I take a journey backward and recollect how the problems with my bowels started and how they evolved from an innocuous curiosity into a very significant life-threatening condition.
Now being far ahead in recovery, I often reflect and think about when my bowel problems started. Thinking back, I had dissmissed the occasional minor issues that occurred, which had in fact been the first signs of things to come.
I vaguely remember that in my 20s, thinking that my stomach was a little tender, and occasionally having some episodes of abdominal pain on the lower left side. I do not remember ever having any constipation, and I can’t remember if these episodes were related stress or not. Like everyone else, I would sometimes indulge in food that would upset my stomach and I would have diarrhoea for a day or two.
The first time I had a problem
The first time I noticed any significant problem was when 25 years ago I was travelling to Australia for a final year of surgical training. We spent a week in Fiji, and then two in New Zealand en-route to Australia. I remember having some abdominal pain, constipation and difficulty passing stool. This lasted only a couple of days and then settled down. I think that perhaps I had similar episodes later whilst travelling, which lasted just two or three days maybe once or twice a year. Over the last five years or so, this was again happening at random times, but more frequently. The constipation and abdominal pain would last perhaps two or three days and then result in two or three days of diarrhoea before settling back to being entirely normal.
I wondered if it was irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), as it appeared to be stress or travel related. I remember trying some Fybogel which is commonly used in IBS. Fybogel is a powdered form of fibre described to keep stools soft and minimise the discomfort and constipation. For the same reasons, Fybogel also helps patients with diverticular disease.
Diverticular disease
Diverticular disease or diverticulosis is a disease where small pouches form in the lower part of the large intestinal wall for unknown reasons. Most commonly, the disease would impact the sigmoid colon, which lies in the lower left side of the abdomen. These pouches can cause spasms and constipation, abdominal pain and swelling. These pouches can become infected when there is an associated temperature and diverticulitis. Diverticulitis can be associated with abdominal distension, colic, and large bowel obstruction. Bowel obstruction is a very serious life threatening complication and requires urgent hospital treatment.
