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Redundant colon and surgery?

Posted by must0716 @must0716, Feb 3, 2023

Redundant Colon resulting in twist in sigmoid
I had an emergency sigmoidoscopy in October 2021 and further tests indicated a redundant colon. My consultant wanted me to get a bowel resection. To date I've avoided this and am trying to manage my diet. I am also on daily Laxido (a type of laxative that takes water into the bowel). I drink a lot of water and am very fit. I am trying to manage the problems of the redundant colon in order to avoid another incident. My diet is one option but some people have suggested acupuncture and I'm very interested in any feed back on this. I am also interested in know if a colonic irrigation would be safe and could help - my thoughts being it may clear out any old build up. Any help would be welcomed. I am a 58 year old healthy female weighing 65 kilos.

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Profile picture for deblf
deblf | @deblf | Apr 14, 2023
In reply to @erinjoy13 "Hi everybody! I have a tortuous colon that causes severe bloating, discomfort and constipation. FODMOP diet..." + (show)
Profile picture for erinjoy13 @erinjoy13

Hi everybody! I have a tortuous colon that causes severe bloating, discomfort and constipation. FODMOP diet was not helpful. My GI has tried several different medications and the only effective one has been Motegrity, 2mg, as it actually mimics the function of the colon itself.

I’m thrilled to be having complete BMs for the first time (maybe in my life!) but am concerned that this is not a sustainable or permanent solution.

I am very active and in great health otherwise. Is anyone able to share their experience with surgeries or other treatment options for low-functioning, redundant colon with CIC??

Thank you!
Erin

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It’s a relief to know there are others out there who suffer from these issues as I suspect many are reluctant to share. It’s frustrating to feel that one isn’t taken seriously & doctors say it’s your brain controlling your gut. All they want to do is perform colonoscopies. I’ve had several with no signs of disease, just told I have a torturous colon with no solutions offered. In Canada we have to wait many months before we can even be seen by a specialist and it’s even worse since the pandemic. Understandably, those with serious, potentially fatal diseases such as cancer take precedence.

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Profile picture for dianesgk
dianesgk | @dianesgk | Apr 15, 2023
In reply to @erinjoy13 "Hi everybody! I have a tortuous colon that causes severe bloating, discomfort and constipation. FODMOP diet..." + (show)
Profile picture for erinjoy13 @erinjoy13

Hi everybody! I have a tortuous colon that causes severe bloating, discomfort and constipation. FODMOP diet was not helpful. My GI has tried several different medications and the only effective one has been Motegrity, 2mg, as it actually mimics the function of the colon itself.

I’m thrilled to be having complete BMs for the first time (maybe in my life!) but am concerned that this is not a sustainable or permanent solution.

I am very active and in great health otherwise. Is anyone able to share their experience with surgeries or other treatment options for low-functioning, redundant colon with CIC??

Thank you!
Erin

Jump to this post

After my first visit to my gastroenterologist after my colonoscopy/endoscopy she was not concerned about the tortuous/redundant colon and I replied. You do not seem to be concerned, but I AM concerned. I have increased my food fiber, water and exercise. I presently am taking MiraLAX a night now adding a small amount of organic fiber which seems to be helping. I do not want to come to the place that I do not have control and want to find a more natural approach to living with this. I take to heart all your comments, because I know someday it could be me. It may be me now and I just am not acknowledging it but time will tell. She did mention bowel transit time tests.... so what was she really thinking but not saying? So if anyone has their "best" advice for things that seem to be working long term, I am all ears. In this journey together.... some days it feels like all we have is each other... not much out there that I could find by googling it.

