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Nobadays
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# Posted: 15 Mar 2025 09:56pm
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Writing this while laying in a hospital bed after last night's emergency three hours in surgery to remove a perforated section of colon. Cologuard does not detect (in my experience) diverticulitis. I knew from my colonoscopy at 50 that I had two very small "pockets" that I was told would likely never be a problem.
The 8" section of colon remoed last night contained several diverticulitis "pockets" including the one that had perforated.
Not out of the woods yet but I was fortunate that it was a very small perforation and had not leaked much into my abdomen. The infected section was removed and my abdomen flushed out. They are pumping a very strong antibiotic and my white count is coming down
Just a warning if like me you have been doing Cologaurd test after your initial "buttcam" at age 50.... I just hit 70 two weeks ago so guess the last Cologuard I did last June should have been camera time.
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FishHog
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# Posted: 16 Mar 2025 07:45am
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Best recovery wishes
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 16 Mar 2025 09:25am
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Happy Birthday!
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Nobadays
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# Posted: 16 Mar 2025 12:19pm
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Thanks guys!
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jsahara24
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# Posted: 17 Mar 2025 07:37am
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Glad to hear things are heading in the right direction, I am 43 and not looking forward to the "probe"..
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Nobadays
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# Posted: 17 Mar 2025 09:04am
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Quoting: jsahara24 I am 43 and not looking forward to the "probe"..
The "probe" is the easy part. It's that day of preparation where you become familiar with every nuance of your bathroom  
It is worth the discomfort as discovering colon cancer early usually brings a positive outcome. Polyps and diverticulitis are things they look for as indicators that cancer could possibly develop. I do believe they are now saying 45 is when to have your first colonoscopy. So your not far off!
Looking back to last June when I did the Cologuard test, even then in my mind I questioned whether it was time for another look. Sure wish I would have asked my doc.
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ICC
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# Posted: 17 Mar 2025 11:17am - Edited by: ICC
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Nobadays, I'm glad you are recovering well. I've not been a fan of cologuard either, but that was based on what my doctor told me about deficiencies in the test results. It's better than doing nothing and great for people who for various reasons cannot undergo a colonoscopy, but a colonoscopy finds precancerous cells with greater frequency than cologuard.
When I heard about cologuard I thought it would be wonderful. The preparation for a colonoscopy is the real downside. For me the worst part of the bowel cleansing is the gallon quantity of solution you have to drink and the actual flushing out of the bowel. However, the benefit of the doctor being able to remove (and test) any found polyps is a huge plus that cologuard cannot offer. Because of previous results cologuard was not recommended unless a colonoscopy was impossible.
My advice to anyone older than 45 - 50, have a colonoscopy and see what the results are. I'm 80 and because of previous issues, my doctor recommends I have another colonoscopy very soon. My problem is the blood thinners I need to take because of the heart attack. They throw a monkey wrench into the pot. For a colonoscopy blood thinners must be stopped 2 to 3 days before the procedure. That could cause other life-threatening problems. This week I see my cardiologist for her opinion and recommendation.
I have a friend who has a colonoscopy every 2 years because of his past history. I have one friend who had his entire colon removed. I also had one friend who died from colon cancer as he had no colonoscopy or cologuard until it was too late
There are better things to die from than colon cancer.
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Nobadays
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# Posted: 17 Mar 2025 01:35pm
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Quoting: ICC For me the worst part of the bowel cleansing is the gallon quantity of solution you have to drink and the actual flushing out of the bowel.
Same. Whoever named that nauseous liquid "Golightly" had a sick sense of humor!
My wife's brother died at 65 from colon cancer. It had of course spread to the surrounding organs. He just "never got around to getting a colonoscopy. "
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 17 Mar 2025 02:05pm
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Ime the 'Golightly' (yes, a misnomer!) does taste far better than it used to. The last experience went the best by eating lightly and drinking a lot of water for 2 days before ingest time then keeping right on the schedule for drinking it. T-time was reduced and easier to handle.
The prob is no big deal, you're not conscious of it just hungry afterward. A BK Whopper fixed that.
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DRP
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# Posted: 17 Mar 2025 06:25pm - Edited by: DRP
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Glad you are on the mend! We call it the thunder jug
I have had 3 scoping/procedures in a week before, I got pretty good at chugging. I may have blown up a glove, tied down 4 fingers, strapped it to the empty jug and slid it out the door.
Be careful as the annie-B's are removed, C.Diff can repopulate faster than the good bugs. Taper off if possible and heavy up on probiotics.
My last one was an easier prep, they don't all use the jug.
Useless trivia, the PEG (polyethylene glycol) in GoLightly is a short chain version of the PEG used as a wood stabilizer.
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 17 Mar 2025 06:56pm
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DEF dont want C-Diff Again! It was caused by the anti-b for a simple UTI; happens Waayyy more than most know.
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Nobadays
Member
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# Posted: 17 Mar 2025 08:38pm - Edited by: Nobadays
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Quoting: DRP Be careful as the annie-B's are removed, C.Diff can repopulate faster than the good bugs. Taper off if possible and heavy up on probiotics.
They have been pumping me full of a strong antibiotic, Piperacillin / Tazobactam. It has done it's job and as of this morning my white count was back to normal. That said I'm sure It has killed every bug good and bad.
What is suggested to get the good gut bugs back? I have heard of prebiotic but no nothing about them. Thanks!
Edit... looks like I will probably be discharged tomorrow! Then the l I need healing/rehab begins
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 17 Mar 2025 09:19pm
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You MUST talk to the 'docs' about the C-Diff issue!
