Colonscopy?

[answerseeker]

I emailed my dr. about the continued gurgling and loose stools. He said that is a symptom of an irritable bowel and wants to do a colonscopy. Are they horrible? Are they worth it, what else could it possibly reveal?

[cyclinglady]

Cancer.  But chances are super slim!!!!  Or  to find NOTHING!  

 

I've had a couple of them.  The prep is dreadful, but you'll live.  Necessary if you're over 50.  

 

But, the first one was done to rule out diseases some 15 to 20 years ago.  Nothing was found.  (I still have a healthy colon).  Diagnosis was IBS.  Give her a pill for the pain.  Try biofeedback!  Ha!  Eat healthier foods.  All advice from four different gastros.  Found a doc who diagnosed me with food allergies/intolerances and candida issues (yeast/fungus everywhere for taking a broad spectrum antibiotic for two years for Rosecea).  Yeast thing resolved.  Allergies stayed.  Tummy issues gone for 15 years (except when exposed to foods that bothered me) then Thyroid bad.  Anemic.  Broke vertabrae doing nothing.  celiac disease Diagnosis.

 

I think IBS is a "catch all" /elimination diagnosis.  

 

If you are over 50 get your colonoscopy.  If you are losing blood -- get one.  

 

But, you might just try to identify foods that are still bothering you.  I was pretty much a silent celiac disease.  No tummy issues except when I consumed milk, eggs, mushroom, nuts or garlic.  I hoping that I'm healing from the celiac disease, but I can tell you that I still have my allergies though some of them have diminished (I can eat eggs in baked goods, but not scrambled.....)

 

Keep a journal and start a four day rotational diet.  Eliminate those foods that most people react to (eggs, dairy, nuts, soy, etc.) and stick to whole foods -- nothing processed.  

 

Good luck on whatever you decide.

[answerseeker]

that's what I figured. my Grandfather died of colon cancer (wondering if possibly from undiagnosed Celiac) but I'm only 40 and no bleeding.

 

I have rosacea too so I feel ya on that one.

 

I think I will pass on the colonscopy and wait 10 more years for it lol. I can bet it wouldn't show anything. If I had Croh's I would be sicker not healing it's just the darn gurgling and loose stools still creeping in. I've started my food journal back up and am listening to previous advice and cutting out dairy for now.

[livelaughlove3885]

Hi! I work for gastro and I see this all the time. I used to be just like you until I made some dietary changes. I am a 35 yr old female so what i did was increase fiber, slowly over a 2 week period, and now i eat 30 grams per day. Now i have no diarrhea and no gurgling (borborygmi) and I am gluten-free and do FODMAP diet... I seem to have fructose intolerance, (wheat is high in fructans, so are onions, garlic, and artichokes. Stay away from apples, watermelon, anything with preservatives, and anything that ends with -ose) which everyone has to a degree. Google FODMAP, also check out thefartingpear.com. Also, watch your sodium intake.... I keep mine about 800-1000 mgs per day (before i didn't even realize it but i was getting about 4000 mgs per day). Sodium draws water into the colon and makes poo loose. And im talking i used to go about 10-15 times a day and it was consistency of water... and that lasted about a year. I would have flareups that would last 3 or 4 days probably once a month. I downloaded an app on my iphone called my net diary pro and you can track what you eat and how much fiber, vitamins, minerals, sodium, etc, you are getting every day. And it has every food in there (and i eat all alternative stuff like bob's red mill brands, purity farms ghee, stuff normal people don';t eat and all my stuff is in there). Cottage cheese and cheddar cheese are safe (I like boar's head cheddar or KerryGold). Plain mozzarella is safe, too. No powdered cheese mixes or cheez whiz for you though, that stuff has all kinds of crap in it. To increase fiber, buy crushed flax seed. For breakfast, i might do 1/2 cup bob's red mill steel cut quick cooking oats and 2 tbsp flax seed and that is a 13 g fiber breakfast right there. I had a colon a while back, too. It was easy. Biopsies were taken for microscopic colitis which were negative. I got the colon because i had wbcs in stool but negative for infection and i kept having all this diarrhea and weight loss (i think i just wasn't absorbing food). Prior to that i had an EGD which showed duodenal intraepithelial lymphocytosis, moreso at villous tips, and mild crypt hyperplasia. Negative H pylori and no NSAID usage. So that can be indicative of celiac, systemic autoimmune disease, crohn's, or bacterial overgrowth. So then i had labs and i do not have DQ2 or DQ8 genes so they say not celiac but since i do good gluten-free they say non-celiac gluten sensitivity (also gluten gives me folliculitis on my skin and it goes away when i stop eating gluten). Good luck!

