Colonoscopy results and something I've never experienced

Hi everyone

Just wanted to check in and talk about my colonoscopy that I went for on Wednesday last week as well as something I didn't expect.

Long story short, I've been dealing with occasional discomfort and minor bleeding on and off over the last year since I flared really badly around Easter in 2017. Went to Europe with my wife for a month in July and was ok during the trip. Had a minor blip when I got back but managed to stay pretty level with my UC using my Asacol, Salofalk enemas and fruit smoothies (mostly wild blueberries) with kefir and VSL#3 every morning.

I had some slightly elevated liver enzymes for the last few months but my MRI and ultrasounds came back perfectly normal. My GI said the enzymes will probably just level out on their own in the coming months. To be sure it was nothing related to my UC, she asked me to come for a colonoscopy on Feb 28th.

The day before I didn't eat and did my colyte prep as usual with no issues, I find the prep to be quite easy actually...just chug a glass and have a bit of ginger ale for a chaser and it goes down fine. I went for the colonoscopy and my doctor's report says my colon looks great and there are no signs of inflammation. Great!! But this is what I don't understand...

I've had discomfort and softer stools for almost a year since that bad flare last Easter, which I think is also a sign of IBS because I don't pass blood or mucus regularly. I have 2-3 bowel movements a day which is normal for me. But after my colonoscopy, I feel like my digestion has been reset, it's a weird feeling. I haven't had left side discomfort since the procedure, my stool is firmer and darker, my gut doesn't make crazy noises, and generally I feel better than I have felt in a year. Did the prep somehow do this? In any case, I'm not complaining, but I figured I would share this to see if anyone else has had similar experiences. Good news in any case.

Take care everyone

In 2010 I had a colonoscopy after experiencing blood in my stool for a few months. Colonoscopy showed inflammation in the rectum and the sigmoid colon. Biopsy came back that it looked like an infectious colitis. All of my symptoms cleared within days of the colonoscopy, so I never took any meds and stayed in a pretty solid remission for 5 years. In 2015 symptoms returned and it was confirmed that I have UC. Unfortunately, the other colonoscopies I’ve had did not clear symptoms, actually the most recent one in September made me incredibly sick.

Hope you stay symptom free for a long time!

Bowel prep can have a healing effect because it purges all the excess junk. Bowels have a lot of folds in them which gather stuff over time. There can be food particles in there that are days or even weeks old. It's similar to getting a colonic done.