Colonic Disorder

[Sheryl]

Not weeks in advance but a day or two...they may give you special instructions regarding what you eat the day before and might also want you to take a laxative in advance.

I'm sure you don't need to be told that there is nothing "just" about "just dying"...before you get to the dead part there's a whole lot of nasty, painful stuff to go through, and plenty of invasive procedures to boot.

Now, be a good boy and do what you know you should do. Go ahead and ask for extra strong sedation if you want, tell the doc you want to be knocked out cold, whatever (just don't plan on driving home!)...

[Sheryl]

Not weeks in advance but a day or two...they may give you special instructions regarding what you eat the day before and might also want you to take a laxative in advance.

I'm sure you don't need to be told that there is nothing "just" about "just dying"...before you get to the dead part there's a whole lot of nasty, painful stuff to go through, and plenty of invasive procedures to boot.

Now, be a good boy and do what you know you should do. Go ahead and ask for extra strong sedation if you want, tell the doc you want to be knocked out cold, whatever (just don't plan on driving home!)...

[cheshiremusicman]

That's interesting to know. I've just been diagnosed with UC. They had a good poke round and couldn't actually see any ulceration but diagnosed from a biopsy and the fact that my symptoms improved after starting to take Pentasa. The implication was that I'd have to take it forever. My symptoms weren't all that severe in the first place but I still have a bit of gripey pain - nothing to stop me leading a normal life. There's hope yet! cheers

I was diagnosed with diveriticulitus some 7 years ago and was told that there was little that could be done about it. I beleive that it is related to chrone's disease and is extremely painful as anybody who suffers with it will testify.

I spent a lot of time on the internet trying to find some info on any possible treatment etc and to cut a long story short I came across a reference to the use of 'NEEM' this being a tree that grows in India and Thailand to name a few countries. I bought the Neem in capsule form in the UK and it being totally non-toxic and having no known side effects I dosed myself with 6 capsules 4 times a day for a month. At the end of the month I was completely pain free and my stools had returned to normal. I continued to take a few capsules a day for a year, before stopping taking tham. I have had NO sign of the problem again. NEEM has been used in India for centuries and I suggest that you just 'google' it to find out more - also helpful in reducing the amount of insulin that diabetics need to take I am told.

[welbeck]

I've had colitis for about 8 years, never really bothered me apart from the very occasional flare up early on. In August I got a dose of food poisoning that lasted about 4 days then came back 2 days later and set my colitis off. I was due to got to Angeles city the following week so I went to the pharmacy and bought some prednisilone tablets which helped no end but when they wore off it came back. I went to the Philippines but quickly realised I should have stayed in Thailand and sort medical help. I had a lousy time in Angeles and the dose I was taking increased from 40mg a day up to 100mg but still wore off. I contacted the specialist I see in the UK who told me to take 40 mg, I replied I was taking 100 and they told me to seek help asap. I returned to Pattaya and went straight to Bangkok Pattaya where they fed me my own medication for 2 days and relieved me of 46,000 baht before telling me that there was nothing they could do as it was a western condition and weren't equipped to help and I should return to the UK asap. I managed to get a flight back the following day and was in University College London hospital the next morning where they did numerous tests and scans and told me I was at deaths door (not there exact words) I showing symptoms of alcoholic Hepatitis even though I'm not a particularly big drinker, the medication I had been taking had inflamed my liver and that was cause for grave concern. By now I was drifting in and out of consciousness and was put on an immuno-suppressant called cyclosporin and a last hope for my colon. The surgeon came to see me and I vaguely remember signing a consent form. Next thing I remember is waking up after surgery and being told my colon had been removed and if it hadn't when it did I wouldn't have seen that day out as a piece of it had died and had started to leak into my abdomen. As the day went on I felt better and better as it was explained I was now free from this toxic organ.

I had 23 days in hospital and left 19kg lighter than when I went in and could only just walk, couldn't get upstairs unaided. Its now 8 weeks later having been given the ok to return to Thailand I came back last week. I have to use a colostomy bag which is a bit of a pain in the ass but in March I return to the UK to start a procedure to rebuild my digestive system so that I can have a degree of normality.

