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Constipation and Sacral Nerve Stimulation?
Digestive Health | Last Active: Feb 18 3:19pm | Replies (23)Comment receiving replies
@jlharsh Thank you for such quick and thorough replies.
My Miralax dose is very large: I have to take at least 6 caps every day. With some frequency I have to add other laxatives as well. I have been told my colorectal surgeons that my colon is just going to stop responding to the medication and I fear my body is already dependent on meds.
The spinal issues you bring up are indeed food for thought. I have "degenerative disc disease, mild lumbar spondylosis L5-S1" according to recent imaging. My rheumatologist said it was unremarkable, but I didn't think to ask him about digestive impacts. I wonder if I should explore the issue further, or if "mild" does indeed mean it's not a problem.
I do have a rheumatologist, though not at Mayo. When I initially came to Mayo's gastroenterology department in Jacksonville, it was in hopes of collaborative care, but the doctor I saw would not discuss anything other than pelvic floor dysfunction. (I agree that I have that and continue to try to treat it, but I also have other problems.) When I am able to afford to travel to Mayo again in the future, maybe a different gastroenterologist would have a different approach. Or should I start with a colorectal surgeon or a rheumatologist? The wait time for appointments is long and I am not sure what department to reach out to first.
Replies to "@jlharsh Thank you for such quick and thorough replies. My Miralax dose is very large: I..."
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@roseee The information from your surgeons that your body is going to stop responding to MiraLAX is interesting. I have heard that from other people but not from a doctor. I am a curious person and wonder why this is. To me, this means something in your body is causing your colon to work this way and worth continued exploration.
I think I mentioned before, I am a Mayo patient in Rochester. I went through the Consultative medicine process because I did not have one particular specialist that stuck out as the primary need at the time. This may be what may fit your needs. I saw an Internal Medicine Doc at the beginning and end of my initial Clinic visit, and he coordinated my care through the process. I had access to him for 30 days following and was seen by specialists as needed from that point.
Mayo’s description of the Consultative Medicine Program:
This program provides evaluation and care for adults with complex, unexplained or hard-to-diagnose symptoms. The team works to identify possible causes and outline next steps, which may include treatment, further testing or ongoing care.
My urging is to prepare yourself with exactly what problems you are having and rank them in order of how serious they are from your perspective. With each, be able to provide information as to what related diagnosis you have if any, what you have done about it, what doctor(s) you have see for it, etc. Mayo will take this information and determine what you are trying to accomplish so they can best determine if they can help you, and if so what their approach would be.
It sounds like you are closest to the Jacksonville Mayo location. My experience is in Rochester. They will be able to tell you if they can help you and if so, what location would be best. I think if it were me I would take one step at a time and initially find out if they think they can help you. You could have one of your doctors submit a referral to Mayo Clinic or you could self-refer here: http://mayocl.in/1mtmR63
In the meantime I will keep my eyes open for other members. Have you been able to connect with anyone in other groups yet? Also, I agree he amount of MiraLAX you take is a lot. How much do you take at one time?