Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
1704915 tn?1357601254

constipation, tortuous abnormally long colon, slow transit and anterior rectocele

I am 30 years old and have been suffering with GI problems for the last 6 years. They consists of terrible gas stomach aches, bloating (to the point I dont fit in my clothes and look pregnant), girggling/trapped air in my chest, chest pains and the worst of them all.. severe constipation (don't go for 2 weeks and when I do its rock hard and barely anything). I have seen 4 different doctors getting various opinions that range from a regular dr who put me on Amitiza low dose and when that didnt work recommended me to see a gi dr. That GI dr told me "oh its just IBS..nothing we can do for you." Then I went to the city to see a dr at a well known university hospital and they ran a million and one tests on me...........

1.) Sigmoidoscopy Result = hemmrhoids internal due to straining, some irritation and redness but biopsies say no cancer

2.) Upper scope = some irritation and redness but biopsies say no cancer

3.) Mannometry = lower esophagus is weak causing the trapped air and pains (taking Aciphex and Gas X for this, avoiding gas causing/acid causing foods)

4.) Empty Stomach Study = stomach is emptying in a normal range

5.) Physical Therapy for pelvic floor dysfunction = not the cause of constipation. When this did not work I begged my gi dr to do a colonoscopy to set my mind at ease.

6.) Colonoscopy = they found I have a very long and very torturous colon.. my GI dr was not able to complete the whole thing.. she got to my ascending colon and had to stop. She says surgery is not needed unless there was a knot or blockage (pretty much on my death bed) but this definitely is why I am experiencing gas, upset stomach and bloating. I begged her to give me something for some relief now that she knew this was the cause. She took me off of Miralax and put me on a high dose of Amitiza. This time I didnt stop taking it because it didnt do anything but because it made me VERY sick. I missed more work because the side effects made me feel as though I had the flu (aches, pains, chills, hot flashes, headaches). I took it as instructed with a meal to not get nauseated which does help... but when ever I finally have a BM I become nauseated before, during and after. I still didn't go to the bathroom for a week or two so the side effects were not worth the results. I was then taken off of of it and put back on Miralax.

7.) Barium enema xray =  because my colon is so long and loopy they had to fill me up with 3 bags of barium instead of 1 and had to flip me upside down for quite a long time to even get the test going. The results showed the same thing as the colonoscopy. Longest 2 hours of my life. Worse procedure EVER!

At this point the GI dr told me there was really nothing they could do for me but continue running more tests to eliminate other things. She continued to tell me that surgery was not an option even though my colon was so long, loopy and making my life miserable. I took it upon myself at this point to see the colon surgeon to see what he had to tell me etc as I kept reading and hearing about colectomy surgeries. The surgeon looked over all my files from all my various drs....

8.) Sitz Marker Xray = I have colonic inertia. My stomach and small intestine are working but my large intestine is not. I actually went to a colon surgeon after not getting any treatments answers from my GI dr.

The colon surgeon called and spoke with my GI dr whom I was trying not to go back to as I was done with getting no answers from her. He gave me the option to see a constipation specialist that she recommended at the hospital I had all the tests done at. The colon specialist told me I needed to have 2 procedures done to make sure my rectum and everything else was functioning before proceeding with surgery on my colon.

9.) anal manometry = pretty normal results. A little loss in sensitivity but nothing to be alarmed about

10.) barium defecography = shows that I have anterior rectocele which is causing a blockage

My GI dr/constipation specialist now want me to see another surgeon that they highly recommend that specialists in anterior rectoceles.

My question is .. is there anyone else out there that is experiencing anything similiar to what I am (constipation, tortuous abnormally long colon, slow transit and anterior rectocele)???

Has anyone seen a surgeon or had surgery to repair a anterior rectocele? What was the results?

49 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
Avatar universal
I have had all those tests, a lifetime of constipation and I am all out of patience. I am having my entire colon (redundancy and all) removed in 5 more weeks.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have the same thing I can feel your pain that nothing Dr can do for me ,most of the laxives dont do anything for me the only thing it has been working is the Cali girl tea has zenna  if i dont go to the bathroom one day I take one bag in a cup of hot water I drink it while is warm the first time will give you stomach  ake, so there fore follow direction the first time drink it very light ,,I dont drink it every night only as i mentioned one day yes and the next day is when i drink it ,,,your symtoms is just like i have and I was told by my Gasthro, after having the colonoscopy that i suffer from long colon ..
this particular tea i buy at the .99 cents store believe me I tried evrything when it comes to laxitive, as a milax ducolax every thing with fiber none of that worked for me ..gases went away and i feel good,,
good luck and God bless you
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have the same thing I can feel your pain that nothing Dr can do for me ,most of the laxives dont do anything for me the only thing it has been working is the Cali girl tea has zenna  if i dont go to the bathroom one day I take one bag in a cup of hot water I drink it while is warm the first time will give you stomach  ake, so there fore follow direction the first time drink it very light ,,I dont drink it every night only as i mentioned one day yes and the next day is when i drink it ,,,your symtoms is just like i have and I was told by my Gasthro, after having the colonoscopy that i suffer from long colon ..
this particular tea i buy at the .99 cents store believe me I tried evrything when it comes to laxitive, as a milax ducolax every thing with fiber none of that worked for me ..gases went away and i feel good,,
good luck and God bless you
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have the same thing I can feel your pain that nothing Dr can do for me ,most of the laxives dont do anything for me the only thing it has been working is the Cali girl tea has zenna  if i dont go to the bathroom one day I take one bag in a cup of hot water I drink it while is warm the first time will give you stomach  ake, so there fore follow direction the first time drink it very light ,,I dont drink it every night only as i mentioned one day yes and the next day is when i drink it ,,,your symtoms is just like i have and I was told by my Gasthro, after having the colonoscopy that i suffer from long colon ..
this particular tea i buy at the .99 cents store believe me I tried evrything when it comes to laxitive, as a milax ducolax every thing with fiber none of that worked for me ..gases went away and i feel good,,
good luck and God bless you
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I do not know about the particular condition that you have asked about, but I did have an extremely annoying constipation and was cured by a surgery that removed most of my colon.
Helpful - 0
1704915 tn?1357601254
Just an update..

I got into the Mayo Clinic in MN and finally am getting answers. I had a slow transit study that was a 48 hour one as well as an EKG more blood work and a colonic manometry test.  I have a very long, verry loopy slow transit colon. My pacemaker cells in my right side of my colon are dead or dieing off and it is causing me to back up all the way to my small intestine. IBS and SIBO are no longer even diagnosed for me as the symptoms of those happen in patients who have slow transit etc.  I was on Resolor for one month and that did not work. I am now setting up my surgery! The surgery I will be having is called laparoscopic colectomy with ileorectal anastomosis and I will not need a colostomy bag. My surgery will also take place at Mayo Clinic. Another 7 hour drive from home but well worth it! FINALLY getting answers!!!
Helpful - 0
1704915 tn?1357601254
I worded that wrong.. its a temporary ileostomy
Helpful - 0
1704915 tn?1357601254
So had a special doctor visit after hours with some of the staff (gi specialist and colon surgeon) at a hospital I have been having all these tests done at. They talked to me about all the results and all that I have told them and they feel I have 2 issues going on

1.) Colonic inertia = constipation/slow transit
2.) SIBO/IBS

they told me that the only way to be sure if the large intestine is working is to do a temporary jpouch for about 4 - 6 weeks. Test the waters and see if I feel better without use of the large intestine. If I do then we know the large intestine is to blame and they can remove it. They told me that they would remove the jpouch and the large intestine and then connect my small intestine to my rectum.

Did anyone else go through this before having their large intestine removed. It means 2 surgeries for me.
Helpful - 0
1128665 tn?1269273471
Is your physician a gastro? It gets very muddy with diagnosis when there are concerns beyond rectocele (which a urogynecologist should treat). Seems weird to me that you are being told to take so many meds to clear the colon prior to exam when one right item will empty you out. If this is a general practioner, be careful about surgery-this area needs to be addressed by a specialist. Check with your hospital to see if they offer any programs for those w/o insurance.

Sher
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I am in the same boat.  I am having the marker test done now.  At day 5 I had 24/24 and they were scattered throughout the entire colon.  Now he wants me to take 4 times the daily dose of medications like miralax, collace, and citrocell and have another x-ray in 3 days...which I don't understand why???  I also have an elongated colon 80% more than normal and a rectocele.  I feel like the doctor is not wanting to do surgery because I don't have insurance.  He keeps saying that if I have slow transit and rectocele then I would have to have 2 different surgeries at the same time, but he keeps acting like he is trying to find a reason why he doesn't need to do the colon part of the surgery... Is that what he is doing or is he being a good doctor.  What is the reason for taking all of this medicine and doing another x-ray in three days.  Is he trying to see if that medication works or is he trying to find a reason not to do the surgery
Helpful - 0
1704915 tn?1357601254
Most definitely.. i refuse to give up..
Helpful - 0
1128665 tn?1269273471
Glad you are going to continue to dig until you find answers.
:)
Sher
Helpful - 0
1704915 tn?1357601254
well I saw the urogynocologist and she believes the rectocele is not the blame for all my digestive issues. She believes its not even serious enough to have surgery on and that unless it gets worse I am just to leave it as is. My next step is getting a glucose hydrogen breath test to see if I have a fructose malabsorption due to the slight change I am seeing now that I am reducing sugars and white flour in my diet.
Helpful - 0
1704915 tn?1357601254
Someone has too.. cause these doctors sure aren't ha ha

May 9th.. just around the corner.. fingers crossed!
Helpful - 0
1128665 tn?1269273471
I'm glad you are looking at all of the factors in play!
Sher
Helpful - 0
1704915 tn?1357601254
That’s interesting cause I am actually prescribed the Nystatin Cream. I have it incase I need it because I am allergic to Vagisil and Monistat. I am going to have a serious talk with the urogynocologist about all of this as well as my birth control. If that is causing a lot of my issues as well (which all the doctors swear its not).. then it my be time to make a decision about alternate methods of birth control with my husband. He has already agreed to do a vasectomy if needed as we both don’t want children.
Helpful - 0
1128665 tn?1269273471
My son was on Nystatin antifungal rx (still takes them at 24). Dr. Semon's theory is autism, Tourettes, ADHD, and MS are all tied to yeast concerns. At it's base it makes sense that as a society we have shifted to eating more processed foods, our bodies react.

And you are right to shift in baby steps, sometimes taking this kind of shift on full bore all at once makes it un-doable and we fall off the wagon.

The Nystatin/diet worked great for my son-the only time he has flares is when he is hugely stressed.

Sher
Helpful - 0
1704915 tn?1357601254
Wow!! I am definitely gonna read more into it. I have been doing a lot more research as well on reducing the yeast and sugars in my diet. I am making small gradual changes right now. Baby steps.. but I am definitely making changes for sure. I also picked up Azo Yeast Pills to starting taking once a day with my other vitamins (I take a multi with probiotics and a digestive enzyme).

Did this work well for your son?

Sometimes I feel like I have ADHD or something of that nature. I get so off focus sometimes.. and my husband says I stress myself out.. but I can't help it. It's like my mind wonders from one thing to the next thing. And then lately for like the last year I say the wrong words.. like yesterday I was like.. "my sweater matches my coat" and my husband was like "did you mean your purse?" and I did.. I was looking right at it and still the word coat came out.
Helpful - 0
1128665 tn?1269273471
I used this book to help my son get his Tourette's in balance and get him off nasty meds. The 1st book explains the theory plus has cookbook, 2nd book is all cookbook I believe. Helps hugely to go back to cooking from scratch, so much hidden yeast in packaged foods. I used to give my son a "treat day" once a week to so he could still enjoy a cheeseburger or pizza-that made it  easier for him to stick to the diet.
Helpful - 0
1704915 tn?1357601254
I will most definitely look for that book as I have seen a ton of different versions of the Candida Diet online.. some say you can have this and others say you can't..
Helpful - 0
1128665 tn?1269273471
An yes, I'm familiar with leaky gut/yeast overgrowth. There's a great book on yeast overgrowth is by Dr Bruce Semon, can't remember the name, maybe Feast without Yeast. I hope both you and radar find the answers you need. Not knowing what is going is as difficult as dealing with symptoms. You are both in my thoughts!
Sher
Helpful - 0
1704915 tn?1357601254
Thank you. It is always makes you feel better that your not alone in this
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I was diagnosed with a rectocele and intussusception 18 months ago - and the test for this was a barium defecography - sometimes called a defecating proctogramme.  I live in Australia and Sherrie has been an absolute God-send to me too.  Some days I would be feeling so down - and reading her replies meant so much to me.  

Hope you find the answers you are looking for in the not too distant future.

Helpful - 0
1704915 tn?1357601254
I have been doing a little more research online.. I came across some articles about yeast overgrowth and leaky gut syndrome.. I am going to bring these up at my appointment as well
Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Gastroenterology Community

Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Learn which OTC medications can help relieve your digestive troubles.
Is a gluten-free diet right for you?
Discover common causes of and remedies for heartburn.
This common yet mysterious bowel condition plagues millions of Americans
Don't get burned again. Banish nighttime heartburn with these quick tips
Get answers to your top questions about this pervasive digestive problem