So I had been told that I might have Ovarian Cysts and just got back from the OB/GYN who said that I don't have any Cysts or (thank goodness) tumors on my ovary. She suggested that I get a Colonoscopy because the Colon is in the same place where I am having pain. So I looked up Colon disease and aside from the scary colon cancer it refers to Inflammatory Bowel Disease which it says is autoimmune and consists of Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease. Autoimmune, that sounds familiar!
So I will call the gastroenterologist tomorrow and set up an appointment and plan for a colonoscopy (which freaks me out more than a little!) but wondered if anyone has one of those two things and it's like what I'm experiencing. Mostly what I have is pain, in my lower abdomen - low enough-near my pelvic region that I thought it was ovaries. It has been off and on dull pain for a couple months then last week I had a couple episodes of brief sharp pain and now it's pretty persistent dull pain again. It started on both sides but now is mostly my left. I also have a mild amount of constipation (no diarrhea), and some tiredness. I've slowly been gaining a bit of weight. Any of this ring a bell?
Thanks, Sally. I briefly wondered about gluten intolerance since it affects so many people here. I don't think I have those food intolerances. Can you share if the symptoms you have are similar to what I describe (or send me a message if it seems too personal!
I used to work in gastroenterology. If you had ulcerative colitis or crohn's, you'd most likely also be experiencing very frequent diarrhea. They though I had Crohn's and I have a cousin with Ulcerative Colitis, but my GI including my biopsies came back negative. If it's just abdominal pain...maybe diverticulitis..left side tends to be prone to diverticulitis. Best bet, esp when you already have ONE autoimmune problem, go have that colonoscopy done. The prep really is the WORST part of it.
Thank you so much, Christy; I'll read about diverticulitis. Considering that I started out thinking ovarian cysts, I'm glad to get help in narrowing things a bit. I've got this bad habit of thinking I need a diagnosis before I go to the doctor..lol.
Yes, I read about the prep which is going to take some doing as I live an hour plus over the mountain..I'll probably have to stay over. So the actual procedure you are unaware? (like an endoscopy which I stressed over, but was completely oblivious to).
Oops, no, that has symptoms for only a few days to a week. Though mine has gotten worse in the last week, I've had symptoms for like a couple months! Back to Inflammatory Bowel Disease...unless I have both..sigh.
Diverticulitis usually has severe symptoms--mild isn't too common, though it's possible. My mother had it and whenever she had attacks, she had to be on antibiotics. If she didn't, she ended up on an IV and then got the meds, anyway.
You would most likely have the same type of sedation you had for your endoscopy. A lot of people are sorta out of it, and sleep during it, I've seen others comfortable but awake and talking to yu during the procedure. Which prep did they give you? I had Movi when I had mine it wasn't the GREATEST, but I suppose it could be worse. I miss the old fleets phosphus soda, but a lot of Doc's are getting away from it. Two small bottles, hold your nose and drink really fast, lol. It's amazing what a simple GI virus can do to your whole digestive system...thats what I ended up having and literally my symptoms were textbook Crohn's all the way. I've seen a lot of peopel with GI viruses and it can last up to 6 months or so, with andominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea...and then go away just as quickly as it came on.
I don't recall what they gave me, some form of twilight sedation. I would NOT want to be aware and talking to anyone! I have moved so it will be a different doctor; I'll talk to him about it when we meet. I didn't drink something, but had an IV.
So are Inflammatory bowel diseases (ulcerative colitis and crohn's disease) viruses? I have had mild symptoms for months: abdominal pain, some nausea, constipation, no vomiting or diarrhea. I wish it would just go away on its own so I didn't have to go through all that crap, not to mention expense, but I guess it could be something I needed to know about like cancer, so no way out of the colonoscopy?
Crohn's disease is an autoimmune condition, so is ulcerative colitis.
I have a friend who was diagnosed with lactose intolerance, with constipation and nausea as symptoms. Have you noticed if it gets worse if you ear certain foods? Even if it's not gluten or lactose, some food intolerances have annoying but usually mild symptoms.
I would say that there's no way out of the colonoscopy. The prep can be a pain, though, so be prepared.
Thanks, guitarnut. Yes, I noticed right away those two are autoimmune and I know that makes it more likely.Yeah, I'm sure you're right about the colonoscopy, and it helps to hear it's a must do, but at least I can delay it for awhile as I'll have to have an initial meeting with the new gastroenterologist and I can ask questions. Yeah, the prep (laxatives) is going to be hard because I'll have to do it in a hotel room the night before.
I don't really notice a connection to certain foods but I'm going to keep track.
Crohn's also doesn't sound right--diarrhea is usually a main symptom. I don't know much about ulcerative colitis, but I'd assume it's more of the same.
The prep is only laxatives? Admittedly, it's been about five years since my mother had a colonoscopy, but she had to drink this awful, awful stuff and more often than not she'd throw up just from the amount of liquid, let alone the taste.
Hmmm...yeah, none of the things I'm reading about so far seem exactly right, but I guess it wouldn't kill me to leave a final diagnosis to the doctor, as long as they come up with somethingAt least this doctor (ob/gyn), said, "since it's not ovaries it may be some other organ in the same area and referred me to the gastroenterologist. I'll never forget when I first when to a cardiologist and he did testing and said, "It's not your heart" and walked out. It took the nurse to suggest acid reflux!
No, I think you're right it's a combination of drinking and taking pills and not eating, but I think "cleaning out your system" is the end result of it all.
Well, since you've been misdiagnosed before (something I can definitely relate to), it makes sense that you want to have a good idea of what you might be dealing with before you see the doctor instead of just leaving it up to the gastro.
If there's one thing I've learned from several misdiagnoses and years of being undiagnosed, it would be that there are many, many things that will never be a "textbook case". Even if they are for some people, it happens often enough that you just don't fit the profile for the something that you have. It could always be something you've never heard of or just a weird presentation of something common. It could also be a "standard" presentation of something you just didn't think of. There's no doubt about the fact that it's stressful and annoying and SO hard to wait.
I actually had a similar experience with a cardiologist. But, then again, my pulmonologist was the "head" of the case. Funny, because my pulmonologist insists that there is something wrong with my heart, no matter what the cardiologist says or the tests show.
About how long is the wait for the colonoscopy? I hope it isn't too long.
I don't know about the wait for the colonoscopy. Tomorrow I'll call for just the initial appointment. I'm hoping I can do the colonoscopy during Spring Break (3/25).
I had a blood panel a couple months ago but I still have the results. How would I look for "signs of inflammation" in the results? What do you mean by "blind gut?"
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP) and plasma viscosity (PLV) are blood panel tests to detect inflammation. I think your doc would have informed you if your tests showed unusual results. I meant "blind gut" aka "appendix". Perhaps it is inflammed? Just a thought.
