Colonoscopy - Very Worried

I doubt it has anything to do with your DS, the DS doesn't do anything to your colon. The worry is that it could be a bleeding polyp which could indicate a cancer. This is not anything to trifle with; caught early colon cancer is almost always treated successfully, not caught, it's a death sentence, it's what killed my mother.

Get the colonoscopy done ASAP, it's not a big deal, I've had three of them.

Kerry

 There are many reasons for blood in your stool.  I wouldn't be too concerned.  I had an issue years ago that related to blood cells in my stool from ibuprofin use.  Who knew?  I was told at the time there are many things that can cause blood in your stool.  Don't let your mind carry you away.  It's good that you are having a colonoscopy.   And, the great thing is you'll have a pretty good idea of what is going on right away.  The prep the day before is the worst part!  The actual procedure is a piece of cake.  I had the "I don't care drug" but was still awake for it and watched on the TV.  No big deal, you'll do fine.  Don't let yourself worry about it until you know what your are dealing with, okay?

Keep us posted!
Diane

I am going full-steam ahead and will get the colonoscopy whenever they tell me.  I'm not scared, I'm very trusting of doctors, nurses, hospitals....

Funny thing is, I tend to over-use ibuprofen...maybe that could be a problem?  I don't know if it's too much, but I take three every night.  I get severe arm pain and can't sleep without it.

Will be glad once I get an answer.  Not knowing stinks.

 Put the worry away for now.  I know, easier said then done.  All you can do is go through the process for now.  You are doing everything you can.  Just put it away until you have your results.  It could be something very simple, like a hemorrhoid.

Most likely it's just a hemorrhoid, but you really need to make sure. Is there history of of any colon problems in your family? Most colon problems are inherited.

You want to be careful about ibuprofen use, even as a DSer. One of our dear board members, Dina, actually developed a leak 8 years after her DS, because she was taking quite large amounts of ibuprofen, rather than narcotics for a broken? really badly twisted? ankle. Even in normies, ibuprofen can cause stomach problems, and we've got the suture line to think about. That's what happened to Dina--some of the pills didn't dissolve, stayed in her sleeve and sat on the suture line, basically eating a small hole there. Not good, very not good.

So you might want to ask your doc to help you find a better alternative to constant ibuprofen, even if it turns out not to be the cause of the blood they're finding. As DSers we can take NSAIDs, but I think we have to to be respectful about their potential for harm, and use them sparingly.

You may want to ask your doctor about taking Celebrex and Nexium in place of 3 ibuprofen.  The Celebrex is much easier on the stomach, and the Nexium will reduce the irritation even more.

Generally when there's something that could be something really inconsequential as opposed to something that might be scary and unpleasant, I tend to think about the inconsequential.

The test that they did finds blood cells in the stool.   It's called "occult" blood because you can not see it.   Just a teeny bit of it will be a positive result with the test.    

The most common and relatively inconsequential thing that I can think of is hemorrhoids.   Or irritation from having unsually frequent or corrosive stools.   There are a lot of little blood vessels in "that area" so a little teeny injury that you can't see could easily let enough blood cells escape to show up on the test.

The colonoscopy, that's the best peace of mind you can have for something like this.   And be prepared to help all your doctors from here on out learn about your DS.   It's still so rare, that few people have heard of it, and most doctors don't immediately put it together to understand the whole picture.   Some will, but lots just don't get it.   I have pictures of the rearranged anatomy and some information about it that I print out and give to all my doctors.   I saw a neuro ENT guy today and gave him the printout.   I figure anybody with a shred of intellectual curiosity will get a kick out of the info.

Dennie

try not to worry about the procedure - the prep is the worst.  I have had 5 conoloscopies... I am a colon cancer survivor- stage 3 - this summer will be 8 years out. I had NO symptoms just pain that I attributed to my period going on... my colon ruptured and I had an emergency surgery. Part of my colon was removed and lymp nodes. Cancer had not spread. I had a 2nd surgery to reverse the colostomy I was given because of the emergency 1st surgery. I had 6 mos of chemo. Again I had NO symptoms. No bleeding or anything - I was 41 and no colon cancer in the family history.

Dark black blood can mean dried blood from a bleed further up in your GI track. Fresh red blood is from closer to the exit as in hemroides or fissures or a bleeding polup. Getting the coloscopy done will get you the results you need so you can relax.

Asprin and motrin can cause a bleed.

Hugs Hon - Please keep us posted.

I had the same issue about 6 months out from my DS.  I had colonoscopy & endoscopy.  They found I had an ulcer in my stomach from all the Ibuprofen I was taking for my back pain.  (800mg about every 6 hours, every single day.)  They also found an internal hemmorid, as well as a pre-pre cancerous polyp.  (I was only 33, so I was very glad to have that removed before the usual age of 50 for the exam, who knows, I may have been saved from Colon Cancer in 20 years!)

The actual exam is nothing.  You won't feel or remember anything about the actual procedure.  Make sure you ask for the pills to take the night before,  to clean you out, since your stomach is DS small, it will be difficult to drink the amount of that nasty drink they give.

Good Luck, I'm I hope it's nothing.