A pain in the colon :)

[wmonique2]

Hey friends,

Now and then I have pain in the lower left quadrant of my abdomen where the descending colon is located. I have been wondering if some of you have experienced it. I think it happens more when I flare but I also think that it happens because the colon is inflamed and it's trying to push food forward hence the pain. I try to eat a low residue diet as much as I can.

I have had that pain for over 7 years. Off and on. I spoke to my GI about it. He wants to do a colonoscopy and I am so afraid of them. The Miralax treatment may just create havoc in my system and wipe out all of the hard work I have done since diagnosed 7 years ago.

Any thoughts?

Thanks everyone.

Monique

[tex]

Hi Monique,

This may not apply to your situation, but I often had pain in that area when I was reacting or recovering from a flare, but I had diverticulitis. According to an article I read, diverticulitis involves the same type of inflammation as LC (lymphocytic infiltration). I also developed a stenosis (which occurs in about 25 % of diverticular colitis cases I believe) that required a resection. This was back in 2005.

Love,

Tex

[wmonique2]

Tex,

How do I know it's not diverticulitis? I always know when I am coming down with a flareup, I start having pain there but I am not flaring now. I was a couple of weeks ago for about a week...

Thanks my friend.

Love,

Monique

[tex]

How do I know it's not diverticulitis?

Good question. Did your colonoscopy operative report mention any "tics" in the Sigmoid colon? They would have been listed if the doctor noticed any. Of course, just because you might have diverticulosis doesn't mean that you would necessarily develop diverticulitis. Diverticulosis is a necessary but not sufficient prerequisite to diverticulitis.

Looking back, my diverticulitis may have driven most of my flares.

Love,

Tex

[wmonique2]

Tex,

I haven't had a colonoscopy in 7 years --- since diagnosed with MC. My doc wants me to have one but I dread the prep and the consequences of it.

Thanks,

Monique

[tex]

I don't blame you, those prep solutions are supposed to be better now but I'm pretty sure they still leave a lot to be desired.

Best of luck, whatever you decide to do.

Tex

[Kilt]

I was diagnosed with MC/L 11 weeks ago by colonoscopy biopsy, and am in week 9 of a budesonide taper, which is so far controlling the diarrhea. Sometime during the early stages of this post-colonoscopy period, I developed a dull ache in the lower left quadrant of my abdomen that comes and goes. I don't associate it with bowel movement changes because, as I said, I've been pretty normal.

I actually thought the pain was perhaps related to my bladder or ureter, or maybe my benign prostate hyperplasia, so I went to see my urologist. Via the location of the pain, he said it was not urological but was likely in the bowel, which surprised me.

I'm seeing my gastroenterologist in three weeks to review my budesonide progress, and I plan on asking him about this pain. I'm seeing my internist the following week, and I'll ask her the same question. I'll report back here what they say.

[Deb]

Monique, I had left side pain for years (well before the MC) It was diverticulitis/diverticulosis. My younger sister started having the same pain and I told her what I thought it was (and it was). Mine has vastly improved since being gluten-free.

[Marcia K]

Hi, Monique. I'm due for a colonoscopy, too and I think I'm going to pass. My diagnosis was five years ago and my GI said he wanted to do another in 5 years but I've been doing so well I don't want to stir anything up.

[Kilt]

. . . . I developed a dull ache in the lower left quadrant of my abdomen that comes and goes.

. . . . I'm seeing my gastroenterologist in three weeks to review my budesonide progress, and I plan on asking him about this pain. I'm seeing my internist the following week, and I'll ask her the same question. I'll report back here what they say.

The gastroenterologist had no idea what the pain was, but guessed it might be the budesonide. The internist was also unsure, guessing it might be my very low fiber diet and/or some diverticula acting up. In any event, the pain seems to have gone away.

Another of the many mysteries of the gut.

[tex]

Monique,

Rereading this thread I see that I forgot to point out that your original colonoscopy report from the pathologist (over 7 years ago) would describe any evidence of diverticulosis as "tics". So if you happen to have a copy of that report (the pathologist's report, not the GI docs operative report from the colonoscopy itself), it would tell you whether you're a candidate for diverticulitis. If you were younger than 40 at the time of the colonoscopy, this might not apply because there's a good chance that the diverticulosis might not have developed yet. It's much more common as we age.

Tex