Colonic inertia, surgery?

[adviceseek]

Hello,

I have posted a few days ago concerning my case of colonic inertia;

I have another issue i wish to ask as i am considering surgery (colectomy) with my surgeon

Most people seem to have hard stools with colonic inertia;

for me here is the situation:

If i do not take medicine or normal dosages, nothing ever happens
I was given a combination of zelnorm, senna, movicol and milk of magnesia which did not work to give it a push; when i added Dulcolax to it (around 7 is what it takes to get movement) then hard stools came out before just running stools (as well as undigested food probably from the amount of medicine)

Does that mean that the medicine are working? Does it mean I should not go for a surgery?

Do people who undetake a colectomy have a problem of hard stools no matter what or how much they take or just a problem like me of no peristaltic movement?

I forgot to mention in the last post that yes, blood tests were done and they ruled out any kind of auto immune diseases or anything else, the sitz marker test showed 90percent of markers throughout the colon and it was done with zelmac and movicol three times a day for 5 days, and all rectal tests where done, they were ok;

Is surgery my only resort? ( I cannot imagine carrying on with these huge doses of medicine as they are painful..)

thanks

[Kevin Pho, MD]

It may be possible that the Dulcolax is working - the efficacy varies from person to person.  

Like medication, the response to surgery also would vary and I cannot predict how your bowel movements would be post-op.  

If medications aren't regulating your bowels, and the motility tests have been done, then surgery is usually considered as the next step.

I would discuss another opinion with a GI physician to ensure that all non-surgical options have been tried.

Followup with your personal physician is essential.

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

Kevin, M.D.
kevinmd_

[princessbuttercup]

Hi  I too have colonic inertia and was scheduled to have an ileostomy recently and my doctor backed out at the last minute...decided it was too risky due to my other health issues......I personally would have the surgery because my life is horrible....I do enemas each day to have a bowel movement ...you could try that....I have done it for 14 years now.....I am getting weaker and sicker though and other problems are making me feel like I am dying...severe pain in my upper ab....near my left breast and I am scared it may be pancreatic cancer......good luck with your surgery...I hope you will poop happily ever after

[bodi22]

A related discussion, Colonic Inertia was started.