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Chris Dewald: Colonoscopy, diabetes, blood thinners

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chris-dewald2Jumping horse feathers, my friends.  It took longer to figure out a title than the entire procedure.  First, what is a colonoscopy?  According to this source, a physician uses a colonoscope (longer than a sigmoidoscope) to view the entire colon and the rectum. The entire colon must be cleaned out in order to perform a colonoscopy.  Polyps can be removed with the colonoscope.

This seems too medical to me.  OK, the bottom line…Sick pun huh?  A physician, sometimes known as a gastroenterologist, under the assistance of an anesthesiologist, places you in slumber land while they go into the intestine via an already present entrance to find out if you have polyps and if you may have cancer.  These polyps are removed by the gastroenterologist while they are having a NASCAR race inside your intestine.  If they find suspected growths that are not supposed to be there, they are removed.

What is a polyp?  According to the National Institute of Health, colon polyps* are extra pieces of tissue that grow on the lining of the colon or rectum. The colon and rectum are parts of the large intestine. The large intestine absorbs water from stool and changes it from a liquid to a solid form. Stool is the solid waste that passes through the rectum and anus as a bowel movement.

Colon polyps can be raised or flat. Raised colon polyps are growths shaped like mushrooms. They look as though they are on a stem or stalk. Flat colon polyps look like a bed of moss. Sometimes, a person can have more than one colon polyp.

Did you guys have breakfast yet?  Sounds great, does it not?

Now to get a common basis with you and me, let me explain what happened to me. If you are diabetic and if you are on blood thinners, I feel it is important for you to expect some issues. Not all of you may be subjected to what I had…But it may provide you some answers and not feel like you are singled out

I was scheduled for this outpatient procedure on the 4th of August 2014. For the past 14 weeks, I had been bleeding from somewhere in the colon. It was coming out of me no matter what. Since many physicians believe there is a sincere concern for any operations, they felt I had been bleeding way too long and weighed the risk factors.

The worst part of leading to the completion of the colonoscopy to me was that horrible gallon of pre liquid.  It was not what it produces after ingestion; it’s the nasty horrible stuff you taste when you drink it.  I was given a hint that may have lessened the effect of this “gruel” liquid.  Start putting menthol cough drops in your mouth.  This has a numbing effect on your taste buds.

Now comes the diabetic angst that I was unprepared for. This is one of the reason I am typing away for info to give to you as I was at a loss of unseen consequences.   I found this website:  http://www.doctorbob.com/colon_effect.html. Take what some of this with a spoon of sugar please.  This link does not provide the answers between you and your doctors.  Only YOU can make a decision.  Your doctor knows you and some of this may not pertain to what I feel is the monster under your bed.  I did find some information that was a “mind relaxer for me”… Therefore you judge what is in here and ask your own medical physicians.

My first incidents with me, post the colonoscopy, were favorable. I had stopped bleeding. They found 4 polyps that were removed and all were bleeding. There was one they did not like as it appeared to be some type of hanging tumor. I did not like that either. It was later reclassified as a Adenomatous polyp (Adenoma). This is the one you do not want. It was precancerous and they believed they got the entire polyp.  I have fought melanoma on my skin and won  I am pre disposed to cancer from my family genes and exposure in the military.

Something from the colonoscopy triggered a diabetic catastrophe. My sugar numbers went through the roof and prior to this, my A1C was a 6.9.  I had my diabetes under control until I was all over the place with my numbers.  I could not control it and high sugar was making my mind an evil person to be around.  My moods went from rage, yes, rage, to uncontrollable crying.  I cried for no reason whatsoever.  I had went to the ER for help as the pains in my lower left side was brutal.  My sugar then was 509 dc/l.  A normal person’s sugar level is high at 120 dc/l.  They found the following besides injections of insulin to get me to a 299 dc/l.

Some things the docs don’t tell you, so ask.  Please ask!  You are basically solid food free two days prior to the procedure.  When they are done and you stagger from the surgery area, I know you are starving.  I was for sure and I went to a fast food joint (bad, bad, bad) and bought many dollar item menu items.  What the docs fail to tell you is that the junk they put into you to ease the muscles have a direct link to the digestive muscles.  They want those muscles to be loose so they can scope you more effectively.  You should wait!  If you don’t, what you eat will just lay around in your gut and not move as the muscles are nonresponsive.  Ask your doctor, please.  This is a surgical procedure and not a toenail clipping.  Learn from me as it was awful to deal with my gut full of unprocessed various food items and my sugar way out of control.

Seems one of the reasons I found my sugar was wack was due to the trauma inflicted in my colon.  Your body reacts to intrusions and having items cut out made my body react.  I am still fighting my sugar levels with increased monitoring and lots of insulin.  Since last week, I have managed to get my levels below 200 dc/l , which is still not good, but better than the initial onslaught.

Here again, I ask those with sugar issues and blood thinners to gain knowledge of what to expect from your colonoscopy.  I am glad I had mine as it seems the gremlins were building unauthorized skyscrapers in my colon.  Now, if you had a procedure and were diabetic with issues as I just described.  You have a lead on why and I hope you can place some thought behind feeling left out to face it by yourself.  This was a hard search and I had a hard time finding a relation on why my sugar numbers went “Kooks”. This can be a life threatening issue, so please, ask your doctor or gastroenterologist all these weird complications that may occur.

– Column by Chris Dewald

 

 

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