Anyone else have a Redundant / Tortuous Colon?

I have battled constipation all my life..remember my mother chasing me around with he enema bottle (I'm 71 and was bout 3 so it made quite and impression!!) It didn't really bother me..I just lived with it..and some Miralax until.. Dec19 2019 when I took a Levaquin 500mg (usually took 250) and it blew a hemorrhage in my stomach..sucralafate and God healed that by May!! But then..IDK but all "hell" broke lose.. leaky gut, gallbaldder out, pancreas elastase "pig pills (I took 5 an knew they would kill me) so I asked retest..and it came back ok..ER trips.. constipated so bad one time i was on the floor and couldn't get anything out up or anyway.. except sweat.. lsot most of my fluids b/p 60/40.. ambulance driver was frantic.. took 10 ,in to start and IV..(no fluids in my body) and I tock to bottles going to the hospital 45 min away.. colitis.. tested for all kinds of stuff.. and here it is.. after about 25 ER trips in 3 years 2 near death experiences and 3-4 hospital stays.. I prayed.. and on Oct 15th GOD turned on the bowels.. He got help from Trulance..(tired Linzess and Amtesia.. didn't work for me).. ..and I Miralax almost every night and take VSL3 Probiotics.. 2 vanilla plant based ensures a day.. (I was taking 6 tylenols a day for years.. bad girl!! so my liver AST and ALT were in the 80s now normal.. I went to a surgeon )Oct 30th and he said ..you do have a tortuous colon but what ever you are doing is working.. so I said the word works.. have been healed of scurvy..(got so malnourished I got scurvy and started eating potato peelings saved a toohe ) .. had a CT with a left epherical profusion.. I said re CT that.. gone!! Now God and I are working on Scleroderma and kidney stones.. but I am standing on HIs stripes.. people don't understand when you have this kind of illness..I think that is the hardest part, hurts the most.. but Jesus is there for us.. I p[ray for every one on here..that we be healed in Jesus mighty name!! He died for ust to have it .. satan wants to steal, kill and destroy.. but GOD wants us to have life and have it more abundantly.. while I'm writing this..I'm cringing in pain from the kidney business.. but if it helps anyone.. I pray so..so many of you all are have so much worse problems than I have and it breaks my heart..(I spend most of my days in bed.. I had not planned this for m retirement.. but I am so grateful not to be in the hospital.. this is a great forum.. we are so blessed to have each other..God bless you all!!

@jlstjohn Thank you for sharing that! Wow, just read about the reason for your resectioning--that is wild. I'm glad you're 'ok' now, but yeah, sorry about the other issues. I will definitely see a PF therapist soon, and I'd be curious to see what they say! And, I wonder if i have the (rather) rapid gastric emptying, too. It certainly seems like it, or maybe my body is producing a normal amount of poop and i'm just not used to it wanting to...come out, so soon! Either way, it's very uncomfortable and takes away quality of life. Does anything help with those two issues, for you (pelvic wand! I'll have to look that up!!!)--best to you! J

After reading through your experiences @electracat, I see a lot of similarities to my issues. I had about 5 ft. of my terminal ileum removed almost 5 years ago due to a cecal volvulous, and now am considered to have short bowel syndrome. Once my small intestines adapted to less length and surface area (which they do...amazing), my issues with constipation that I had prior to the volvulous returned. I HAVE had the motility studies done (Sitz markers, gastric emptying, colonoscopy, various defecation studies) . While I also have a tortuous colon, it seems that 2 other factors are contributing to my bowel issues. One is pelvic floor dysfunction. My muscles down there contract instead of relax when it's time for a BM. I have been through pelvic floor PT twice, and the best tool I have right now is a pelvic wand. I cannot live without it! Second, I have borderline rapid gastric emptying, which is probably why I, like you, see a lot of undigested food particles in my stool, sometimes as aoon as 2 hours after a meal. I hope this is helpful as I didn't see anyone else mention these two topics.

