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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I can’t try the Mayo Clinic as I have an advantage insurance plan. They won’t take advantage plans. I am sure tha5 is financial. I may drop my advantage plan and just have Medicare.
Try one of the Mayo clinics. Good luck!!
I am not better, I am worse. I now have 2 inguinal and 1 incisional hernias. This is all left over issues from my appendix rupture in 2015 while at sea on the Atlantic Ocean. My first of many surgeries took place in the Azores.
I cannot get surgery because no one wants to get involved in my messed up abdominal region. I also think my advantage insurance plan will not pay enough for a specialist to do the surgery. A PPO won’t take me due to preexisting conditions.
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2 ReactionsThis post is old, but I hope you're doing better. You mentioned having mobile cecum. I posted several times for the first time today because I'm trying to find out how other people were treated for that and if it worked. Some people apparently have surgery, but i'm hoping for more details.
I found your old post and I hope things are a lot better now. I've posted a number of times today to ask people how they were treated when they had mobile cecum and what their experience was if they had surgery. Did you ever find a surgeon or did you decide against surgery? Thank you for anything you could share.
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1 ReactionLongcolin,
I do a lot of things differently now -- I had Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for anxiety and I can control it now at a school grade of B -- necessary as there is no firewall between my head and my gut. I eat bland food (vineger is out- when my gut was better it was in). I always have some fiber with a meal. I take methylfolate and B12 together as it seems to help my gut and energy levels. Slipperly elm inner bark powder with almost every snack/meal to provide slip to stool. Kiwi/rubarb compote at night as it has a stimulant effect, hopefully natural. Magnesium at night with 1 Colace brand stool softener. I sip more water; every MD says it matters and it does. I take Intolerans dietary enzymes with every snack/meal. I still have a limited diet but am doing better with small amounts of fish and meat. My gut needs a lot of support. I hope your gut is better, even if I sound like you. Note I am grateful to have come out in a decent way on this journey. And I am sure, in my case, I wrecked my gut when I was a sugarholic. I counsel everyone to eat better than I did. All my best!
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2 ReactionsI have a torturous colon. I have a colonography instead of a colonoscopy. You still have to prep for it, but you are awake and photography is taken inside of you.
you sound like me!
Thank you for the vinegar tip. xoxo
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1 ReactionI have success with what upartist is doing - a cooked diet, high liquids, limited meats. More fluid through the "pipes" cuz they are extra long and curvy. Think of it like household plumbing. So try dumping the raw food, that is for normal guts. And I and others have shared our myriad ways of dealing with constipation, though a more liquidly, cooked diet will help your gut process your food. I sip water between meals, take magnesium and one Colace at night, and take some slippery elm inner bark powder with almost every meal. I also have a rhubarb-kiwi compote at night as it is has a stimulant effect. Experiment with what everyone uses.
I think not being able to lose weight could be something else. To lose weight, get your resting metabolic rate measured. Once you know how many calories you burn "doing nothing," you can figure out how many calories to eat and how much exercise to do to be in deficit mode and lose your weight. It's calories in and calories expended that works as a focus.
Australian black licorice is actually candy- warning though, be careful if you have high blood pressure. It’s so much easier to find now, thanks to the internet. In the “old day” I would purchase once a year when I visited Cape Cod which has a great candy shop that carried it.
I can’t speak to whether it affects gerd, since I don’t have it. Good luck if you decide to try