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2 replies
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judithclark | @judithclark | Apr 15, 2023
In reply to @dianesgk "After my first visit to my gastroenterologist after my colonoscopy/endoscopy she was not concerned about the..." + (show)
Profile picture for dianesgk @dianesgk

After my first visit to my gastroenterologist after my colonoscopy/endoscopy she was not concerned about the tortuous/redundant colon and I replied. You do not seem to be concerned, but I AM concerned. I have increased my food fiber, water and exercise. I presently am taking MiraLAX a night now adding a small amount of organic fiber which seems to be helping. I do not want to come to the place that I do not have control and want to find a more natural approach to living with this. I take to heart all your comments, because I know someday it could be me. It may be me now and I just am not acknowledging it but time will tell. She did mention bowel transit time tests.... so what was she really thinking but not saying? So if anyone has their "best" advice for things that seem to be working long term, I am all ears. In this journey together.... some days it feels like all we have is each other... not much out there that I could find by googling it.

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CT scan should show a lot. It is expensive for insurance to cover so not given freely. Ask for it.

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sallyw133 | @sallyw133 | Apr 15, 2023
In reply to @dianesgk "After my first visit to my gastroenterologist after my colonoscopy/endoscopy she was not concerned about the..." + (show)
Profile picture for dianesgk @dianesgk

After my first visit to my gastroenterologist after my colonoscopy/endoscopy she was not concerned about the tortuous/redundant colon and I replied. You do not seem to be concerned, but I AM concerned. I have increased my food fiber, water and exercise. I presently am taking MiraLAX a night now adding a small amount of organic fiber which seems to be helping. I do not want to come to the place that I do not have control and want to find a more natural approach to living with this. I take to heart all your comments, because I know someday it could be me. It may be me now and I just am not acknowledging it but time will tell. She did mention bowel transit time tests.... so what was she really thinking but not saying? So if anyone has their "best" advice for things that seem to be working long term, I am all ears. In this journey together.... some days it feels like all we have is each other... not much out there that I could find by googling it.

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I have found that doctors are not concerned about tortuous colons at all. One gi told me that probably most everyone who has had years of constipation has this from all the straining. Unless you get a twist or obstruction, no worries!

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2 replies
Profile picture for dianesgk
dianesgk | @dianesgk | Apr 16, 2023
In reply to @erinjoy13 "Hi everybody! I have a tortuous colon that causes severe bloating, discomfort and constipation. FODMOP diet..." + (show)
Profile picture for erinjoy13 @erinjoy13

Hi everybody! I have a tortuous colon that causes severe bloating, discomfort and constipation. FODMOP diet was not helpful. My GI has tried several different medications and the only effective one has been Motegrity, 2mg, as it actually mimics the function of the colon itself.

I’m thrilled to be having complete BMs for the first time (maybe in my life!) but am concerned that this is not a sustainable or permanent solution.

I am very active and in great health otherwise. Is anyone able to share their experience with surgeries or other treatment options for low-functioning, redundant colon with CIC??

Thank you!
Erin

Jump to this post

I did have a CT scan in December for some other high abdominal pain and a special MRI for biliary tracts/looking for gallstones stuck in a bile duct. Nothing on either of those to suggest anything helpful. My physician did say that our colon/intestines do not stay in the same position. They move around too.

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teeney | @teeney | Apr 16, 2023
In reply to @yintwin "Hi, Sally. I appreciate your thoughtful reply. I haven't had a pelvic floor study done --..." + (show)
Profile picture for yintwin @yintwin

Hi, Sally. I appreciate your thoughtful reply. I haven't had a pelvic floor study done -- did your ob-gyn do that? I've had a sitz marker study done to gauge transit .. and I have a story to go with it. My GI had me taking Mira lax and two citrucel caplets every day for more that a year when she ordered the study -- ordered because even though I have copious loose bowel movements every day, there is a trouble spot in that redundant, torturous transverse colon where some stool just lays there, so she calls it constipation. I was instructed to discontinue the miralax and citrucel for the 5 days of the study and not to take any laxatives. First day X-ray showed the sitz marker rings travel well thru small bowel; second and third days X-rays showed them bogged down in my transverse colon. By the third day I was in such miserable discomfort, bloating, grotesque distention that I cheated and ate coconut butter (a natural laxative) which prompted an enormous bowel movement. Of course the next day the X-ray showed that the markers had passed all the way through to the sigmoid colon. Because of that, my GI concluded that I have normal transit speed -- I didn't tell her about the coconut butter.
You're right, it's a huge surgery. But I completely resonate with you that we can't live our lives dictated by our colon. For me, it's the debilitating pain, which feels like stage 6 labor pains, and the specter of another 6 cm volvulus sending me to the ER. You're prudent to get a second opinion. It will give you confidence that you're doing the right thing, whatever that choice winds up being. I made a note of the two meds you mentioned. My GI gave me linzess, but it only caused me watery diarrhea.
Please post any updates if you can, and I will do the same.

