Following up in case anyone finds this in a search. Warning: graphic. I got a sigmoidoscopy during my period when I had rectal bleeding. I had the typical blood in stool and urgent / frequent / painful bowel movements all day. I had to do two enemas which cleared everything out. The results of the sigmoidoscopy were unremarkable other than intense pain for me and the scope caused internal bleeding during the procedure. My bowel is angulated (likely from adhesions) so there was a lot of difficulty getting the scope through. I asked a lot of questions and the doctor said they’re not trained to diagnose or treat bowel endo.

I felt like I hit a dead end and was being brushed off. Then I talked about the situation with my reproductive endocrinologist who is an experienced gynecologic surgeon. Thankfully, he knows of a couple colorectal surgeons who are experienced with bowel endometriosis and whom he teams with to excise endo from the bowel. If anyone is looking for a colorectal surgeon in the Chicagoland area who has experience with bowel endo, I was recommended Dr. John Park in Park Ridge, IL.

Will your hysterectomy put you into menopause? My doctor said we wouldn’t do a bowel resection if I was close to menopause, since my symptoms would go away or at least reduce greatly after menopause. I had it done since I’m 30 and will still have cycles for a while. The top questions I would ask are what are the risks of a temporary or permanent ileostomy? What are the risks of the anastomosis leaking and causing sepsis, readmission and an emergency surgery? Will you need a surgical drain? My body produced more than 90ml of fluid, so I came out with a surgical drain. I had it in for a week and it was excruciating to have it removed. The pain of having it removed only lasted a few seconds but it was the most cringey feeling I’ve ever felt. I could feel it sliding past my all intestines. Then when i would try to relax or sleep, I kept having spasms where the drain was and that lasted a few days. I would ask about the incision size, recovery time, lifting restrictions and dietary restrictions. I had a c section type of incision and couldn’t lift over 10 lbs for 6 weeks. I was also on a low fiber diet for 6 weeks. Some other symptoms to report... I experienced intense nausea the first week and had some food intolerances over the course of the 6 weeks. I still get an upset stomach more easily than before and I’m over two months out from surgery. Another thing I did not know in advance is that I would have fluid build up above the incision and it was puffy like there was a hotdog sized amount of swelling above the incision. It turned from fluid to hard scarring as the weeks progressed. Now I still have hardness and puffiness above the incision and i was told this can take 2 years to resolve. Definitely ask about bowel changes, what it will be like during recovery and in the long run. If you have a portion of your rectum removed, it will cause more frequent bowel movements. I’m pretty close to normal now as far as bowel movements, but I still get an upset stomach easily. Everyone is different though. I would also ask how many bowel resections has the doctor done specifically for endo. My doctor said it wasn’t rare, and that made me feel good knowing he had done resections for endo before.

Hi Elizabeth. I ended up getting another colonoscopy during my period during which Dr. Park did a rectal ultrasound. I was sedated with Propofol and have no recollection of the procedure. The ultrasound showed that I had an endometriosis mass compressing (and possibly growing into) my rectum. I ended up getting the mass and 2/3 of my rectum removed. It was a multi disciplinary surgery with Dr. Miller removing endo from my reproductive organs and Dr. Park doing the bowel resection. I no longer have the bowel issues during my period. However, the recovery from surgery was very rough and i have a c section type scar. The risks, although rare, are very serious. I definitely recommend getting a colonoscopy with rectal ultrasound during your period with Dr. Park. However, please talk to me more before doing a bowel resection, because there are a lot of factors to consider. Hope this helps!

Just wondering how your doing, as I'm near park ridge and possibly have bowel endo.