Flex Sigmoidoscopy question

[Anthonyx07]

Hello all,

I have a couple questions about this flexible sigmoidoscopy I have coming up in the next couple of weeks.

I have had my Ileostomy for almost a year now and things have been going well (recently my mouth sores came back but that's another story). anyways I have to go in for a flexible sigmoidoscopy on the 31st and I have a couple questions about it.

I only have my decending colon left and they want to get a biopsy done to see if it is disease free so they can hook my intestines back up again.

I just have a few questions about the prep for this procedure. It says here that I have to take two fleet enemas a couple hours before the procedure, now I want to know why this is necessary if my large bowel isn't even connected to the small intestine, it is impossible for there to be anything in my large intestine so why do I have to clean it out? Has anybody else had to do this before? Also, when they pump the air into my large bowel is there anyway the air can escape into my body? I have always wondered if they completely close off the end of the large bowel when it is just sitting inside me, sound like a stupid question because I guess it would have to be closed off but I am just curious anyway.

And my last couple questions are about the fleet enemas themselves. Do I empty this entire 130ml bottle into my colon? seems like a lot of liquid and I Have to do it twice. Plus are these things even safe to use? seems like a lot of sodium to me.

Thanks for helping, I appreciate it

 

[2thFairy]

You shouldn't need the prep if nothing is passing out of your bum. Call the doctor's office and let them know you have an ileostomy and shouldn't need the prep, and go from there.

 

[Anthonyx07]

You shouldn't need the prep if nothing is passing out of your bum. Call the doctor's office and let them know you have an ileostomy and shouldn't need the prep, and go from there.

yea it didn't really make sense to me, I said that I have an ileostomy and she said I had to do two fleet enemas. seems a little excessive if there is nothing in my colon at the moment since it isn't even connected

 

[Terriernut]

No, toothy is right, you should absolutely NOT take any prep! You've gotten the pre recorded nurse speak, and no thinking behind it. Call your IBD nurse if in doubt.

 

[Misty-Eyed]

Hang on a second guys. Are you all sure that the enemas aren't just to clear out any mucus etc that might be there?

 

[Terriernut]

I didnt think mucous was an issue for a scope? Could be wrong.

 

[SkinnyNinny]

The nurse sounds like a dum-dum, to be blunt. I had the same conversation and she checked with the doctor after initially dismissing my question. Of course he said not to take the enema - he's looking up the large intestine not the small!

The key message here is that the large intestine is not connected! No amount of enema will ever reach the large intestine!

...that stuff is disgusting.

BTW my mouth sores went away when I started injecting B12. You should already be on it if you're not already. Good luck! I wonder if we have the same nurse/doctor...Vancouver?

 

[2thFairy]

I had a flex sig done of my J-pouch (still unattached), which is a mucus-producing beast, and there was no prep required.

 

[Anthonyx07]

Thanks for all the info guys/gals. I'm going to call my surgeons office again on monday.

BTW my mouth sores went away when I started injecting B12. You should already be on it if you're not already. Good luck! I wonder if we have the same nurse/doctor...Vancouver?

I have had an ileostomy for almost a year and haven't gotten any b12 injections I will talk to my doctor on monday and mention it. My GI doctor is in vancouver, his name is Dr. Brian Bressler on hornby street. There are about 10 GI doctors there so you may have heard of him. excellent doctor

 

[SkinnyNinny]

Well I lost my terminal ileum 20 years ago and it wasn't until my surgery in December that the doctor said 'you need B12!'. Made a huge difference in my life, like eliminating the mouth sores. I inject myself once a month, it's pretty easy to do. Other side effects like poor memory and concentration that I've been having for a while - doctors treated the symptoms and I was on different medication that had worse side effects. They can be pretty dumb at times. I looked up 'pernicious anemia' in wikipedia and I wondered why couldn't they have figured this out years ago? My rant - don't rely 100% on doctors.

I started seeing Dr. Michael Byrne after my surgery...I'm not really happy with him but that's not for this forum. I guess I've been complaining a lot today - had heat exhaustion and dehydration yesterday and still feeling lousy.

Good luck with your scope!

 

[Anthonyx07]

Well I lost my terminal ileum 20 years ago and it wasn't until my surgery in December that the doctor said 'you need B12!'. Made a huge difference in my life, like eliminating the mouth sores. I inject myself once a month, it's pretty easy to do. Other side effects like poor memory and concentration that I've been having for a while - doctors treated the symptoms and I was on different medication that had worse side effects. They can be pretty dumb at times. I looked up 'pernicious anemia' in wikipedia and I wondered why couldn't they have figured this out years ago? My rant - don't rely 100% on doctors.

I started seeing Dr. Michael Byrne after my surgery...I'm not really happy with him but that's not for this forum. I guess I've been complaining a lot today - had heat exhaustion and dehydration yesterday and still feeling lousy.

Good luck with your scope!

Thanks!

I have been feeling like crap this last week too, I think it is the heat. It has been about 35 degrees Celsius in my house and I feel terrible. No energy and not really eating much/don't feel like eating. I need to drink a lot more water

 

[SkinnyNinny]

I've got a box of a product called "Emergen-C" that has 24 nutrients, with antioxidants, electrolytes, and vitamins. Just started using it today and it helped.

http://well.ca/products/emergen-c-super-energy-booster_8668.html

 

[Anthonyx07]

Just thought I would update the thread.

Just spoke to my surgeons office this morning and Misty-Eyed was right. The instructions say to take 2 fleet enemas but they said I only have to do one if I want to. It is just to clear up any mucus in the bowel.

 

[2thFairy]

Wow! Interesting. Glad you got an answer!