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stomach bloated but in remission???

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Posted 12/23/2007 2:43 PM (GMT 0)
Hi all

I had my colonoscopy Thursday.  As most of you know I have a enterocutaneous fistula and have been on Humira since September.  I also have had 3 CD surgeries this year.  I did flare 1 month following the ostomy reversal surgery and I tried Pentasa, and entocort for that which did not help.  I was placed on Humira and id did help yet I still have pain and the fistula.

In my scope post I said the findings of the test.  The fistula was in fact caused by CD and not a problem from surgery since the type of fistula I have...location wise....is common with abd surgeries.  The GI also saw an ulcer which was small and healing.  He did biopsies on ther ulcer, the anastamosis(sp?) and the ileum....yes I still have some of that left not sure how much but I know from my CT enterography in jan 07 the last 12cm of the ileum was what appeared to be the affected part.  The reason behind all of these surgeries was that the ileum perforated in February since the GI doc I use to have...till Feb 07 when all this happened...was not aggressive enough in his Tx of my CD and on top of that he didnt believe me when I told him I was flaring with D...since most of my flares in the past 20 yrs was with C except for when I was forst Dx in 87. 

My GI said he would consider me to be in remission now.  He did seepseudopolyps and did those 3 biopsies...and I know they came back all clear since my mom is the secretary for the cheif pathologist and the other woman there that does the transcription was onut on bereivement. 

I know this fistula is going to need Sx to fix and I asked why I am in so much pain if my GI says that I am in remission and he informed me that I have some adhesions from surgery.  I know my colorectal doc can open that up when he does the fistula Sx.  My stomach is so bloated and I know it usually bloats when I flare and I have the extra rancid gas and stool odor.  Is this common when in remission?

Posted 12/23/2007 4:43 PM (GMT 0)
Adhesion pain is very painful. I get it alot. Ask Yogaprof about that one, she can tell tales too. Sometimes if I eat the wrong thing I will bloat something terrible and have the stinkiest gas ever. But I am still in remission. I usually feel better in a day or two.

Just be careful, I know you are having surgery to fix the fistula, but don't have surgery to fix adhesions as they will only come back and more.

Good luck!
Posted 12/23/2007 5:47 PM (GMT 0)
Even if you are in remission your diet will greatly affect bloating and gas, taking probiotics daily typically aids with this, bloating is often a sign of bacterial overgrowth and probiotics aid with this...it's a good idea to take probiotics when flaring or not.


:)
Posted 12/23/2007 11:02 PM (GMT 0)
I do take probiotics daily. My GI said that the surgeon will use the balloon method for the adhesions in my colon since it is really bad. It is very very narrow so bad that if I didnt have the fistula they would probably have to go in to opne the area up anyway. I know I had many many adhesions when they opened me up in my last surgery. I hope they can do this one laporoscopically but I wont know that til I talk to my doc. The reason why I am having more poop coming out of the fistula than out of my anus is because of the adhesions I have D and that is having trouble getting through the adhesion area so it comes out of the fistula instead that is how bad the adhesions are in the area right near the fistula. I am still sticking to a low residue diet ...dont need anything getting stuck in the fistula.

I only ate 1 time today I had some soup at a local restaurant...it is pastine macaroni with clear broth ...has chicken flavor but no checken in it and you see some black pepper in it but that is it it is one of the most bland but flavorful soups made around here...no veggies in it etc. Then I had some pasta with sauce and their sace has no seeds, chunks of any veggie including tomatoes it is a thick sauce but not chunky. I had water with it and I am in so much pain I can eat that other days and be fine...I am so confused. I noticed with my scope prep that the area under the fistula on the skin the texture of the skin changed...kind of that waterlogged look from the drainage. Also if I take a qtip and run it along the scar line under the fistula it will help bring pus upward to help it to come out of the hole. Some days I tend to have more pus then feces drain but ever since my scope prep the feces output has picked up dramatically.
Posted 12/24/2007 12:34 AM (GMT 0)
I am sorry to hear of your troubles! Have you ever had bloating after a colonoscopy? I know they pump us full of CO2 and it can take a couple of days to come out. I'm just wondering if this is adding to your discomfort. I hope it all calms down for you very soon!
Posted 12/24/2007 2:42 AM (GMT 0)
Ty I hope I get better soon too but I know a lot of the discomfort wont be gone until the fistula is gone and I do not have a surgery date yet. I had to have the fistulagram and the colonoscopy before my colorectal surgeon would set up a surgery date. I am seeing my colorectal doc on the 26th and then seeing my GI for an appt on the 28 and hopefully when I go to my GI doc I can inform him of a Sx date.

I do get uncomfortable after the scope from the air but never this long just from the scope both when flaring and when I am not flaring. Much of it has to do with the drainage from the fistula, the gas ande feces coming through is very painful as is the feces trying to pass through the very narrow area from the adhesions. I doubt my GI will remove/fix adhesions that wont affect my health and cause me much discomfort but for the one(s) that is/are narrowing the colon he has too
Posted 12/24/2007 4:03 PM (GMT 0)
Your adhesion strictures are probably causing an obstruction which causes the pain and bloat (which is also probably why you have the fistula). Does your doctor know you're still having these symptoms? Sounds like it may be getting narrower if they symptoms are getting worse. They may want to move the surgery up a little.
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