One more try

[rrack]

No responses, so i thought id try one more time. since having a colonoscopy, polyp removed, and then a follow up sigmoidoscopy 10 months later, residual stem removed, i have had some problems. after the sig., eight weeks ago, i have had heart palpitations. never had them before this. my internist said it was probably a result of the prep throwing off my electrolytes and prescribed magnesium. that didnt work and now i have to see a cardiologist. this week i started experiencing lower left abdominal pains, went to the ER, had a catscan, and was dignosed with diverticulitis and am now on heavy duty antibiotics. when the stem was removed eight weeks ago, the doc spent about 20 minutes trying to fish out the removed stem for biopsy. could this outbreak of diverticulitis have in some way been caused by the sig.? a good freind thinks that his colonoscopy, four years ago, permanently changed his bm habits. Does anyone have any ideas or info about these procedures causing these or any other longer term effects? Thanks. rack

[rrack]

thank you very much for your insights. the antibiotics seemed to have kicked in and the soreness in my left abdomen is going away. from reading suggestions in this forum, im going to start eating more fiber, drink more fluids, and increase my exercise. hopefully i can avoid any reocurrances.  as for my PVCs, ill see what the cardiologist comes up with. thanks again. rack

[ayri]

hi, yes your doctors procedure could have brought on acute diverticulitis, even eating seeds can bring on the condition, the seeds get caught between the diverticular and remain there until infection sets in, as for the palpitations, once cardivascular disease is ruled out then it would certainly be a nerve connected to your esaphagus, when gas or acid enters there it gives it a jolt, many people think that their heart is going to stop. a good way of stopping palpitations is to drink water slowly, cheers.

[ggreg]

Gosh, Rack, I don't know how to answer your question.  Occasionally something will happen in a colonoscopy or sigmoidscopy to create a problem, in which you case you gotta followup with the people who did the exam until it is straightened out, period.

Another way to improve electrolytes is to drink plenty of milk.  Also, people can get some wild gas pains after both those exams...anytime you empty out the entire gut, gas gets in there, and it can hurt like crazy unless you return to eating very slowly.  Do a google search online for diverticulitis and see how that thing progresses, because I don't think it happens overnight as a result of an exam.

April, stuff having to do with the heart acting up, while it can indeed be connected to digestive issues, and I've heard many posts here about that, you can also post over in cardiology for more feedback.  In meantime, do a search in the upper right-hand corner of this forum for a couple key words that relate to your health issue.

That's all I can provide, since I am not particularly familiar with either of you all's situations, but I wanted to put something in here so as to bump you all to the top of the list, so maybe others will jump in an add some info for you.

[April2]

I'm sorry no one responded to your post. I had the same problem. I will tell you what I know. I have never heard of a colonoscopy permanently changing someone before. I know that I had two colonoscopies so far and never had a problem.
One interesting thing is I have heard of heart palpitations going along with digestive issues. I too have had PVC's since last year and that was about the time I had to get surgery because of an obstruction in my small bowel and they felt I had Crohns.
I'm sorry, I don't know much about diverticulitis though. I hope you find your answer soon. Take care!
April