It has been some time since my cancer recurred. Not five weeks into recovery like my ABC of Recovery post. Some time has passed and perhaps memory dims slightly, and that is probably good.
February 2010 I decide to have my annual colonoscopy done at VA. I can get it done pretty much for free and I'm thinking the process is rather straight forward and the physician certainly is not going to make a mistake. So I schedule a consult with the VA GIguy. He is a older man, perhaps around my age, and has the personality of a slug. He sits in a cubbyhole office in front of a computer and I feel like I am talking with one of the Borg in Star Trek. When he takes my history and ascertains that this is colonoscopy number three meaning I am three years out from surgery and the follow up is necessary he lets me go. However, I am having some GI distress, frequent BMs, some pain associated with going to the bathroom, plus frequent constipation. His comment, sometimes people have to learn to put of with discomfort.
Even though I was not comforted by his lack of interest or concern. I went ahead with the colonoscopy anyway. The day before, prep day, was not good. The gallon of swill I had to drink made me sick and I threw up. I did complete the drinking. I was also supposed to give myself two enemas. I tried but could not get the right angle or the plastic bottle was difficult to squeeze so I got a partial. I went some more, but they wanted me to do another one so the fluid ran clear. Ha! I did one more in the morning and I thought I was going to miss my appointment because I was cramping so bad. We did make the one hour drive to Poplar Bluff and I was on time.
When I was prepped and into the procedure room there were two nice ladies in there that talked to me to make me comfortable. The Dr. came in, never said hello, boo, shit or hell. His directions to me were through the nurses, tell the patient to roll a little to his left. Then of all terrible things they found a little spec of fecal matter floating and the Dr. brought me out of the drug induced amnesia so he could tell the nurses to point out the fact that I had not cleaned out to well.
Finally the test was over, the report was all clear and I went home feeling secure that all was OK even though my bowels were still not regular and I was feeling constipated from time to time.
By July of 2010 I was not doing too well. I was getting some cramping, I was constipated and having a difficult time going. Then I would have an episode and could not go to work until the rush passed.
I started teaching a class some distance away from home for a company and I was out of town every Wednesday for three months. During this time my situation became down right nasty. I hurt, I would eat a meal and about an hour later I had severe bloating, pain and would have to go to the bathroom. I found I had difficulty going, I was encountering the feeling of having to go very often, sometimes several times an hour. I was also passing blood.
I made an appointment to see my family Dr. and he upped my fiber pills to 8 a day, four in the morning and four in the evening. I went some, but still no real relief. So I made an appointment to see a GI guy. The same one who had found the polyp three years earlier that brought about a bowel resection.
I began seeing the GI guy in December 2010. When I described the symptoms which took some time he said it was classic IBS symptoms. He put me on an anti-depressant and some medications designed to improve the muscle movement along the bowel. After about a month the anti-depressant kicked in. Up until this time I was so miserable that I had told myself if this is the quality of my life going forward I wasn't interested. Oh, I was not suicidal but I was sure down. The anti-depressants worked. Within 30 days, and that is what the nurses had told me the cloud lifted and I was feeling better mentally even though my bowel situation was not much improved.
Finally after three months of seeing the Dr. he suggested and I concurred that we have a colonoscopy done even though the one the February before was clear. He just wanted to see if there was any inflammation or infection. This was April, 2011, in fact April 18, 2011. When I went under I was gone until I woke in the recovery room and heard the Dr. say he had found a highly suspicious mass and had scheduled me to see the surgeon. My wife asked why and the Dr. apparently in frustration over the results almost yelled, "he has to, he just has to." So started the second medical issue that led to bowel resection Number 2.
More a little later.
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