[answerseeker]

Thank you! My labs were inconclusive too so I too am NCGS but I still have nutritional deficiencies and weight loss so my GI thinks I still have Celiac.

I was on a lot of prednisone for my asthma before my endoscopy so he believes that interfered with it. Since prednisone heals inflammation it won't be visible. I'll look at that app too. Thanks for the info.

[Gemini]

All GI doctors say everyone needs a colonoscopy and that certainly is not true.  They make a lot of money from them so there is incentive for them.  I think you have not been gluten-free very long and need to give it more time.  Way more time than you may think is normal but that is more the norm for any Celiac.

 

A couple of things......nutritional deficiencies occur with malabsorption and you don't usually suffer from that with NCGI.  You get symptoms but no intestinal damage that is seen with Celiac.  Ditto for weight loss.  Prednisone will alter blood work.....this is what doctors sometimes use to combat refractory or non-repsonsive Celiac as it will suppress your immune system, as you most certainly know yourself.  You sound Celiac to me so be comfortable with that.  The diet will really improve things over time.

 

I had crazy loud gurgling noises for awhile also but it all calmed down the longer I was gluten-free.  I wouldn't put yourself through a colonoscopy, unless you wish to, right now.  I have never had one but I have health issues that will complicate doing one.  You have to look at a lot of factors when assessing whether you truly need one.  Your grandfather had colon cancer so I think they recommend one 10 years before the date that he was diagnosed.  If it's clean, then you may not need another one. Waiting until over 50 is good a option, if you are not having any gastro problems. But be patient, patient, patient, with recovery from Celiac. It is a slow process!

[answerseeker]

Thanks so much, that helps! I'm not going for the colonoscopy. Seems if I'm already losing weight (I'm down to 105) the prep would just end up making me lose more. I doubt it would find anything anyway!

[cyclinglady]

that's what I figured. my Grandfather died of colon cancer (wondering if possibly from undiagnosed Celiac) but I'm only 40 and no bleeding.

 

I have rosacea too so I feel ya on that one.

 

I think I will pass on the colonscopy and wait 10 more years for it lol. I can bet it wouldn't show anything. If I had Croh's I would be sicker not healing it's just the darn gurgling and loose stools still creeping in. I've started my food journal back up and am listening to previous advice and cutting out dairy for now.

After taking those antibiotics daily for two years  (I guess it was standard procedure back in the 80's) for Rosacea, it didn't really help and only succeeding in messing up my intestinal tract!  What helped was identifying those foods that triggered symptoms.  The biggest one was/is wine.  I'm assuming it's the sulfites in it.  I also eat only uncured meat (no nitrates).   My other allergies/intolerances: cow's milk, mushroom, garlic, nuts, and eggs also contribute to my Rosacea (a little swelling, redness and tiny pustules (not pimples).  

 

Now, my skin is blemish free and I always get compliments.  I don't even have to wear foundation....hmmm, I work out of the house, so I guess I'm just lazy. 

 

Gee.....I guess all my health problems are related to food and can be cured without drugs (well, except for my thyroid!)  Would be nice if more doctors looked at the root cause of illness instead of fixing symptoms and prescribing pills.

 

Hang in there!  

 

P.S.  I had gurgling and loose BM's last night/this morning.  I tried to sub my soy milk (no allergies, but worried that I might develop one to it and I can't have milk) with coconut milk two days ago.  Ugh!  That stuff is going down the drain!  I did not get glutened that's for sure.  

