subtotal colectomy

[SisterSal]

I am 55 years old and have suffered from constipation most of my life.  3 years ago I underwent a partial colectomy for colonic inertia,  leaving me with about 5 inches of the sigmoid colon.  The surgery and recovery went very well.  I have been pretty much constipation free since the surgery having 2 bowel movements a day most days.   3 months ago, I began experiencing constipation on a regular basis again, have had continual problems with acid and bile reflux and severe chest pain that feels like a heart attack.  I have had numerous tests including esophageal manometry and impedence tests, heart ultrasound and stress test, liver and bile ducts MRCP(my gallbladder was removed 30 years ago), upper GI  barium studies, and intestinal motility tests.  I have been taking protonix daily for the reflux and that is getting better, however I continue to have the chest pain attacks occasionally.   A CT Enterography showed that there was a lot of stool in my colon, the GI barium swallow showed I had 2 areas of my small intestine that were narrowed.  My body past all the sytz markers within a week but the x-rays again showed stool in my colon.  The surgeon that performed my partial colectomy has recommended removing the rest of the colon.  I am concerned that it may be a rectal problem as well because I so often have to strain and even push on the skin near my anus to get the bowel movement started.  Once the hard stool has been eliminated, the rest of the stool is expelled easily.  My concern is that the subtotal colectomy may not eleviate the problem.  Should I be asking to have other tests?  I am sooooo tired of going through the tests and the cost has been unreal.  Any suggestions?

SisterSal

  

[trucanuck]

I know you posted this back in 2009 but if you're still having the same issues (as I also did after my surgery), then I would tell you to go to a natural food store and ask for the supplement called "Natural Calm". It' s just magnesium, so very safe...and the only side effect of talking too much is that you have extremely loose stools...extremely! So, once you figure out you dose, you may find that this works for you as it has for me. I have found that the dose I take depends on the amount of food I take in in a day. On a regular day though I take 2 heaping tbsps of Calm, and always take it before bed. I do get up 2-4 times a night to use the bathroom however so that's not awesome...but I prefer that to being constipated.
Good Luck!

[ettel17]

I had a sub total colectomy on the 1 September, 2009. I was diagnosied with colonic Inertia ( severe constipation). After having the Sub Total Colectomy i am still suffering constipation and living on medication and enimas. Can some one help please.

[Michelle2984]

I had a subtotal colectomy for chronic constipation on august 27 2009. They attatched my small intestine to my rectum. But before my surgery I under went several tests to make sure that this was the right procedure to do for me since I'm only 25 years old. In one of my tests I did a MRI defography this is a test preformed to see if the constipation is coming from ur pelvic floor. For me the test was negative but if u feel that ur problem is more the just in ur rest of ur colon it might be coming from ur rectum. Hope I helped : ) michelle2984

[Jaybay]

The areas of narrowing in your small intestine and the backed up stool caught my attention.  You may have developed adhesions (scar tissue) from the previous surgery.  Adhesions are a normal part of healing, but sometimes they form on organs and cause problems.  Small intestines are meant to kind of float loosely around in the abdomen.  Scar tissue can prevent that.

The really bad thing about adhesions is that they generally don't show up on any tests.  It takes a laparoscopy to both diagnose and treat the problem.  Adhesions aren't actually removed, but cut to release the structures they're attached to.  Another problem is that more surgery can obviously cause more adhesions to form, so many surgeons are unwilling to treat such patients unless they have a full bowel obstruction.

You may want to consult a surgeon about the possibility of bowel adhesions and see what he says.