update -- actually spoke to the GI dr today

Howard C. Berkowitz wrote:

Do be aware that there are rapidly emerging techniques of noninvasive
or minimally invasive colonoscopy. The noninvasive use CT or MRI with
some new graphic processing.

Yeah!!! I recently started working for a company that designs just this
type of medical imaging system, which does include a virtual colonoscopy,
among other computer-graphics-based procedures. It's quite cool. I was
going to mention this, but Howard beat me to it. I'm also not sure that
the technology is quite advanced enough at this point to substitute for
real colonoscopies in cases such as yours (as opposed to preventive
screenings, I guess), but I'm not a medical person, so I could be wrong
about that, too.

Anyway, I'm really glad to hear that your condition is not nearly as
bad as you feared it would be. I know it sucks to even have a condition
at all, but over time and with good management, you might even be able
to forget that you have it most of the time. I hope so! It sounds like
a real possibility. Did the doctor say anything about what you can do
to keep the disease limited to the area it's in now? Is it possible to
do that?

I'm glad your medicine is working and not giving you side effects. And
yeah, stress is a tough one to avoid - life can be stressful! But I
guess if you can avoid giving yourself stress, that'll probably make a
big difference.

Purrs for better health,
Joyce

Monique Y. Mudama wrote:
That's about all I can think of right now.

Well, it sounds like it might be manageable in the short-term. Hopefully
it won't develop into cancer.

Purrs.

Victor

--
Victor M. Martinez
Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
Send your spam he
Email me he

"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote in message
...
On 2006-06-27, Karen penned:
On 2006-06-26 22:02:28 -0500, "Monique Y. Mudama"
said:

He recommended www.ccfa.org as a great source of information.

Well, I think that it is good at least you know. Maybe this site
will help?

http://ccfa.org/

Yes, perhaps =P

Thanks, Karen. Just goofing =)

Oh jeez. I don't know how I missed that.

"Howard C. Berkowitz" wrote in message
...

"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote in message
...

DH and I had a post-colonoscopy appointment with my GI doctor. For
whatever
reason, I found him much more approachable this visit, and we were able
to
have a pretty decent Q & A session.

Here's the scoop.



No more tests in the near term. Unfortunately, studies show that
there's an increased risk of colon cancer after living with Crohn's
for several years, so eight years from now, I will be looking at
yearly colonoscopies. As I recall from a website somewhere, about 10%
of Crohn's patients eventually have colon cancer. I'm hoping that the
extremely minor form mine took somehow implies a reduced risk, but I
don't think there's any data to support that.

Do be aware that there are rapidly emerging techniques of noninvasive or
minimally invasive colonoscopy. The noninvasive use CT or MRI with some
new
graphic processing. The minimally invasive involves swallowing a capsule
that contains a disposable color TV camera which transmits to antenna
coils
wrapped around your body.

Purrs.

Oh man. Let's get those going!

On 2006-06-27, Howard C. Berkowitz penned:

Do be aware that there are rapidly emerging techniques of
noninvasive or minimally invasive colonoscopy. The noninvasive use
CT or MRI with some new graphic processing. The minimally invasive
involves swallowing a capsule that contains a disposable color TV
camera which transmits to antenna coils wrapped around your body.

I asked about virtual colonoscopies, but as the point of these would
be to take biopsies, not just have a look, he said there wasn't really
an alternative to the real deal.

Then again, I have eight years till this needs to start ... everybody
needs to get routine colonoscopies eventually, so I figure there's a
lot of money to be made in making it easier. I'm hoping that means
someone will figure out an effective laxative that doesn't make you
want to hurl.

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca

"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote:
Glad to hear that I can be of service =) I'm still not thrilled about
having a life-long condition, and I will have to mourn that somehow
and come to terms with it, but it doesn't sound nearly as bad as I at
first thought Crohn's must be.

I hope that they can help you calm down your temperamental tummy.