I now think that this was caused by me not taking my medication on a regular basis just when my colitis bothered me but live and learn

This is what I left hospital with

Edited November 29, 2007 by welbeck

[tutsiwarrior]

I've had colitis for about 8 years, never really bothered me apart from the very occasional flare up early on. In August I got a dose of food poisoning that lasted about 4 days then came back 2 days later and set my colitis off. I was due to got to Angeles city the following week so I went to the pharmacy and bought some prednisilone tablets which helped no end but when they wore off it came back. I went to the Philippines but quickly realised I should have stayed in Thailand and sort medical help. I had a lousy time in Angeles and the dose I was taking increased from 40mg a day up to 100mg but still wore off. I contacted the specialist I see in the UK who told me to take 40 mg, I replied I was taking 100 and they told me to seek help asap. I returned to Pattaya and went straight to Bangkok Pattaya where they fed me my own medication for 2 days and relieved me of 46,000 baht before telling me that there was nothing they could do as it was a western condition and weren't equipped to help and I should return to the UK asap. I managed to get a flight back the following day and was in University College London hospital the next morning where they did numerous tests and scans and told me I was at deaths door (not there exact words) I showing symptoms of alcoholic Hepatitis even though I'm not a particularly big drinker, the medication I had been taking had inflamed my liver and that was cause for grave concern. By now I was drifting in and out of consciousness and was put on an immuno-suppressant called cyclosporin and a last hope for my colon. The surgeon came to see me and I vaguely remember signing a consent form. Next thing I remember is waking up after surgery and being told my colon had been removed and if it hadn't when it did I wouldn't have seen that day out as a piece of it had died and had started to leak into my abdomen. As the day went on I felt better and better as it was explained I was now free from this toxic organ.

I had 23 days in hospital and left 19kg lighter than when I went in and could only just walk, couldn't get upstairs unaided. Its now 8 weeks later having been given the ok to return to Thailand I came back last week. I have to use a colostomy bag which is a bit of a pain in the ass but in March I return to the UK to start a procedure to rebuild my digestive system so that I can have a degree of normality.

I now think that this was caused by me not taking my medication on a regular basis just when my colitis bothered me but live and learn

This is what I left hospital with

kee-ryst!...what a nightmare! although I have heard that untreated colitis can have dire consequences as in a colostomy. But the medication inflaming your liver?...and the people at the hospital in Pattaya not aware??? Yikes!

I've got good news to report...I've quit drinking (al la fuerza as there is no easily available booze in Saudi where I presently work), started dieting and exercise to reduce high blood pressure and now my bowel movements are healthy AND I have been able to control my diabetes WITHOUT INSULIN. Lotsa fresh veges, fruit and lean meat; have cut out the starch (very glycemic) almost completely except for some brown arabic bread with my salads. Have lost 10 kgs in 5 weeks and BP down to 140/100 from 180/100. BG almost never gets above 100 mg/dl anymore.

I still gotta face a colonoscopy at some point to be safe...maybe I wait until the endoscope is in kinder, safer hands with a thai doctor who is a fellow infidel...

[Sheryl]

Prednisolone and related drugs (corticosteroids), while necessary to take for some medical conditions, have to be taken with great care and unless you are sure you have a thorough understanding of these drugs (which very few lay people do, except for a few who have informed themselves in the course of long-term therapy) you should not start, stop or adjust dosage without medical supervision.

They have very serious side effects.

The should never, ever, be abruptly stopped once started; they must be "tapered"down very gradually. Otherwise there is quite likely to be a severe reoccurrence of the original problem plus you may well suffer from drug-induced suppressed function of the pituatary and adrenal glands. This last may happen even when these drugs are used and tapered un der medical supervision, which is one of several reasons why they are used only as a last resort.