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I have a redundant colon and constipation ….It’s very difficult to have bowel movements without the gambit of triphala powder ,magnesium ,slippery elm…And did you mention coconut butter…How much coconut butter to take for a bowel movement???And when to take it …Morning or evening..Thanks…

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2 replies
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notmoff | @notmoff | Apr 17, 2023
In reply to @teeney "I have a redundant colon and constipation ….It’s very difficult to have bowel movements without the..." + (show)
Profile picture for teeney @teeney

I have a redundant colon and constipation ….It’s very difficult to have bowel movements without the gambit of triphala powder ,magnesium ,slippery elm…And did you mention coconut butter…How much coconut butter to take for a bowel movement???And when to take it …Morning or evening..Thanks…

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Hi Teeney - I am not sure where to find more information about how to triphala powder and slippery elm in relieving constipation - perhaps not just in those with tortuous colons, something I was told I have after a colonoscopy 3 years ago.
Any information welcome.

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Profile picture for judithclark
judithclark | @judithclark | Apr 17, 2023
In reply to @sallyw133 "I have found that doctors are not concerned about tortuous colons at all. One gi told..." + (show)
Profile picture for sallyw133 @sallyw133

I have found that doctors are not concerned about tortuous colons at all. One gi told me that probably most everyone who has had years of constipation has this from all the straining. Unless you get a twist or obstruction, no worries!

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That is true. The reason is that surgeries cause so many more issues like adhesions. I know as I have had 5 abdominal surgeries.

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yintwin | @yintwin | Apr 18, 2023
In reply to @teeney "I have a redundant colon and constipation ….It’s very difficult to have bowel movements without the..." + (show)
Profile picture for teeney @teeney

I have a redundant colon and constipation ….It’s very difficult to have bowel movements without the gambit of triphala powder ,magnesium ,slippery elm…And did you mention coconut butter…How much coconut butter to take for a bowel movement???And when to take it …Morning or evening..Thanks…

Jump to this post

Teeny, I don't know of a protocol for coconut butter. My experience was anecdotal -- I had the coconut butter on hand, added maybe ⅛ or ¼ cup to my dinner, and it was enough to move my bowels.

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golladiane | @golladiane | Jun 4, 2023
In reply to @colleenyoung "@must0716, welcome. I'm tagging fellow members like @evar @sallyw133 @euqcaj @xiaolung @annewithane @nancykeenan @aethos @ripley @jcarndt..." + (show)
Profile picture for Colleen Young, Connect Director @colleenyoung

@must0716, welcome. I'm tagging fellow members like @evar @sallyw133 @euqcaj @xiaolung @annewithane @nancykeenan @aethos @ripley @jcarndt @christophermr, who can share their experiences with redundant colon and ways to void in order to avoid surgery.

You may also be interested in these related and helpful discussions:
- Anyone had a child with Redundant colon? Surgery? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/redundant-colon-4/
- Anyone else have a Redundant / Tortuous Colon? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/redundant-tortured-colon/

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After decades of excruciating pain, and many colonoscopies and upper and lower scopes, I was finally told by my latest gastroenterologist that I have a redundant colon.
Never heard of it. Neither had my cardiologist.
Looking forward to any help or discussion

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