Thank you. Actually, my tummy calmed down before the colonoscopy,
even -- I had a really intense session with my therapist, and the next
day my tummy started feeling better. Supporting evidence for the idea
that stress is a big factor for me. I have felt mostly okay since,
with a little bit of discomfort but nothing anywhere near as bad as I
had before.

I can understand about it being a chronic condition. I hope that it's
so mild that it's no more than a rare occasional inconvenience. I was
pretty nervous about it, because as you, one poster here had the worst
case of it I'd ever heard of. I didn't even know that other posters
had it too, and was surprised when they spoke up.

"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote:
I asked about virtual colonoscopies, but as the point of these would
be to take biopsies, not just have a look, he said there wasn't really
an alternative to the real deal.

Then again, I have eight years till this needs to start ... everybody
needs to get routine colonoscopies eventually, so I figure there's a
lot of money to be made in making it easier. I'm hoping that means
someone will figure out an effective laxative that doesn't make you
want to hurl.

*Everybody* needs to get it eventually? I wouldn't be looking forward
to it either. Would getting it mean that I wouldn't be a virgin
anymore??

On 2006-06-28, Takayuki penned:
"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote:

Then again, I have eight years till this needs to start ...
everybody needs to get routine colonoscopies eventually, so I figure
there's a lot of money to be made in making it easier. I'm hoping
that means someone will figure out an effective laxative that
doesn't make you want to hurl.

*Everybody* needs to get it eventually? I wouldn't be looking
forward to it either. Would getting it mean that I wouldn't be a
virgin anymore??



I suppose that people who die before they're 40 typically don't ever
need to get colonoscopies, but other than that, yeah, everybody will
need to have them eventually, to detect colon cancer as early as
possible. Believe me, though, you won't care about the part where
they're violating your delicate bits. By the time you're done
swallowing liquid that makes you want to vomit and sitting on the
toilet for 8 hours straight in the aftermath of having to drink said
liquid, the procedure itself will be somewhat anticlimactic.

As to the second part, that's between you and your dog ... although I
do seem to recall websites advising teens to engage in a certain form
of sex to avoid losing their virginity *boggle*

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca

On 2006-06-27, Victor Martinez penned:
Monique Y. Mudama wrote:
That's about all I can think of right now.

Well, it sounds like it might be manageable in the short-term.
Hopefully it won't develop into cancer.

Purrs.

Agreed. Thanks. I plan on being one of the 90% who don't get cancer,
of course. Then again, as my dad likes to say, wish in one hand ...

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca

On 2006-06-27, penned:

Anyway, I'm really glad to hear that your condition is not nearly as
bad as you feared it would be. I know it sucks to even have a
condition at all, but over time and with good management, you might
even be able to forget that you have it most of the time. I hope so!
It sounds like a real possibility. Did the doctor say anything about
what you can do to keep the disease limited to the area it's in now?
Is it possible to do that?

It's hard to imagine forgetting something that requires 9 pills a day
and yearly colonoscopies, but hey, I figure you can get used to
anything if you do it enough.

Um, Crohn's isn't understood nearly well enough to say anything
definite about limiting disease. He did very explicitly contradict my
husband, who had suggested that we "caught it early" -- saying that we
don't know enough about how Crohn's progresses and that it's best to
just leave it at, "this is how it looks right now."

There's some hope that reduced inflammation will possibly limit
worsening, which is why I'm supposed to take the medicine forever, but
it didn't sound anything like a sure thing. And maybe it would stay
put no matter what. There just isn't enough information to predict.

I'm glad your medicine is working and not giving you side effects.
And yeah, stress is a tough one to avoid - life can be stressful!
But I guess if you can avoid giving yourself stress, that'll
probably make a big difference.

I'm definitely taking steps to alleviate stress -- more stretching,
more meditation, more bubble baths, and of course therapy, which is
helping me on all sorts of levels. I just have to be careful not to
make "stuff I should do to avoid stress" yet another item to stress
about!

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca