First colonoscopy after surgery

[Suvii]

Hey guys! It's been a while... :ybiggrin:

I'm having my first postoperative colonoscopy after an ileocecal resection (2/2012) in less than a month and thought I'd ask you all if you have been in one and how it turned out.

I'm having mine done under anesthesia, so that's nice. Only thing I have to worry about is the day before and the yummy Moviprep... :heart:

I'm a bit worried if the seam has started to pack in - am I getting my first postoperative obstruction already? Before my surgery I was told that probably in the next 3-4 years the seam is going to be inflammatory. I know obstructions are very general especially in resection seams. I'm totally pain free though (awesome!), don't have any other symptoms expect sometimes I have a day or two when I have to hop in and out in the toilet (I have Questran for that too, I just haven't tried it yet).

I'm on Azamun (150 mg/day) now, that's it. And I haven't taken them regularly at all... Oops. It's funny how you can almost forget about Crohn's when you're feeling this great! I know I should eat my meds every single day. I'm trying...:wink:

Please share your experiences with me! Thanks! :ybiggrin:

 

[highlandsrock]

Hello Suvii

I had my "6 month after surgery" colonoscopy just before last Christmas and it showed no signs of inflammation. I was given a Rutgeert's Score of 0 and was not prescribed any drugs for the Crohn's.

I then started to feel an ache in the area of the "seam" so had an MRI scan at the end of April which appears to show some inflammation. The consultant said the only way to be certain was to carry out another colonoscopy. (In the meantime I've had a 2 week emergency stay in hosittal - not directly Crohn's related). The colonoscopy was finally carried out two weeks ago but the camera wouldn't pass beyond the first bend so I still don't know what is going on inside me. Very frustrating. I'm still not taking any Crohn's drugs but have had a course of vitamin B12 injections to make me less tired. I do find that some days I still have to rush off to the toilet but have been taking Loperamide (Imodium) to reguate this.

I'm interested that you were told you might get inflammation at the "seam" in 3 or 4 years as I have never been given that sort of information. I'm seeing my consultant tomorrow so will ask him.

Don't worry too much about your colonoscopy. The worst thing is not the prep medicine but not being able to eat for a day or so. I like to see what is going on so ask the doctor not to sedate me but that's just my preference.

Good luck with your colonoscopy, hopefully it will show all is well.

Regards

Nigel

 

[Jennifer]

Oh my, I wouldn't be able to handle being awake for a scope. Far too painful for me. Glad you wont feel the pain Suvii. When is your scope? I didn't see it mentioned.

I've had a few scopes since my resection and the scope makes it all the way to the resection site (had part of my small and large bowel removed) every time. Here's hoping yours goes just as smoothly!

It is common for Crohn's to act up in the same site where you had your resection but the amount of time depends on the person and the severity of their disease. My GI told me that many people have gone 10 years without another flare. I'm on year 13, hope I make it longer and I hope you all do too!

 

[Suvii]

Thank you all for your support!

Ok, so in couple of hours I'm starting to drink Moviprep. I wanna start early so I can go to bed earlier (my grandma passed away yesterday and I slept only 3 hours last night). Hopefully my prep goes as well as possible, last time I had some serious cramps after 1 liter and had to call to the emergency. It's not nice when the medicine doesn't move at all! Wish me luck!

 

[Jennifer]

Good luck! Sorry for your loss.

Hope the test and prep go well and that you get plenty of sleep!

 

[Suvii]

Thanks, Crabby.

Oh man, this sucks! I bought a new prep medication, called CitraFleet, which I haven't used before but had heard that it's so much easier than any other prep medications. Instead of drinking two liters of Moviprep, I had to drink two glasses (2 x 1,5 dl) + lots of other fluids.. I drank my first glass at 3:00 p.m. and the instructions said I should have drank it 8.00 a.m. The next glass went down at 7:00 p.m. Also I drank about 3 liters of juice, onion soup etc. Went to sleep at 11:00 p.m., still nothing had came out. My tummy was growling a lot though! The colonoscopy was supposed to be this morning at 7:30 a.m. but I called the hospital that nothing had came out and that I wanted a new appointment. Now I have ran in the toilet for couple of hours and I'm so bummed that this went down like this, the only problem was my timing. Now I have to be on the diet again and do this all over again later. So proud of myselt right now.... :frown:

 

[Jennifer]

Did you even have the prep at 8am to drink? I'm sorry it went down like that. Since it was new the pharmacist should have walked you through it when you picked it up or you should have at least been told by the GI office since they are the ones who ordered it. Always gotta read the instructions yourself once you get it but you should have had information and instructions before you brought it home. That's so lame that no one decided to say a word about it. Let us know when your next appointment is. I'm sure it'll be done right next time for sure.

 

[Suvii]

Well actually this was my own fault. See I had bought the Moviprep first and was supposed to use it (I've always used it and my hospital sends it's instructions with the appointment letter). The prep day was already running when my niece told me she had an easy prep with CitraFleet. I went to the pharmacy to buy it at noon, so I couldn't drink the 8.00 a.m. glass in time. I started later. But now I now that it works just as well as Moviprep and I never have to drink 2 liters again, so yay for that! Next time I know that I have to start the whole thing in the morning.