Question about your personnal preference and more...

[Energizer Bunny]

I was wondering what YOU would do being nurses in this area.....

I had a sigmoidoscopy due to pain in the lower left region of my pelvis and my abdomen and some rectal bleeding. They only found some internal hemorroids...no inflammation, nothing. My family has a huge history of colon problems: Polyps, cancer, etc. (grandmother died from what was originally colon cancer) The dr. originally said that since the sigmoid didn't show anything, he wasn't going to do a colonoscopy. Now, I have had a CT scan, laparosopy, hysteroscopy, D & C, ultrasound, bloodwork and fecal tests. Nothing has been found and I am still in pain almost constantly (though it comes and goes in intensity). Do you think a colonoscopy is warranted? I ask because I think my GP is going to talk to the GI dr. about this as a final, last resort.

Another question....the pain can be severe and can go around to my back. It rises up to just under my ribs, but is usually low, near my ovaries. It can get worse when I have gas or have to have a BM (and when I have to have one, I HAVE to have one). It is also worse usually right after sex and during my menstruation. Do you think this could be IBS? The GI dr. wasn't so sure...he thought maybe a mild version of it, but I can tell you this is not mild pain much of the time!

Thanks for any and all thoughts.

[jemb]

Sorry you're in so much pain.

As much as I dislike having colonoscopies, I think I would do it in your situation just to rule out any other possibilities. If you don't do it now, you'll most likely end up having it done before too long anyway. With your family history, you will keep wondering otherwise.

[Energizer Bunny]

That's what I was thinking too. I am not going to tell them no if they suggest it but I am wondering if I should press the issue. I think I might, just because there has to be a reason for this pain. Thank you.

[Sis123]

That's what I was thinking too. I am not going to tell them no if they suggest it but I am wondering if I should press the issue. I think I might, just because there has to be a reason for this pain. Thank you.

Well, CNM2B, you've probably already had your colonoscopy by now, and if it showed nothing, you might consider that you could have endometriosis.

The reason I say this is because your symptoms sound just like it. When the endo lesions inside your gut bleed each month, those scar over and cause scarring, and some researchers say that the blood from those lesions bleeding can "seed" new areas and create more endo patches. You can have these lesions all over different places in your gut, including your bowel. Endo has also been found on the lung and in the brain, so there is some thought that some endo lesions are caused by embryological defects where certain cells divided and went to the wrong place.

Endo that is on the surface of the bowel on the outside can penetrate and burrow into the wall and cause much pain when defecating.

High levels of pain during menses, during and after sex, and much of the rest of the time are some indications of endometriosis, but some women have endo and do not have any symptoms.

The only way that endo can be definitely diagnosed is through laparoscopy. Skilled surgeons can remove endo lesions this way, though if you have extensive lesions and scar tissue (adhesions) it may be impossible to remove through laparoscopy. A laparotomy may be indicated.

Lupron and other gnrh agonists are widely prescribed to temporarily and extremely lower estrogen levels, and this is thought to kill off or reduce endometriosis, but if you look closely at Lupron's clinical research pamphlet, you will see that more than 80 percent of women are as bad as when they started within a year of ending treatment. You should also check out the side effects that go with Lupron therapy. Many, many women have side effects and damage from taking Lupron that NEVER goes away, like bone density problems, thin hair, voice changes, skin changes, breast shrinkage, clitoral enlargement, joint problems with knees and other major joints, bone pain. See http://www.lupronvictimsnetwork.com to see just how many women have been damaged from this therapy.

Check with your gynecologist to see if she/he thinks your symptoms sound like endometriosis, and then explore your treatment options.

I suffered with endometriosis from the time of my first period until my last, about a year ago. I got so bad that I finally broke down and had a hysterectomy, and am now on low-dose hrt. I feel great all the time now, with lots of energy and no aching all the time.

Endometriosis cost me my spot in nursing school in 1977. I feel good enough to go back, and am taking pre-requisites now and hope to get in. I hope that you can find the solution that is right for you.

I look forward to enjoying life and doing things like a normal person now!