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Anyone else have a Redundant/Tortuous Colon?
Hello. Anyone else out there that has a redundant/ tortured colon? I was diagnosed with this a few years ago. I’m usually ok, but if I get constipated, I get sick for a week or two. Last year my gastroenterologist referred me to a surgeon for urgent surgery to remove some of my colon. The surgeon I ended up seeing (not on the recommended list by my gastro doc due to others not available for a long time) said he believed I could live with the redundant colon if I followed a low FODMAP diet. I tried the diet religiously, scientifically (I’m a scientist), and I found it’s not the food I eat that causes these bouts of constipation. The only item I’ve found that might cause the bouts is coffee every day. An occasional coffee seems fine. What has helped me stay regular in a big way is Benefiber (or any pure wheat dextrose generic) three times per day. Lots of fluid.
My gastro doc was upset with the surgeon and said I’d regret not having the surgery. He fears I will end up in an emergency situation. I have searched the Mayo site and don’t find anything about redundant/ tortured colon. Are any Mayo docs doing research or treat this condition? Anyone else suffer from this too?
Thank you! -Jayne
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Have you seen a doctor in one of the university hospitals? Is there a Mayo near you?
Thx but for many people with a redundant colon, fiber just makes the situation worse. I am one of those people
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1 ReactionI get a minimum of 16 hours of exercise a week. But thx
This is a long shot but..........can you exercise a lot to maybe get things moving? Walk a few miles a day, sit ups, that kind of stuff.
Instead of Miralax, I would try a fiber such as Metamucil.
Hi, thanks for sharing!
I do love prune juice still take Magnesium Citrate every evening. I just don’t get complete movements. GI had me first on Miralax (never experienced heartburn) then Trulance, Linzess and now Motegrity. I would “clear” but never completely until combining Linzess & Motegrity. Even when I had diarrhea, there was still a blockage.
I will be undergoing a Sitzmarker study this month to confirm inertia, but may end up having the entire colon removed. Turns out you don’t really need it! I am 40 years old, active, and don’t want to depend on medications to use the bathroom for the rest of my life, if that can be avoided.
It’s great to have a platform where we can share our experience, strength and hope.
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5 ReactionsHave you tried prune juice every morning? It really works for me. Also powdered magnesium citrate in water. With this you can start with 1/2 teas and use as needed. You will go in a short time.
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3 ReactionsI suffer from a redundant colon. I am a 60 y/o female and have started taking Mira Lax daily since September 22. Since I started doing this I am having BM's every morning but I know how severe heartburn. I had intermittent heartburn for years but nothing that required attention. I have to tie this to the ML. Does anyone else suffer from this? I am also in excellent health, not one prescription. I normally get 16 hours of exercise a week and have never been overweight. I have gained 10 lbs since I started the ML and I can not lose it. Is it the water retention that is causing this? If so, is there any other way to have a BM without the ML. I eat correctly and drink plenty of fluids.
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3 ReactionsIm glad to hear that you are healing @chenry44 and totally relate to wanting to eat healthy foods and stop needing to consume more supplements than anything else to make any tiny anything else pass / managable. It makes me question getting the operation more for me and for you I so so so hope that changes for you and you can tolerate the healthy foods you miss and get what you need from them.
Thanks for sharing
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2 ReactionsUltimate fibre helped me for a long time better than Lactulose and prunalex and coloxil senna and all the other fibres and homeopathics and what not. Its quite powerful. I used dulcolax occasionally and colonic hydrotherapy. Then my surgeon told me to use dulcolax daily - I was afraid my body would get dependant and it did. It responds to nothing else now; its painful and Im looking at surgery. I tried Motegrity too and capsuled magnesium....didnt work. They might have earlier though. who knows
I want to ask my surgeon not to recommend using dulcolax daily to other people because it made things heaps worse for me and I would advise anyone who uses it to try minimize it and alternate with other things. We re all different of course as to how we respond to things.
If I seem short in my responses - apologies. I really appreciate this space and everyone's sharing. I find I have very little energy to talk about this and to research it and so on, as it already takes up more energy than I have 🙂 x
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