Twisted colon

Have you gone to your primary care Dr. for a diagnosis?

@jdwandmew - Welcome to Mayo Connect!
Is the pain constant? Where is the bulge?
A twisted colon would most likely cause intense pain and illness making you go to ER.
I agree that you should go to your primary doctor as soon as possible. The doctor can then order proper tests at once.

The bulge is on my right upper quadrant (waist). Also, I had kyphoplasty done 2 weeks ago. My neurosurgeon said it has nothing to do with that. It seems that no one wants to address what is causing this bulge. However, I've had an ultra-sound and a CT scan and they said fecal impaction but that still doesn't address this bulge. It hurts. Tender to the touch and no one seems too concerned but me🤷‍♀️

@jdwandmew - Who ordered the CT and ultrasound? If it is your primary care physician or gastroenterologist they should help you to deal with the fecal impaction so you can get relief.
Don’t give up.

Hi @jdwandmew, you'd talked about having a twisted colon before with some pain and bulge. I'm wondering if you figured out what might have been going on? If so, did you receive treatment?

I had a twisted bowel (cecal volvulus) three weeks ago. Hours of cramping and vomiting, trip to the ER, CT scan and on the operating table within hours. I don’t know if a twisted colon is different, but anything twisted in the GI tract would be life threatening since nothing is getting through, I would think.

@54pontiac I have not seen many people on this forum who experienced a cecal volvulus. I had one 5 years ago. I had the same sequence of events. I lost 5 ft of terminal ileum and some ascending colon. I was on TPN for 1 month after surgery but have not needed to go on it since. My case is complex due to prior issues with constipation and pelvic floor issues. How are you doing currently?

Yes, I’m told this condition is more common in horses! I only lost my cecus, which they said was about 2 cm. I am 3 weeks from surgery and doing well. Thank you for asking. I am lucky I had no other complications and got treated before it could damage more tissue. They kept me in the hospital for 6 days until I pooped and then it was bye bye—eat whatever you want. I had days of diarrhea and nausea before I took Imodium and my bowel righted itself. I had lost 10 pounds that I didn’t need to lose and have started gaining some back. What is a TPN? Did they give you any dietary advice? I am a 70 year old female. It’s great to find someone else who has had this, although I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

@54pontiac Wow, that is great that you only lost 2 cm!! Also glad to hear you are recovering well and relatively quickly. TPN stand for Total Parenteral Nutrition. I was started on it a few days agter my first BM. I am just barely considered to have short bowel syndrome; had I lost just a bit more of my small intestine, it would have meant TPN for life. I was given a book by Carol Reeves Parris, a registered dietician who specialized in SBS, about short bowel syndrome and diet. Same as you, on Immodium 30 minutes before every meal to control diarrhea, which I ended of stopping as my intestines adapted and I no longer required it. In fact, I became constipated, which I have struggled with my entire adult life up until the volvulous. Yes, it was the worst pain ever, and now a chronic part of my life. I do have much greater empathy for those undergoing health challenges and crisis, that's for sure.