Had the appointment with my surgeon. He stated that he wanted me to have a few more tests before continuing on with surgery. On the 11th, I have to have an Anorectal Manometry, Pudendal Nerve Study and a Gastric Emptying test. He said that my colon was very long, loopy and redundant. All of these test must come back normal or no surgery for me, I would have a different strategy for treatment. So I supposed I will wait and see what those tests show. This is all so stressful, I just do not want to have to suffer anymore!

I never want to experience that again

So Sunday I had what I believe was an impaction. I actually felt the urge to have a bowel movement. I tried and pushed and strained but nothing happened. At this point, I must have pushed the stool down some because the pressure and the pain was horrible. I tried for an hour and a half. I was barely able to get the enema in, it was so large and so hard. After about 45 minutes I was able to expel the stool (not without pain). This was the worst pain of my life, I was dizzy and I had a pounding headache from the pushing. I do not want to do this again ever. This was just horrible. It was so hard to have that pressure,pain and urge to go but when I did I almost passed out from the pain. Good thing I had a c-section and not a vaginal birth!lol

The present

So all this brings me up to now. The next step is to have an appointment with a Colorectal Surgeon and have an Anorectal Manometry done. This tests the pressure of the muscles and the nerve endings in the rectum. My appointment is next Thursday the 28th, this is just an appointment, no testing. I am extremely nervous but hopefully he will be the answer to all of my problems. I will stay updated. Wish me luck.

My pelvic floor issues

An Enterocele is where the small intestine basically falls down into the rectum.
A Rectocele is where the rectum bulges into the vagina.

Defecography

Sorry about all the grammatical errors in the last post, I didn't proofread.
Anyway, after the Sitzmarker came back abnormal the next step was to test for Pelvic Floor Dysfunction. I had to prep for the test. The prep, just like with the Colonoscopy did not work and I was forced to take additional laxatives. I arrived in Radiology early Monday morning. I had to drink 2 12oz bottles of Barium (This stuff was disgusting). I had an abdominal x-ray and then was transferred to the Defogram room.
Once there, I spoke with the Radiologist about my history with constipation. Then he injected my vagina and rectum with Barium paste. I was asked to sit on a "toilet". They needed to x-ray what happens when I try to have a bowel movement. I was asked to relax, bear down and eliminate the paste. I was able to eliminate most of the Barium.
There are many issues that this can test for, my worry was Anismus. Anismus is where the rectum spasms instead of relaxing during evacuation. The "cure" for this is Biofeedback or Botox injections in the rectum, a last resort would be to have a bag. Neither the Biofeedback or the Botox. have a great result rating. However, this particular test showed that my rectum was relaxing during defecation. I do have a small Rectocele and Enterocele. These are very common in women that have had children. He explained that they were so small that these were not was making it impossible for me to have a bowel movement. This was great news for me!

Sitz Marker Study

Total Colectomy with Ileorectal Anastomosis. The colon is removed and the small intestine is connected to the rectum.

Day 7

Day 4

The first part of my testing was to do a Sitz Marker Study. There are various ways to do this but my directions were to take one capsule for 3 days in a row and go in and get an x-ray on day 4 and 7. The capsules contained 24 small rings. This test is to show colon transit time. On day 4, all of my markers were in my ascending colon. This meant even my markers from day 1 had only made it that far. On day 7, I had 12 in the ascending, 1 in the transverse, 12 in the descending and 37 int he rectosigmoid area. This is not good, they should all be gone. After my GI, saw the results I was diagnosed with Colonic Inertia. Which is basically where you colon just isn't working. There is no cure. The only thing to do is to continue taking the laxatives or have a Total Colectomy with Ilorecatal Anastomosis.

***** I need to add, during this test I had a stomach bug and I do believe that my transit time was increased. Judging by the fact, that my abdomen was making sounds that it usually does not make.

Distention

This is how I look now, distended and gross. I haven't even gained a pound.

How I should look!

How it all started

My whole life I have struggled with constipation, horrible bloating and gas. Even as a teenager, I can recall having to take laxatives to have a bowel movement. As I have gotten older it has gotten worse and worse. At age 18, I approached my PCP about my issues with having a bowel movement. They did blood work an checked my thyroid. I was found to have an extremely high TSH, and was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism. I was put on medication.
The doctors all told me that once my levels were at a good level that my constipation should be cured. I was told to continue to increase the amount of water that I drink as well as increase fiber, which I did but his cause more issues. After my levels were stable, I went back to my doctor and was diagnosed with IBS( I never accepted this diagnosis). He told me to try Zelnorm. I did and again, no relief.
In 2006, I had a Colonoscopy. The prep failed and I had to take additional laxatives. My scope was good aside from the fact that I had polyps that were easily removed. I had mild Melanosis Coli and a long redundant Colon. Afterwards, I was told to try Miralax, which supposedly was a miracle drug! I tried and there was no difference. I increased my dose to 3 or 4 capfuls three times a day and nothing happened.
After my Colonoscopy, I just lived with it. Other than the fact that the amount of laxatives I had to take to make a bowel movement increased, I was doing ok. In 2008, my issues got bad again. I wen to visit another GI. He had mentioned a few tests that I should do to hopefully find the cause of my constipation. I was going through IVF and that next month I became pregnant with my daughters. All testing was put on hold.
During pregnancy, constipation was absolutely HORRIBLE. However, they were worth every moment of it. After delivery, I had a very brief amount of time where I was able to use the bathroom a couple of times a week. This was short lived and I went back to having my normal issues. Again, I just put up with it.
In February of 2011, I hit an all time low. Laxatives were losing effectiveness, I was having to take 10 or so to maybe have a bowel movement. I would have to plan a potty day, in case it worked. The bloating became distention. So uncomfortable and so bad that I was forced to wear my maternity clothes again. I hurt so bad. I would sit at work and just cry. I was at the end of my rope. I couldn't live this way any longer. At 26,I had no quality of life. All I wanted to do was lay in bed. I didn't want to go to work, take my kids to the park or do anything at all. I of course questioned my new PCP and she blamed it on my IBS. I HAD IT WITH THE IBS DIAGNOSIS! I knew this was not what was wrong.
With the typical reaction from regular doctor I decided to revisit my GI. He told me before we try any testing lets try a new medication called Amitiza. We started on 8MCG and after two weeks moved up to 24MCG. No change, surprise surprise:/ He then told me I had the option to start my tests. At this point, I knew that nothing was going to get better. If anything it was going to continue to get worse.