Shit Watch 2013 is Over

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So Shit Watch 2013 has finally ended. After several days of Miralax and Proctofoam, my lower colon opened up just enough to....you know, let loose.

Normal Colon

Why has this been happening? My doctor thinks I probably have a colon stricture. This is a narrowing of the colon---for me, the lower colon. This was the area last year that gave me a tremendous amount of difficultly that had resulted in my switch over to Imuran. As I have mentioned before, Crohn's can manifest itself in any part of the digestive system---from the mouth to the anus, internal and external. Until last year, my Crohn's was intent on hanging out in my upper colon, near the connection to the the small intestine. Apparently not happy with just that neighborhood, my Crohn's bought some real estate in my lower colon--in the anorectal area. The lesions and inflammation there sent me to the hospital and required a new approach to treatment.

Colon with Stricture

It's that area once again that has been causing some problems as of late. Evacuating the bowels (this is the technical term for "taking a shit") has become difficult, due to increased inflammation. However, I have not had the pain that I had last year and this could be due to a stricture.

What causes a stricture? Could be a variety of things--from simple inflammation to a hernia, fissure, twisting of the colon or a tumor. Stress can make it worse. The only thing that can be done to find out the cause is to---you guessed it, shove a camera into the neighborhood and look around.

So I am heading to the hospital again on April 8th for a "flexible sigmoidoscopy." Fun.

Depending on the cause of the stricture, the solution can be relatively easy. According to my doctor, it could be just "ballooning" the area to open it up a bit or simply removing an obstruction that might be present. Biopsies will also be taken on the inflamed tissue as well.

And pictures. Hopefully, plenty of pictures.