BTW, there are hospitals and doctors in Thailand trained in the West who are well able to treat colitis, and ditto diverticulosis/diverticulitis (if you were told no treatment I suspect it was diverticulosis rather than diverticulitis, the latter requires treatment and can be serious). Not, apparently, at BPH, but certainly at Bangkok Hospital in Bangkok as well as several other Bangkok Hospitals.

[Lopburi99]

Tutsi,

Have a complete physical at Samitivej Hospital, choosing one of the packages that include colonoscopy. Be sure to tell the doctor about your bowel symptoms and family history.

If you don't want to do a complete physical (although I do recommend it -- especially for you!) then consult a gastroenterologist at Samitivej, check out their website and look for one with training in a western country, preferrably board certification.

There are many things this could be, some serious, some not. No point in worrying or guessing -- find out.

BTW, at your age and with your family history you should be having yearly physicals with colonoscopy even if asymptomatic.

Cancer of the colon is curable if caught early, and colostomy (the bag you referred to) can also usually be avoided if the cancer is caught very early.

An annual poke in the you- know- where is small price to pay for those advantages.....

Hi Sheryl (and LaoPo),

I have had diverticulosis for years which gradually got worse, leading to more and more frequent bouts with diverticulitis (yes LaoPo, extremely painful!). I remember when my doctor first diagnosed my diverticulitis he said I had the intestines of a 70 year old even though I was only in my 20s. I think all the antibiotics I took for diverticulitis flare-ups over the years made me sterile . Finally in 2000 my doctor said it was time to have a colon resection performed, which I had done. He took out about 10 inches. It was a nasty operation, trust me, taking almost a full year to fully recover (an interim hernia mesh which had to be installed in the same incision area didn't help any!). Fortunately a colostomy bag was not needed because evidently enough of my colon remained. However, not all diverticula were removed, only in the most diseased section, so I still have to be careful about the condition even though the resection itself was very successful and I have had no recurrent problems to speak of. My question to you both is, what foods in Thailand are helpful and useful in the continued management of existant diverticulosis? For age-old health conditions such as this, I respect the centuries of Asian experience and wisdom. Thank you.

[tutsiwarrior]

hello folks...to update, I had the colonoscopy procedure done in Jeddah where I'm presently working and it came off a treat. I had been avoiding the idea for years but then there was the drop of the pound sterling almost at parity against the euro so I paid off a 10 year old sterling VISA card debt with euros and felt all of a sudden refreshed and evacuated...

I was onna roll so I marched right up to the appointments desk at the nearest hospital an' said 'I wanna have one o' dem colostomy procedures done..' and went to see the doc (a kindly sudanese fellow) who set me up for the following Thursday 5 days hence...

spent the day before offa work with laxatives and the toilet then went in Thurs. a.m. where they gave me a room and an enema...no cute thai girls in miniskoits, however just a nervous looking south asian girl supervised by a filipina. Then there was an EKG that the doctor wanted and a lot of fussing and I was finally wheeled into the examination room and given dormicum and alfentanyl. Hardly any sensation at all except for 'take a deep breath' on insertion. I then laid on my side and watched as the camera glided along what looked like healthy pink tissue and then...A POLYP. The excision tools are inserted at the same time as the camera so then snip, yank, plop and the doc held up the result to the camera lens. It was then removed and sent to the lab...the doc said not to worry as to his experienced eyes it looked benign. The examination was concluded and I checked out of the hosp. about 2 hrs later.

The follow up was the next week and the doctor gave the all clear. So...don't wait until you pay off your credit card like I did and get the procedure done now and feel good about yerself and yer place in the universe. BTW, I was charged 2670 saudi riyals for everything including hosp. room and initial consultation.

yours, in the interest of healthy colons everywhere, tutsi

Edited January 29, 2009 by tutsiwarrior

[adamx]

Sounds like it could be IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). This can usually be treated quite easily. Changes in diet can sometimes alleviate the symptoms. There are also diffierent medications available.

IBS is treated quite easily??? For the majority of IBS patients there is very little that can be done by doctors. Treatment is usually a hit or a miss.