Well, in my case, they admit they are guessing....
> 
> :smt076 :smt076 :smt076


And ............you're ..........paying them for this??????????? :mrgreen:


----------



## Hal8000 (May 8, 2006)

You've got to remember that Doctors only have a license to "practice" medicine... Hmmm, sure makes you wonder....

The pain you have Ship sounds like a pain that I've had now for years. In my case it is muscle. 20 years ago I had two back surgeries and ever since then the muscles around my lower abdomen have strained to take up the slack that my back can not do... It's a bother, but it's better than being a gimp, if I had not of had the surgeries...

Hopefully Ship, it's something simple like gas!


----------



## john doe. (Aug 26, 2006)

When my son was a little kid he developed something called interspetion (not sure the proper spelling). What happened was his small intestines would go inside his large intestine. This would not happen all the time but when it did it floored him. then it went away as quick as it came. He ended up going to surgery when other noninvasive procedures failed. just my .2 cents worth.

Good luck with it. Maybe you need a hysterectomy.


----------



## js (Jun 29, 2006)

Shipwreck said:


> Well, I went thru this whole thing this morning. The worst part was drinking all that nasty stuff yesterday afternoon. I was supposed to drink a glass every 10 min, but it took me 10-15 min just to get each glass down after about the 3rd one. Almost threw up a few times - that stuff is nasty. Waking up at 5am and arriving at the hospital at 6am wasn't fun either, after being up late. But at least the whole thing is over with now...
> 
> Don't wanna go thru that again for a while  - I had to drink some other nasty stuff a few months ago for an abdomen CT scan - that stuff was even worse to drink - but there wasn't quite so much of it.


ouch! :smt022



tnoisaw said:


> Maybe you need a hysterectomy.


:smt082


----------



## Shipwreck (Jan 26, 2006)

tnoisaw said:


> When my son was a little kid he developed something called interspetion (not sure the proper spelling). What happened was his small intestines would go inside his large intestine. This would not happen all the time but when it did it floored him. then it went away as quick as it came. He ended up going to surgery when other noninvasive procedures failed. just my .2 cents worth.
> 
> Good luck with it. Maybe you need a hysterectomy.


Really funny 

Actually, the pain is not horrible.I live with pain everyday, between my 2 knees and my back (and I am only 34). But, it what might be causing the pain that had me more worried - U shouldn't be hurting there unless there is a problem. And, my mom just has colon surgery about 5 or 6 weeks ago because of a tumor. So, that was also in my mind. And, this has been dragging on about 8 months now. I am relieved they found nothing, but still... One is left wondering.

Sorry to hear about your son.


----------



## A_J (May 22, 2006)

Just a thought, but have any of the doctors mentioned the possibilty of a hernia?


----------



## Shipwreck (Jan 26, 2006)

They dismissed that....


----------



## A_J (May 22, 2006)

Sounds like it's time to seek a second opinion...

A short cautionary tale: 

I dated a woman for a while that developed abdominal pain.. First hospital, removed gallbladder. Had a lot of pain afterwards too. But she was told it was normal post-op pain. A few weeks later, to the emergency room. She had softball size pool of bile inside her gut from a leak.

Second hospital/doctor - said that they just need to allow for drainage and it'll heal itself, as it's leftover from the surgery. Four months with a bag strapped to her side, and no improvement. Doctors scratching thier heads.. referered to a third facility.

This time, it was decided that it wasn't healing properly because of scar tissue. Surgery to insert a stent and clean it up. Drainage bag again.. and again, no dice.

So by this time I took her to OHSU myself, to the GI department. We were fortunate enough to find a doctor at a local ER that would write the referral. She was seen by the head of GI.

Turns out, that the doctor who had performed the original surgery had completly missed a hepatic duct that he cut, as her anatomy was non-textbook. And it had just been leaking this whole time. The other doctors who saw her only spotted the ducts he did attempt to seal. So by this point, she had to have her intestines replumbed to fit up to the leaking duct, and required months of rehab care. Major, major surgery..

I'm not telling you this to freak you out Shipwreck, but to point out something that this experience really drove home for me.

