Re: Diarrhea after colonoscopy

On Thu, 22 Sep 2005 20:33:11 GMT, "John Temple" wrote:

>Following many months of unexplained fatigue and weight loss I had a
>colonoscopy and gastroscopy performed last week with multiple biopsies done
>of each. Initial observations were normal - but I'm still waiting for the
>biopsy analysis.
>
>Both procedures went fine (I don't remember anything about them) and I felt
>fine for a couple of days afterwards. Third day however, I had abdominal
>pain, vomiting and severe diarrhea. The vomiting has now subsided but 5 days
>later I'm still going to the toilet at least 30 times a day and invariably
>just passing water (exactly like the laxative preparation I took prior to
>the procedures). I haven't passed any blood.
>
>I've spoken to the hospital and they've said that it's unrelated to the
>procedures (probably just a bug) or I would have had problems within the
>first 2 days. I've never had anything like this before - and I find it
>difficult to believe it's just a coincidence. Are there any other
>explanations? Any feedback appreciated.

Jeff (commenting earlier) has the right of it. The gastroenterologist
who performed the endoscopy needs to know about this. The prep
for a colonoscopy or barium enema is such that the large bowel's
"production line" has been cleared of what you might call it's normal
intermediate steps in the progression from completely liquid material
(which passes from the small bowel into the cecum down in the
right lower quadrant of your abdomen) to formed stool in the
sigmoid colon (left lower quadrant and caudad).

I hesitate to make any recommendations for fear that you'll fail to
contact your GE specialist or one of his/her associates, but in many
cases where a lower GI prep and study is followed by the sort of
diarrhea you're describing, I've had some success with the introduc-
tion of a stool normalizer such as calcium polycarbophil (see
http://www.gicare.com/pated/polycarbophil.htm), which is a syn-
thetic bulking agent (the calcium salt of polyacrylic acid crosslinked
with divinyl glycol) first marketed as Mitrolan and more commonly
known today as Fibercon. It started out as a prescription drug,
but very soon went over-the-counter (OTC), and is available in
low-cost generic tablet forms. Though commonly considered a
laxative, it's not (just as surfactant ["wetting"] agents like Colace
[sodium docusate] are not). Because it is effectively a water-
soluble fiber, calcium polycarbophil tends less frequently to cause
flatulence than will the insoluble fiber supplements (oat bran,
psyllium - Metamucil - and suchlike).

Taken appropriately (and I mean with low-dose introduction
and gradual ramp-up), I've been able to use calcium polycarbophil
to re-establish that "production line" in the large bowel for a number
of patients who had been thoroughly washed-out and were rolling
liquid content directly and rapidly from the ileocecal valve to the
anal ampulla, with resulting discomfort and frequent watery bowel
movements.

But for ghod's sake, talk to your gastroenterologist (or even one
of his/her office nurses) about this before you do anything. They
have seen more of this kind of problem than any GP will ever
have to manage, and I don't doubt that they'll be able to provide
effective recommendations for your relief.

-----------------
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.