@anniewee Thank you so much. Helps to know we’re not alone! This crazy life. More soon….xx

@electracat Hi…I take the 1 dose of MiraLAX around 11 am with my last coffee of the day…it doesn’t bother me during the day like having to have a bm . As far as being bloated and gassy…that is me no matter what I drink or eat. The Senna-S is helpful as well. ( the extra -S means it also has stool softener. Sometimes I drink a Smooth Move tea….if you decide to try the tea…don’t take the Senna-S that day (only 1 type of Senna a day).
I found out about having a tortuous colon after my second colonoscopy…..I’ve had constipation problems my whole life and never had any idea my colon was extra long and twisty.
I am with you in your experiences….it is something I have to deal with daily as well.
I have not had any motility tests done. I am trying to work out things on my own. This Connect group is good because there are not many people we can talk to about our personal body-function problems.
Linzess did zero for me at the lower doses and it’s not any cure for me now either….but I feel better mentally taking it! Oh, well.
Keep in touch any time you wish.
You are not alone in your experiences…I am here too!

@anniewee Thanks. I’ve been taking miralax but not consistently… if I take too close to bedtime I’m kept awake by whatever action it’s trying to make happen…! Sometimes I feel it makes me just gassy but again, I haven’t tried it every day!

Maybe once a day in morning or afternoon?

I was disappointed in my last G.I. visit, because he didn’t really suggest any testing. Have you done any? Like motiliy, etc?

For the last few days, I feel like the poop keeps ending up stuck in my rectum, and I’m bloated, uncomfortable, and it gives me weird insomnia…pain in gut, a feeling of being swollen almost? I resolve it in the morning with coffee and other things but then it just builds again! I can’t tell if it’s fast-transit constipation or what!

Just looked at my colonoscopy notes from last year and no mention of torturous colon… maybe I was wrong about that!!

Glad linzess helps you a bit…! Those meds have scared me but maybe time to check them out….

@electracat I have been taking Linzess daily ( highest dose 290 mg). It helps somewhat…. Would give it a 5 out of 10. I’m not consistent with taking Metamucil daily because it bulks up stool…when one has a tor. colon now the stool has to twist & turn even more to get out! I changed PCP drs and my new one whom I love told me to try MiraLAX once per day and Senna-S caps. She said ( as well as MANY DRS) that Miralax is safe to take long term ( despite what is written on directions ) and Senna is from a plant so both are okay long term. You might give that a try. Try for a couple of weeks consistently to see if it helps. I mix my capful of MiraLAX in my coffee and take the Senna-S caps (2) before dinner. It really is a never ending poop concern!

@bgiddio I've been suffering with constipation for the last couple of years. Female, 56. Torturous colon.
What baffles me, is the amount of poop that apparently needs to come out, these days. Incomplete evacuation, always, even after lots of 'business' that two years ago would mean i was finished for the day.
It makes me wonder if it isn't moving too quickly through me? But then gets stopped up at the end? The poop (ugh, even i hate getting this intimate with my bowels) is not totally formed, during the 'remainders' and often looks like it hasn't had time to...form, fully!

Thanks for posting!
I spent several months taking a thick powder shake from a functional dr. The trouble began about midpoint of that time frame-9 years ago. Constipation caused mine to stretch. I was taking 1-2 prunes a day. Slowly added up to six. The functional dr had “no idea”. I just quit everything she had me on- and told her so. Seemed to get my 2-3 x a day back- no constipation issues, but when more thickened material goes through one curved spot, it nudges up against my hip bone causing intense pain. I can mitigate by laying horizontal on the other side. Difficult in a social situation or on a walk or with children.
Currently I’m recently diagnosed with EPI. The meds aren’t working. I’m needing Imodium, which of course thickens….
Sigh …

digorydesigns, My redundant colon seems to be getting worse, I assume more twisty, but am not sure at all. Solid food seems to be harder to digest and cause constipation and gas, so I focus on porridges and soups -- lighter fare, like you do. I only have bloat (and not looking pregnant) from gas/stool backup, not from a growing colon. Google says colons don't grow after early adulthood, so I wonder what is causing that distention for you.