Anyone else have a Redundant / Tortuous Colon?

I was diagnosed a couple of years ago when having my colonoscopy. I have been following the Low Fodmap Diet and it has helped tremendously! It is the diet that people with IBS follow. Fiber does not help and can sometimes bring on my symptoms. I exercise and follow this diet and drink lots of water. My only question is what can they do the next time I need a colonoscopy?? I took a stool softener and drink a whole gallon of prep and it took hours for me to eliminate it. Luckily the surgeon could still do the procedure and that is when I found out about my redundant colon.

This is a great thread. A lot of good information here. I also have found that taking milk of mag or miralax causes heartburn. They both work for me but I have gut pain and heartburn after taking either one everyday. I am not sure what to do at this point.

I finally bit the bullet and had an endoscopy performed. Revealed a hiatal hernia. Now I take Pantoprazole and that is the only med that has worked for me for the heartburn. I started taking a good Magnesium supplement at night which helps with the constipation.

I appreciate the input. The acid stomach started after taking miralax everyday. I was taking it for several weeks and so I stopped miralax and switched to milk of magnesia 15 ml every night. Eventually acid stomach got worse. Never had an a consistent acid stomach problem before this. Just once every once and awhile after eating spicy food. I am now going off daily milk of mag and miralax to see if the acid stomach problem goes away. I am now using ducolax SSoftener and soup and salad diet with soluble fiber supplements. Praying this works. It looks like I will just be able to use M of m and miralax every so often.

I hope that works for you. I will never take Miralax or MofM again. Granted, I have the hernia, but it was never as bad until I started the Miralax. If I eat a lot of fiber, I so easily get backed up but I have the redundant colon, not sure if you do or not. I eat a lot of soup, and stay hydrated but stay away from anything bulky.

No one has said that I have a long or redundant colon. Yes, I am switching to soup, ten cups of water, and cautiously adding a little fiber. I am going to do my best to stay away from a bulky diet. It is hard to do that during the holidays. My wife is a really good cook as well. There is surprisingly little to no information about miralax and M of Mag causing acid stomach. Every once in a while, I run across someone who mentions they have had the same problem. I hope your diet works for you.

Kiwis can help with regular bowel movements.

Thanks will give it a try.

I am in my 40s and recently had my first colonoscopy and was surprised to learn I have a redundant colon! I used to live in NYC and walked so much, I barely noticed. But I moved to a driving city and was noticing bowel movements that were extremely large that were causing tearing and bleeding. Doctors were telling me to eat more fiber. But then after the diagnosis I was told to eat a low fiber diet, which lacked almost any nutrients.

I am still trying to get a hold of how to eat a balanced diet. I've been reading up on gut health and adding kimchi and probiotics to my diet. Trying to slow down when I eat and drink a lot of water. (I like the idea of setting a water reminder)

I've decided to eat a bit more intuitively and pay more attention to how different foods impact me. It seems it takes about 6 days for food to make it through my colon. I stay away from cruciferous veggies and peppers.

Taking miralax has been a big help. I have to experiment with how often, because too much and stool gets runny. I actually found that eating grape nuts in the AM keeps me regular.

I have also been trying belly dancing, massage, sit-ups and walking after meals. But sometimes I don't hear or anything moving around in there!

So this is definitely a new journey. But I'm taking it slow. I've been confused by advice to eat low fiber vs. high fiber. Somewhere inbetween works.

Hopefully I will be able to meet with a nutritionist who specializes in this one day. If anyone knows of anyone to follow on social media let me know.

I don’t have a redundant colon, but I do have a lazy colon. It takes forever to move things along. Long story short, I can’t eat much fiber, as it really really clogs me up. So, high protein, no refined carbs and lots of water. Oh, and exercise, I walk everyday. Good luck 🙂