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Colonoscopy the trigger?

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Posted 10/13/2009 5:06 PM (GMT 0)
 

Hello,

Prior to my diagnoses my symptoms were I would go maybe 3 or 4 times a day with occasional blood. The day of my colonoscopy my symptoms shot through the roof, over ten times a day for about a week. Still not much blood though. But couldn't hold anything. Just wondering, can a colonoscopy trigger a flareup or make the symptoms worse?

I just corrected the title for you so you wouldn't have two posts.

 

Post Edited By Moderator (Red_34) : 10/13/2009 11:29:26 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/13/2009 5:15 PM (GMT 0)
Yes. A sig scope can do the same.
Posted 10/13/2009 5:17 PM (GMT 0)
I have never had a colonoscopy trigger a real flare, (I have them annually) but this year I noticed increased frequency for about a week afterwards, even after the bleeding from the biopsies stopped. That made me wonder whether that week of increased frequency was due to the scoping or maybe even the prep? (I used a different prep this year than I'd ever used before....)
So, this is a long non-answer (lol) in which my thought is, You asked a really good question!
You said you have that huge increase in frequency for about a week.....have your symptoms calmed down since?
Posted 10/13/2009 5:41 PM (GMT 0)
My surgeon said that the prep could cause more irritation in the colon, therefore worsening symptoms for a few days.
Posted 10/13/2009 6:06 PM (GMT 0)

Thanks Red for correcting my mistake. It is greatly appreciated. Also, thanks to the rest of you who have responded. This forum is amazing. It is really helping me and I'm feeling much more hopeful of the future.

Posted 10/13/2009 6:12 PM (GMT 0)
When I had my colonoscopy I was flaring badly and the symptoms actually got better for a few days after the procedure -- maybe because it helped clean things out, and then stabilized after that.
Posted 10/13/2009 6:13 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, I was told that scopes can trigger flares....can make for a real catch-22.


:)
Posted 10/13/2009 6:20 PM (GMT 0)
Happens to me all the time. I am in remission, and everytime I have a scope, it triggers it. It may be coincedence, but it is happening all the time. It takes about a month though after the scope for me to flare though. That is whats confusing me. I have a scope coming in Oct, so we will see if the pattern holds true
Posted 10/13/2009 10:50 PM (GMT 0)
It is nice to get cleaned out, but I also notice more bleeding. I tend to bleed and gurgle more if I don't eat enough, too. I guess I need something in there.
Posted 10/14/2009 7:09 AM (GMT 0)
My symptoms were just about manageable prior to the scope, but afterwards WOW! I asked the GI about it and he said that the scopes can really exacerbate your condition (would have been nice to have been warned about that before hand).
Posted 10/14/2009 1:35 PM (GMT 0)
I started flaring one week after my last Colonoscopy in February. That flared lasted 3 and half months. I just had a flex sig last week (had been mildly flaring for two weeks) and the old digestive system is still trying to decide what it wants to do. I'm hoping things won't get worse but unfortunately I have surgery planned for next week on my behind to address a perianal abscess and possible fistula which I'm sure is eating away at my subconscious and causing stress.
Posted 10/14/2009 4:22 PM (GMT 0)
If I am in a flare on the cusp of a flare, the prep of the scope can make me flare. But when in remission, it doesn't seem to bother me. I go back to normal within a day or so.
Posted 10/14/2009 5:36 PM (GMT 0)
My doc always "let" me put off a scope until I'm feeling pretty good. (And it is our choice, you know!)
I suppose that wouldn't be true if I got bad enough to maybe need surgery, but she trusts my judgement about it.

Even during a drug study in the 1980's, my GI would let me pass on a required regular flex-sig, if I begged, although that was part of the deal.
Posted 10/14/2009 8:19 PM (GMT 0)
My boyfriend has observed that I get churned up when I'm approaching anything stressful or traumatic, like appointments with my (now ex-) GI and colonoscopies. I don't think I flare after the scope, but I sure do beforehand.
Posted 10/14/2009 8:28 PM (GMT 0)
My GI's could never put off a scope until I wasn't flaring, cuz then I'd never have a scope (always in a flare), it's good for them to see what's going on during a flare though and if you're prone to getting a flare from a scope then mine as well get scoped while flaring anyways.

:)
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