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Joy_I_Am
United Kingdom
138 Posts |
 Posted - 06/28/2011 : 03:01:07
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So I had a colonoscopy yesterday, and it came back, as I expected, perfectly clear. Yay! What surprised the doctor, though, was how very tortuous and twisted my colon was - he was calling people to come and look at it, and scattered his notes with very un-doctor-like exclamation marks! He showed me the screen, and my insides looked like a plate of spagetti!  My splenic flexure had squirmed over to the wrong side of my body. But, I repeat, within the scope of normal.
Now, in the past, I'd have been upset at a 'normal' test - I'd have wanted 'proof' that there really was something wrong, a diagnosis I could point to. Now I'm gleeful and optimistic, because I have further confirmation that it really is TMS (the doc said IBS but I know it's the same). Of course, a tortuous colon will have its own issues, but now I know that, when I'm constipated or sore, it's no wonder; the best plan is to keep reasonably cheerful and healthy, eat properly and exercise, but without turning those activities into a task or a stress in themselves.
BTW to anyone who's nervous about a colonoscopy, it was really nothing to worry about! I had mine with light sedation (midazolam) and pain relief (fentanyl), but I was conscious and lucid throughout, and able to talk and joke (yes, joke!) with the medical team. Due to my twistiness, it took a longer time than normal (an hour instead of twenty minutes), and there were some sore bits on the tight corners, but a bit of deep breathing saw me through, and I wasn't even tempted to swear! Felt a bit spacey after, though I remembered everything, then a bit blue as the drugs wore off, but a good long sleep saw me right. I wouldn't ask for a colonoscopy for my birthday, but it was perfectly bearable!
So I hope this is helpful to anyone who's worried about similar issues. Jx |
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Joy_I_Am
United Kingdom
138 Posts |
Posted - 09/14/2011 : 03:26:06
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Hello again!
Just popping back. Someone was asking the other day why people need to come back when they've discovered the 'cure' of TMS, but I think it's like a flu vaccination, you need regular top-ups. And it's also the nature of the beast, with its 'substitution' syndrome, that you need to keep aware. So there!
Anyway, I finally got signed off by the gastro yesterday, a mere three months after the colonoscopy... I love the NHS, but it's so slow... And it was just the nurse-practitioner again, who didn't inspire me with much confidence, and said cheerily that my blood tests showed a mild inflammation (ERS 14) but that it didn't signify. My mind is trying to grab onto that, but I realise that we don't always fit into 'normal' parameters, being human beings and all... for example, I'm always borderline anaemic, have been for years. No one's ever thought much of it. Besides, this test was taken back in November last year! Eleven months! Anything could have happened since then.
It makes me think of the cholesterol tests that the docs seem so keen to push now. They moved the goalposts on that, so that what used to be a normal reading can now be seen as high. You have to wonder how much the drug companies are behind that. My husband and I have the same diet, he just eats more of it than me due to our relative sizes. We take similar amounts of exercise, usually daily walks of an hour or so. He has high blood pressure. Mine is so low that I sometimes get woozy when I stand up. I think we just have a natural set point.
Talking of which, I'm going to have a nice big cup of coffee, push that blood pressure right back up!
Joy
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tortuous/redundant colon
