Hi Teresa-it has been awhile since my last update and have good news to report! I transferred my care to a colorectal specialist in Madison,Wi. After a manual exam, and a rectal exam under anesthesia and Barium enema, he too was unable to find a fistula. We then proceeded to schedule the takedown of my colostomy! The procedure went well, I spent 3 days in the hospital and am home again with NO colostomy!!! This procedure was done on 6/14 and I had my post-op visit 2 days ago. My incision is healing well, and I am now able to transition the low fiber diet gradually to a more varied food list and hopefully can return to a somewhat reliable bowel movement schedule! In all, I am so happy to have finally come to this point without the colostomy! I had feared this would never happen and I'm so grateful to have found a surgeon who was willing to take me on. For all those people out there, this all began nearly a year ago so it has been a long, long ordeal, and there were many times when I felt hopeless. But my husband, daughters and friends bolstered me, encouraged me and urged me not to give up. And thanks to Mayo Clinic Connect for giving people like me a place for information, encouragement and suggestions. I have referred several of my friends to this site.

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