First a bit of background ---- in December 2015 I had a low anterior resection and anastomosis of the upper rectum and sigmoid colon and a temporary ileostomy. When this was reversed 4 months later it went wrong due to adhesions and scar tissue leading to a further small bowel resection and another anastomosis-this time of the small bowel.
There then followed a series of strictureplasties 6 in all to stretch the original colo-rectal anastimosis. Diameter finally settled at around 18mm and it was decided that any further attempts would result in further scar tissue formation which would be counterproductive. Since then bowel motions have been kept soft with the regular use of movicol once a day and a degree of stability achieved. Unfortunately over the last few months I have become aware of further scarring which has developed at the anastimosis site on one side. This has resulted in everything slowing down again despite me trying to keep all bowel motions the consistency of toothpaste! My GP now tells me my anastimosis is now a bit like an S bend and its this thats causing the problem. She suggests that over a period of a few days despite me continuing to pass some stool things begin to back up leading to my current distressing symptoms. Her suggestion was to employ more movicol but because my diet is restricted anyway this seems to make me feel quite ill unlike in the past. Unfortunately in the meantime I have developed a rather alarming set of symptoms whereby after a couple of days of difficulty passing bowel motions I'm waking up in the middle of the night with elevated heart rate/shivering/ shaking and feeling generally unwell-- only relieved by "getting vertical " and walking about a bit. This means loosing a lot of sleep and very little appetite. Sometimes for no apparent reason- bowels open and I get evacuated many times- its as if there's a backlog which gives these alarming symptoms only relieved with the bowels opening. Wonder if anyone else has experienced these sort of alarming symptoms particularly while lying down? These are symptoms I haven't experienced until recently and my GP appears to be at a loss. Its been suggested that I might be suffering from nutritional problems- not enough food/too much movicol? or my large bowel has become inflamed [ temperature seems normal] or its a panic attack [ ruled out by me as I've had much worse] I feel quite isolated and alone with these new symptoms and it would be nice to hear of anyone with similar experiences, as at least then I would know what I was dealing with!
This is a straight copy of a question I already posted in the ask a nurse section but was advised to post it here. One thing that has occurred to me was whether these "night symptoms" are related to anemia? Has a combination of a low residue diet and daily use of movicol caused some sort of malabsorption /Vitamin B12 deficiency - that or internal blood loss. I would be grateful to hear from anyone who has experienced similar symptoms or anemia symptoms and how it was diagnosed.
Thanks
G
