Atonic colon and surgery

Hi there,

I am going to see a surgeon tomorrow after a long bout of constipation. This last month I have been on Go-Lytely colonoscopy prep to make me go to the bathroom while taking miralax 3x a day and amitiza 2x a day. Nothing works! I had a colonoscopy where they said my colon was too redundant to really scope. After a barium enema x ray they found that I have an extremely redundant colon that starts under my diaphraghm and may be the cause of the high and low abdominal cramping I have been having.

The doctor told me there's nothing left to do but have the surgery, and I am considering having it done, and have an appt tomorrow to see about having it laporoscopically. I have been reading all the posts on this board and everyone seems to have had some problems after surgery. Is that the norm? I am 31 and don't want to go through with this if I will still be constipated and just as immobile as I am because of the pain I am currently experiencing. Will the surgery really help, and has anyone had the surgery because of atonic colon?

Please DO NOT forward me to a similar post, as I am asking a pretty specific question.

By the way--I am also going to see an allergist before I have the surgery in case the constipation is due to a food allergy.....

[Morecambe]

Although I underwent a total colectomy for a complaint other than constipation, I can tell you that constipation is the last experience after the surgery.  If you have not already done so, read my experience of the aftermath of my operation on:-

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/523166

I predict that if you have the same operation as I did then you will be managing not constipation but highly liquid motions for some weeks/months to come

regards
Morecambe

[histfan]

I also had a too long colon (described as being 2 feet longer than usual) that couldn't be scoped during a colonoscopy. I googled redundant colon and a Mayo Clinic site mentioned that it's not really abnormal and becomes a problem if the colon twists upon itself, a volvulus.  That's what I was diagnosed with in late June after a spell of severe constipation, bloating, severe gas above my waist and difficulty standing up straight and walking.  My immediate problems were alleviated with a 3+ day stay in the hospital, a sigmoidoscopy (straightened my colon for the time being) and 48+ ghastly hours on an NG tube, and I was advised to see a colo-rectal surgeon about surgery.  This situation would probably happen again!

Anyway, I had an open (due to the size of my dilated colon) partial colectomy in mid-August.  The surgeon stated he removed about 12 inches so my colon still might be a foot too long!:)  It wasn't an easy stay in the hospital.  I developed an ileus on the day I was to be released so back to the NG tube and a total of 9 days in the hospital.  I was on a low residue diet for a month and I'm gradually adding small amounts of fiber to my diet.

I think it can really vary how often one runs to the bathroom after this surgery.  Unlike many on this forum, I had only one incident (a couple days after I left the hospital) where I leaked during the night, and now go about 6-8 times a day, with the majority of them after a larger meal or a meal with more fiber.

Susan