Post op sigmoid collectomy - biopsy results
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Almost 4 weeks post op and my consultant has called me with the biopsy results.
There was no evidence of diverticular disease!?!? I can't understand it.
He said it might have been a pocket that had a pus wall and kept getting infected (though a ct showed perforation during one of my hospitalisations).
It's made me a bit cross as it could have been done via keyhole but as my diverticulitis was "so severe" they opted for open.
Has this happened to anyone else? Please share any experiences.
1 like, 16 replies
Guest stacy48013
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Stacy you have me confused too, how can you have a pocket and it not be diverticula disease ? Didn't a CtScan show you had diverticulitis before whatever your post op was ? Can you explain a little more in detail ? What showed you had diverticulitis and what showed you didn't ? May I ask your age? I was told it happens at 40 and beyond
Guest stacy48013
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Hi Stacy
I have fished out the leaflet handed to me by the Hospital after my failed Colonoscopy, and I am reproducing what it says word for word, as I think it may help to explain the confusion, as all the terms are so similar.
" A Diverticulum (if there are more than one they are known as Diverticula) is a protrusion of the inner lining of the intestine through the outer muscular coat to form a small pouch with a narrow neck. The commonest site for Diverticula to develop is the lower left side part of the colon, the Sigmoid Colon. The presence of Diverticula is often referred to as Diverticulosis.
We all begin life with an appendix, which is like a Diverticulum in many ways, and we do not worry about it. In the same way many of us have Diverticula projecting from the wall of our colon. We do not know we have them and they cause no trouble.
However, just like an appendix, a Diverticulum can necome inflamed due to infection. If this occurs, it causes local pain, can make a person feel ill, and can be dangerous because it may perforate or bleed. Inflammation of one or more Diverticula is called Diverticulitis.
In most people with Diverticula the intestine muscle is normal in appearance and thickness, but in some people it becomes thicker then normal and it has an unusual structure when examined under the microscope. The thickening of the muscle narrows the colon which often becomes irregular in outline. The reason for this change in the muscle is not known, but it is important to realise that it is not due to infection and may not be related to diet. The muscle abnormality can develop when very few Diverticula are present and occasionally if occurs without any Diverticula. The combination of BOTH abnormal muscle and Diverticula is known as DIVERTICULAR DISEASE. This is confusing because Diverticular and Diverticula sound the same, hence the use of the word Disease." Footnote: The colon develops extra folds and can prevent the passage of instruments, hence my failed Colonoscopy.
From your post I think that you do not have abnormal thickened muscle, hence you do NOT have Diverticular Disease. However you do have Diverticula, hence you have Diverticulosis. The doctor thought one of the Diverticulum had become infected with pus, hence you had Diverticulitis. The scan also showed a possible perforation, hence the need for surgery. If the pus was leaking you would have been in danger of peritonitis, and they would have needed to be very careful to remove all possibilty of infection. Perhaps thay wanted to be sure they had clear site and access to infection. Nobody wants unneccessary surgery, but just perhaps they were acting on the cautious side. This is a bit convoluted, but I hope it makes sense.
There is a bit more on Diverticular Disease which I will reproduce, as it is rarely mentioned on this Forum and may help some other people.
"Symptoms of Diverticular Disease are due to the muscle abnormality and consist of pain, usually on the left lower part of the abdomen, bloating, an irregular bowel habit, pellet like stools, and sometimes small quantities of blood passed with bowel actions. These symptoms are similar to those of Irritable Bowel Syndrome which is not surprising because both disorders, at least in part, are due to abnormal muscle function."
The pamphlet does have other information about treatment of Diverticulosis (eat more fibre, or not if it does not suit you - very unhelpful), and Diverticulitis (antibiotics, liquid diet then low residue diet). Surgery is needed for some complications. The suggested treatment for Diverticular Disease includes bulking the diet with products like Fybogel or Metamucil, plus anti-spasmodics.
I speak from the standpoint of having full blown Diverticular Disease, and I get all the symptoms when I am having an attack. Swamping pains like childbirth, bloating, fever, bleeding, tenderness, rigid abdomen, constipation and the runs. The distortion of my colon is so severe I cannot have a Colonoscopy and have been diagnosed via a Barium Enema and CT Scan. Fortunately only 5 attacks now in 15 years. I am prescribed Fybogel and Mebeverine, an anti-spasmodic, plus I take pure aloe vera juice and probiotics. I'm not a medical person, just a fellow sufferer repeating what I have been told and learned over the years.