*Doctors are not gods - they don't know everything. Some may act like they do though.

*You must be proactive and persistent in your own care - Don't be afraid to ask questions, and demand answers. With my experience, I had to be the advocate for her - did they get the films sent to the doctor? Did the get the perscription right? It was almost as if I was a project manager. Unfortunate, but true - I feel really bad for others who don't have the emotional and physical resources to deal with it in their time of need.

*If you don't feel satisfied with an answer, keep at it until you do!

If you feel like you've got something funky going on, but the doctors tell you it's nothing, don't neccessarily believe them. If we would have believed the first several doctors, she'd be dead right now.

So what you have may or may not be serious - but get a second, third fourth opinion until you're at peace with it.

(BTW, I have 3 doctors and 1 nurse in my immediate family - I know how nutty they can be  )


----------



## Shipwreck (Jan 26, 2006)

Yes, I plan to keep at it - I am not taking the word of the doctor who did the test today - "To not worry about it."


----------



## john doe. (Aug 26, 2006)

Hey Shipwreck, I hope you were not offended at my attempt of humor. I know these things are scary. It's the not knowing what it is that sucks. I mentioned my son because the way you described it is what he went through. That was 19 years ago so he's fine now.

I got the privilege of getting Hepatitis C through a blood transfusing in 1985 or 1987. I got the good geno type which can be eliminated and will start that process soon. Life throws us curves but we have to keep swinging. 

You are in my prayers.


----------



## Shipwreck (Jan 26, 2006)

Appreciate it. And, I knew U were just joking - don't worry about it


----------



## Waffen (Feb 8, 2006)

My mom had pains like your and they found small growths on her kidneys. It would come and go was never terrible pain bit very anoying.

I hope they find the problem soon.

My thoughts and prayers are with you.

W


----------



## Shipwreck (Jan 26, 2006)

Waffen said:


> My mom had pains like your and they found small growths on her kidneys. It would come and go was never terrible pain bit very anoying.
> 
> I hope they find the problem soon.
> 
> ...


Interesting. The CT scan should have found that - but I'll mention that to the doctor.


----------



## SuckLead (Jul 4, 2006)

My family has ceased all colonoscapies. My father's last one resulted with him drinking the nasty stuff and passing out. I've never had one and don't plan on ever having one. I know all about the "be healthy" thing, but with the way my family is... something's gonna get me pretty young. My mom's entire family died from Lupus, which is a horrible death, so I'd rather get cancer or something. We all gotta die of something!


----------



## Shipwreck (Jan 26, 2006)

SuckLead said:


> My family has ceased all colonoscapies. My father's last one resulted with him drinking the nasty stuff and passing out. I've never had one and don't plan on ever having one. I know all about the "be healthy" thing, but with the way my family is... something's gonna get me pretty young. My mom's entire family died from Lupus, which is a horrible death, so I'd rather get cancer or something. We all gotta die of something!


Well, I would think that the incident w/ your father is pretty rare. My mom is 67 and put it off for years (U should have one after U are 50). Her new doctor here in TX finally convinced her to go - she did, and they found a tumor. She had surgery 1 month later, and it is a good thing she did. It was the very beginnings of cancer. Since they caught it in time - no chemo. Had she not, it would have completely blocked her colon in another few months, and she also may have died as the cancer spread.

While drinking that stuff is unpleasant, its worth it to be checked. Obviously, I am too young for the regular screenings, and I only did it because of the abdomen pain. But, I gotta say - I think it is a mistake to say U will never have 1.


----------



## SuckLead (Jul 4, 2006)

Well, I hate to be all gloom and doom on myself, but with the way my family history is and the average age of my family, I probably won't live long enough to get to that average age for the tests. My doctor already suspects I am at the start of Lupus, which would make me the youngest in the family to have it, but most in my family only live about another 15 to 20 years after being diagnosed. At 26, I imagine my time here is short. And if my job life goes as it has been, I still won't have any health insurance and won't be able to afford it. But so it goes. When my time is up, my time is up. I won't do the chemo thing, either. I think, from seeing it with several, that chemo is worse than the disease. I'll go quietly into the night.


----------