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Nobadays
Member
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# Posted: 17 Mar 2025 09:29pm
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Good to know!
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DRP
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# Posted: 17 Mar 2025 10:36pm
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A good bit of it is a good, varied diet. Any of the fermented/cultured foods are full of the good gut bugs. Yogurt, activia, probiotic pills, sauerkraut, cheeses.
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DaveBell
Moderator
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# Posted: 18 Mar 2025 12:43am
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The Golightly manufacter says, "we make the stuff, we don't use it". I heard Navy Seals use the term "buttblaster". When I had my camera probe done at the VA I had no drugs. The doc said, here are no nerves in the colon. It wasn't bad. The previous day was the worst part.
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Nobadays
Member
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# Posted: 18 Mar 2025 09:03am - Edited by: Nobadays
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Quoting: DRP Any of the fermented/cultured foods are full of the good gut bugs. Yogurt, activia, probiotic pills, sauerkraut, cheeses.
Good enough! Pretty sure there are no bugs left in me at this point. I know they will keep me on oral antibiotics for another week or two so I'll get some yogurt at least.... probably sending the good bugs to their deaths!
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 18 Mar 2025 10:15am - Edited by: gcrank1
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Yogurt isn't enough unless you eat it all day and dont have a bad case. Thing is that by the time you realize the c-dif has taken over your gut it's waayyy too late for yogurt. Btdt and the case just got Worse; 3mo, went from 210 to 165#, slow starvation because your gut lined with the c-dif cant absorb nutrients plus food just runs through you. The special c-dif a-bio that turned it around was Expensive! and insurance only covered the 1 bottle of 2 weeks worth.
When I have a-bio the regimen is typically 4xday. Each time you have to give the a-bio time to work and it kills off what is in your gut except for the c-dif which is a-bio resistant. So after a few hours of the a-bio working I had to take the (Much More effective) pill probiotic from the drug store (in their 'fridge, gotta ask, no rx required); 20 Billion live probiotic cultures!
This is needed to re-populate your gut with the good stuff as the bad stuff is being reduced. So after a couple hours of the a-bio take a pro-bio and repeat Every time. For any a-bio now I start with 2 and then 1 3x a day, not 4; and I usually slow or stop that once I go 'loose' after about a week rather than the std 10 day regimen. No recurrence since that in 2016.
People die from c-dif every day even in western cultures with good health care. It almost got me.
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 18 Mar 2025 10:55am - Edited by: MtnDon
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Quoting: gcrank1 pill probiotic from the drug store (in their 'fridge,
Yes, the refrigerated ones should provide a much higher count of the probiotic. If one is taking anti-b's they should also be taking pro-b's, but on a different time schedule. I've been told that a 2 hour difference is the minimum time between the two.
Fiber rich foods are also good (anytime, all the time).
I have had the misfortune of full-body sepsis with absesses taking hold in the liver and one kidney. Getting rid of all the baddies took months of home infusion IV antibiotics. That was mixed in with the above-mentioned regimen of probiotics and good foods.
Most store bought yogurts contain too much added sugar. That can feed the baddies. If you can find a plain low or no added sugar yogurt go for that. Flavored and fruit-on-the-bottom are likely a bad choice. There are diverse opinions on whether or not sugar substities are beneficial or have their own problems.
Avoid alcohol.
Best of good fortune to your recovery.
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Nobadays
Member
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# Posted: 18 Mar 2025 10:24pm
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Thanks for the advice!
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moneypitfeeder
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# Posted: 23 Mar 2025 10:15am
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Glad you are feeling better, I've got to call and schedule a colonoscopy myself. Take it easy!
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Nobadays
Member
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# Posted: 19 Apr 2025 12:10pm
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Well guys... 5 weeks out and feeling way better! Thanks for the tips on C-dif! I started on probiotics and lots of Greek yogurt right away and avoided any complications. The Dr did caution about C-dif and suggested probiotics 2 weeks in when he decided to keep me on antibiotics another week as the incision wasn't completely healed up yet. I told him I had been taking them from the start.
He wants me to go a full 8 weeks before lifting anything over about 10-15 pounds. Wanted us to put off my wife's surgery until after 8 weeks.... she has major "calendar page issues" in her spine, technically stenosis, narrowing of the spine from arthritis brought on by turning a lot of calendar pages! Well they gave her an option for the 22nd, next Tuesday and I told her to grab it. She has suffered long enough. Like I said, I'm way better, hiking 2-3 miles a day...l just not lifting anything. I told her if she falls on the floor and needs help up, I'll throw her a pillow, then go get a neighbor to help!
Thanks for the heads up... C-dif doesn't sound pleasant!
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 19 Apr 2025 02:29pm
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SO glad to hear you are doing so well
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DRP
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# Posted: 20 Apr 2025 08:08am
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Good Deal, always a good day when you're on the green side of the grass. Hopefully your wife's will go without a hitch... we all need young friends!
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 21 Apr 2025 02:01pm
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@Nobadays, it is good to hear you are doing well on recovery. Best wishes for your wife's upcoming surgery.
We must all be getting old; I just had an "ablation" to hopefully deal with my atrial fibrillation once and for all.
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Nobadays
Member
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# Posted: 21 Apr 2025 02:10pm
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Thanks guys!
Hoping your cardiac ablation does exactly what is intended!
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Nobadays
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# Posted: 22 Apr 2025 09:15am
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Surgery center call last night at 6pm to say the surgeon was sick, my wife's surgery was canceled. They will call to reschedule....
The guy is sick, I understand, but pretty sad seeing your spouse suffer through something like this... hopefully it is only a few days.
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