I hope this may help some people. Doctors are so rushed you are not given full explanations, which is why I find the pamphlets helpful. I kept the original one from 15 years ago, and the current one from last October is virtually identical.
jean19778 Guest
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Guest Guest
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Hi Yvonne
I was actually handed a sheet of paper immediately after the failed colonoscopy last October. It clearly stated "extensive Diverticulosis in a very thickened tortuous sigmoid, with very narrow lumen ... insertion limited by Diverticular Disease" and it was copied to my GP. The Consultant sent me a follow up letter stating "Diverticular Disease. This is a benign condition" (not how I would describe it!). So your doctor should have a copy of the results of your colonoscopy, and I suggest you ask for a copy, or sight of the results, so you can see for yourself. As I understand it, in the UK everyone is entitled to access to their medical records. I knew my nerdish, pedantic habit of keeping everything would come in useful one day!!! lol
julie92908 Guest
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Hi sorry not replying to these but i am so ill. I started having chronic bouts of diarreah 5 years ago and was diagnosed with colitis and was ok for 4 years then last May the diarreah started again i had another colonoscopy and was told it was diverticular disease. The consultant basically sent me off with nothing so the diarreah carried on, i got an emergency app back with him in Oct where he could'nt even look at me and said ok i will see you in 6 months !! I walked out and thought my life is over if he is'nt going to help me then what do i do ? So i went back to the doctors and got another emergency app where he said you should'nt be like this with diverticular i said i know so another colonoscopy and the camera down my throat and the results were negative. I have had a breath test and lactose test done all negative. So now i have had chronic diarreah for 10 months and am at the end now, i don't sleep i can't eat as it just comes out and am now so ill the pain in my side is getting so bad i can barely touch it. I can not carry on i went to the docs today and said i just want to die i can barely hold my job down and have only my wage to live on i'm not a whealthy person and i really am thinking of ending it all. I am 53 and can't do it to my daughter but am at the end of all this i am too ill mentally and phisically to carry on and there is no way out of this hell i am living, the fear of messing myself and the feeling of being so ill has took its toll. Sorry to go on but i don't think there is any help for me now.
Guest julie92908
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jean19778 julie92908
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Julie please get help and soon! Go back to your Doc and tell him/her what you have told us and insist for some help Please don't do anything silly think of your daughter I know it is hard love when you have no quality of life Please Please get help NOW! Lots of love and hugs to you and I hope you get some help soon xx
julie92908 jean19778
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Sorry i know it sounds dramatic but this is how i feel. Believe me i have been to the doctors on so many emergency apps and i have told them how close i am to edge. I am yet again in my bed i can't leave for work it is even running out while i'm asleep. I can't afford to be ill like this i am self employed which as it happens is the only reason i can still work, if i worked for a company i would have been sacked months ago. I have been given questan sachets and amotriptolene but no matter what i take it does'nt even touch it. I really can't do this anymore i have 2 concerts to go to this month well i can't do that so the person i was going with prob won't go so yet again something else i will miss out on. I don't like saying theae things as most people don't know i'm ill i can't talk about it it's too embarrasing and those that do know don't know how ill i am. I have to try think 1 day i will be better but as i am now that is hard i really don't see it going away ever.
Guest julie92908
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jean19778 julie92908
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Guest julie92908
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I wonder if your actual problem might not so much be your Diverticulitis but rather that your bowel muscles are not working properly for some reason. I had this problem when I was put on statins. I already had bowel muscle problems with the Diverticular Disease and one of the known side effects of statins is to affect muscles. In my case I lost control completely, and leaked constantly with no sensation. Life reduced to staying indoors in incontinence pads, so I understand what you are going through and you have my deepest sympathy.
I researched and have just found out that the NHS has a specialist bowel incontince service. If you don't want to see your GP, as yours does not seem to be any help, you can usually make an appointment at your local NHS continence service without a referral. There you would be seen by a specialist trained nurse. Or you could ask your doctor's practice for the referral. I think now that anything is worth a try.
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julie92908 Guest
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Thanks for all your help but i don't think it's my bowel muscles as i have the pain in my lower left hand side of my stomache and the gurggling noise that is constant. Not sure but don't think that would happen with weak bowel muscles but maybe i am wrong so that is another thing to look at. I have been so ill today that i got up and just went back to bed till dinner time. I am now barely eating as when i eat i just run straight to the loo and am ill for so long after that it's not worth it. I am tall and naturally slim always have been slim and have been bullied my whole life because people won't believe i don't have some eating disorder which i never have had so of course now i'm ill i am losing weight which is making this more stressful for me and my clothes are not fitting well so it's just more stress for me to carry. Thank you for all your help i really want to come back and say i'm better and i can get on with my life but i don't see this will happen. I'm moving in 2 weeks and how i am going to do it i really don't know ?
Guest julie92908
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julie92908 Guest
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Hi yvonne no i did'nt move it all went wrong, long story been waiting 3 months and all the land registry and free hold papers for the other property lost, sounds easy to sort but been a nightmare so in the mean time i started looking elsewhere and saw a lovely place and ended up putting an offer in and accepted so pulled out of the other as it was taking too long and had to leave where i am so hopfully going very soon. No sadly i am not much better i feel so ill every day and just don't know when this will end. I go back to the doctors this week and back to the hospital April 3rd, i don't hold out any hope from the consultant so will probably need to change consultants which will take around 4 months so more months of being ill 😢