update -- actually spoke to the GI dr today

On 2006-06-28, Takayuki penned:

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.

I also hope that it's a rare inconvenience, or actually, I hope it
never flares up again, ever. And I further hope that the next time I
get a colonoscopy, in eight years, my doctor will say, "Wow. I've
never seen one of these just go away completely before. That's
amazing. Do you mind if I write an article about you for the New
England Journal of Medicine?"

A girl can dream ...

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

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

I'm so glad to hear you finally know what's wrong! Not knowing, I
think, is the worst kind of stress. Sending many purrs that you will
be able to deal with this in the way that will give you the least
amount of trouble. Also one big hug, three head-butts, one lap-sit,
one soulful look through the window, and a huge tail wag and lick.
(Down, Joy! I said a lick, not ten!)

Cantate and the Melting Cats

Monique Y. Mudama wrote:

It's hard to imagine forgetting something that requires 9 pills a day
and yearly colonoscopies

Good point. But on the other hand, taking pills every day will
eventually become a routine, and won't necessarily be a constant
reminder of what they're for. I take pills every day, too, and I
don't usually stop to reflect on why I need to do it.

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!

LOL, exactly. "Oh damn it, I forgot to meditate today. I'm going to
get sick now! And it's all my fault..." blah blah blah. Last thing
you need to do to yourself!

Joyce

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

LOL, exactly. "Oh damn it, I forgot to meditate today. I'm going to
get sick now! And it's all my fault..." blah blah blah. Last thing
you need to do to yourself!

Yup!

Speaking about stressing about stress-relief, I dreamed last night
that I was sneaking around the office to take a bath there without
anyone noticing ... yes, a full bubble bath. I don't know where that
came from. They do have showers, and I do them when I ride my bike to
work (which I'll be doing today, especially as it's the local bike to
work day).

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

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

On Wed, 28 Jun 2006 10:54:03 +0000 (UTC), Cheryl Perkins
wrote:

As far as I know, colonoscopies are not recommended for population
screening (ie everybody), although population screening by blood test,
followed by colonscopy if needed is being studied. A Canadian study
reported that such procedures might result in an increase in lifespan of
37 days (on average) and 1.75 years (for those with colon cancer),
assuming enough people participated.

My group health insurer, a tight fisted outfit if ever there was one,
will pay for a colonoscopy at age 50 and then one at 10 year intervals
if the colon is clear, and more frequent intervals if abnormalities
appear. I had one benign polyp last year and got a "see you in 5
years" from the doctor.

On 2006-06-28, Cheryl Perkins penned:

As far as I know, colonoscopies are not recommended for population
screening (ie everybody), although population screening by blood
test, followed by colonscopy if needed is being studied. A Canadian
study reported that such procedures might result in an increase in
lifespan of 37 days (on average) and 1.75 years (for those with
colon cancer), assuming enough people participated.

Interesting number ... well, here's what I found:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medi...p?newsid=20389

"According to Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD, associate director of the
Gastrointestinal Oncology Program at the USC/Norris Comprehensive
Cancer Center, the general recommendation for a baseline colonoscopy
is beginning at age 50 and thereafter every three to five years."

Here's a link from my doctor's website:

http://www.gastromd.com/education/pr...uidelines.html

Average risk persons are defined as age 50, a normal physical exam,
absence of symptoms, absence of family history of colorectal cancer
or colorectal polyps, and no evidence of microscopic blood within the
stool (fecal occult blood test cards) on 3 sequential tests.

Recommendation

Colonoscopy every 10 years starting at age 50

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

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

Monique Y. Mudama wrote:

Yup!

Speaking about stressing about stress-relief, I dreamed last night
that I was sneaking around the office to take a bath there without
anyone noticing ... yes, a full bubble bath. I don't know where that
came from. They do have showers, and I do them when I ride my bike to
work (which I'll be doing today, especially as it's the local bike to
work day).

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

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

Monique,

I suggest instead of bubble bath, you add essentail oil that help deal
with stress to your
bath water. About 6 drops will do. Oil like lavender helps de-stress
and get a good night sleep. I remember being stressed to the max
after I lost my job and my father within 2 weeks. It was Christmas
time and I was in a mall looking for black clothes for the funeral.
The crowd really got to me. I went into a store that sold aromatherapy
stuff. After sniffing different essential oil testers, I found I was
more relaxed.

Winnie

On 2006-06-28, Winnie penned:

I suggest instead of bubble bath, you add essentail oil that help
deal with stress to your bath water. About 6 drops will do. Oil like
lavender helps de-stress and get a good night sleep. I remember
being stressed to the max after I lost my job and my father within 2
weeks. It was Christmas time and I was in a mall looking for black
clothes for the funeral. The crowd really got to me. I went into a
store that sold aromatherapy stuff. After sniffing different
essential oil testers, I found I was more relaxed.

My bubble bath is lavender and claims to have essential oils ...


--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

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

Monique Y. Mudama wrote:

Speaking about stressing about stress-relief, I dreamed last night
that I was sneaking around the office to take a bath there without
anyone noticing ... yes, a full bubble bath. I don't know where that
came from. They do have showers

I think it's totally symbolic. Work is a big source of stress for you,
and maybe that has something to do with that company's culture, as much
as your internal buying into it. Perhaps you feel a bit guilty about
disengaging from that, and it feels like you're "sneaking around"?

Joyce

wrote in message
...
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.

The most recent review I saw, for the diagnosis of unexplained bleeding,
actually has flowcharts where, depending on the clinical picture, any of a
wide range of methods may be appropriate, from "traditional" endoscopy &
colonoscopy, to CT/MR imaging, to capsule, and yet other specialized
studies.