[answerseeker]

Oh gosh funny you mention coconut milk. Yesterday morning and this morning I used coconut milk in my cereal and also in my coffee. Both mornings I am so nauseated. I drove my daughter to school and was trying to hold it down because it felt like it was coming back up! and I had D this morning. I was about to post if anyone reacts to coconut milk.

Ugh this is getting hard! I handle whole milk better than this coconut milk! I think I'm just going to get organic lactose free milk and see if that settles with me.

The first month gluten free I was feeling pretty good because I was eating plain but now I've been trying new foods and everything is coming back now! The only thing I'm not dealing with is the cramping because I'm not eating any gluten.

[Gemini]

I don't know why people keep recommending coconut milk to those newly diagnosed Celiacs.  It's all fat.  It may be a healthier fat but fat is fat and when you are still healing, your body isn't absorbing fats like it should.  I still have trouble with fattier foods and I've been 8 years gluten-free.  I can eat some fat but in smaller amounts than most of the population.  Coconut milk ice cream can only be eaten in small quantities by me because it acts as a laxative on me.....too much fat!  The upside is that I will never have heart disease, I guess! 

 

Seriously......I am about the same size as you, answerseeker, and was 94 pounds when diagnosed. Stay away from too much fat at first, except maybe olive oil.  I never had trouble with olive oil.  You may be able to tolerate all these other things down the road but give your gut a chance to mend. 

 

I am also lactose intolerant, to a smaller extent.  I can tolerate small amounts of dairy but no ice cream cones for me.

[cyclinglady]

The coconut milk that I used just has one more gram of fat than my soy milk.  I don't think it's the fat, as I can heartily eat my pan-fried gluten-free chicken despite not having a gallbladder.  Besides, the coconut milk, I consumed coconut "yogurt" too on the same day.  My reactions (besides intestinal issues) included pretty severe nasal congestion  -- mucus!!!! I get the same reaction with regular cow's milk.  

[answerseeker]

I googled it and coconut is high in fructose and can cause problems in people who have fructose malabsorption.

It's on the list of foods to avoid when you have IBS or other digestive issues :-/

[Gemini]

The coconut milk that I used just has one more gram of fat than my soy milk.  I don't think it's the fat, as I can heartily eat my pan-fried gluten-free chicken despite not having a gallbladder.  Besides, the coconut milk, I consumed coconut "yogurt" too on the same day.  My reactions (besides intestinal issues) included pretty severe nasal congestion  -- mucus!!!! I get the same reaction with regular cow's milk.  

Coconut milk has more saturated fat in it and for many, especially the newly diagnosed, they will have problems with that.  I can also go to the one place where I can get gluten-free fried food and that agrees with me but there is less saturated fat in the way they cook it.  But coconut milk does not agree with me, if I use too much.  Fats can be an on going problem for some as they are so hard to digest.  I still cannot digest lamb....it's a fatty meat.

 

As for the excess mucus production involved, that is extremely common for many and I get that also.  That's why if I could have dairy again. I wouldn't.  My chest stays much clearer when I don't use dairy or dairy related products.  I have not noticed that happening with coconut milk but I never drank that much.  My sisier has asthma and she will not give up dairy and drinks way too much of it.  She will always be on an inhaler......just doesn't get it. 

[cyclinglady]

Coconut milk has more saturated fat in it and for many, especially the newly diagnosed, they will have problems with that.  I can also go to the one place where I can get gluten-free fried food and that agrees with me but there is less saturated fat in the way they cook it.  But coconut milk does not agree with me, if I use too much.  Fats can be an on going problem for some as they are so hard to digest.  I still cannot digest lamb....it's a fatty meat.

 

As for the excess mucus production involved, that is extremely common for many and I get that also.  That's why if I could have dairy again. I wouldn't.  My chest stays much clearer when I don't use dairy or dairy related products.  I have not noticed that happening with coconut milk but I never drank that much.  My sisier has asthma and she will not give up dairy and drinks way too much of it.  She will always be on an inhaler......just doesn't get it. 

Ha!  That's my brother!  Reflux? Take a med.  Can't breathe?  Use inhaler.  But give up dairy?  Nah!