# pain after colonoscopy?



## 23199 (Oct 29, 2005)

Hi,I had a colonoscopy on 27th October and I was diagnosed with IBS. The prep. and the procedure itself went well. The doctor took two biopsies and after the procedure I had some pink mucus in the toilet and a bit of a pain but I was told that it's normal. The day after the colonoscopy I was still very puffed (the gasses were not easely going away) and the pain increased especialy in the late evening and night. During the day I ate some yoghurt, bread, cheese and jam - was told to eat 'light food'. Today is the second day after the procedure and the pain doesn't seem to be going away - there is a constant unpleasant pain and some spasms-like sharp pain that appears every now and then and realy cuts me like a knife (especialy if I try to walk or do something). There is very little bit of blood when I go to the toilet and I guess that's really OK and I'm not worried about that but the pain is a real torture and it makes me worried. Does someone know if that's 'normal' or should I visit the doctor again? Any advices on coping with the spasms and the pain.Thank you in advance for your replies!


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## 19069 (Aug 30, 2005)

Better to be safe than sorry. I would call the doc and check in if your pain is that bad. I had a colonoscopy in Sept. and was dx with UC. They took biopsies, too and I didn't feel one bit of pain during the procedure or after. So, please call your MD and let us know how you are doing. Maybe it is unrelated, but better to check just in case. Knife like pain doesn't sound normal to me. Good luck!


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## 15778 (Oct 29, 2005)

Trust yourself if you think something is wrong, and call your doctor. Let him know about your worries about the pain. I suspect s/he will reassure you, and say you may need to give it more time. It is normal to take more than two days to get over a biopsy.I've had a few colonoscopies with biopsies. Sometimes there's no pain at all afterwards, with the exception of gas and the mess of re-establishing a normal (or as normal) intestinal rhythm after cleaning out.One colonoscopy left me in pain, very similar to how you describe. Constant localized pain (assumibly from the biopsy in a sensitive spot) which would "pang" smartly every now and then. It lasted a week as I recall, possibly longer.If you prepared for the colonoscopy with some kind of salt drink or enema (which is likely) that would add to the hurt. Drinking more water than usual or having soup with each meal (or as a meal) may help pass the residue, and also help get things moving, which may be messy if you're IBS-D but worth getting over the experience of the colonoscopy. Drink tea if you don't like water, but try not to add too much sugar (I should take my own advice).A bit of blood after a biopsy is expected. Knife like pain when moving doesn't sound normal, but it could just be the IBS and the biopsy acting together.But if you are worried a call to your doctor is warranted, especially if you think the pain is far beyond tolerable.


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## Screamer (Aug 16, 2005)

I had horrible pain after mine and ended up in the ED where they did some xrays to be sure they hadn't perforated the bowel. My pain lasted for almost a week (although it did get a little better daily) and the xrays came back clear and I was told that sometimes the scope can "hit" a bend and cause a bruise type thing that causes the pain. But it's still better to be safe, I'd talk to your doctor about it all. Hope you feel better soon


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## 23199 (Oct 29, 2005)

Thank you all for your quick responds and for the advices. Indeed, I decided to be safe and to have it checked so I went to a doctor and they had my blood checked for a possible infection but there was no sign of infection so I was told that may be the colonoscopy made a scratch on my colon and the taking of the biopsies combined with this irritated and sensitive bowel should be the reason for the pain. I think that part of the reason for the additional irritation could be the gasses which I couldn't get out since the colonoscopy and stayed with me those days (luckily they are just gone now ;o) and I'm almost out of pain at the moment). Once again, thank you all!!I'll try the tips for my diet and the tea without much sugar.


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## 15778 (Oct 29, 2005)

I'm happy to hear everything checked out fine, that the terrible gas has passed, and most importantly that the pain has subsided significantly!There is a world of diet suggestions at the IBS section of the forums. See if any of it sounds like something you might try, and be sure to ask if you have any questions or would like specific suggestions. I'm sure you will find old posts from newly diagnosed individuals with similar questions that may already be answered, and even if you don't know what to ask right now, you may feel better to read through them. You certainly are not alone.There's no need to rush through it all, so have a leisurely pace while learning about IBS. Think of it as learning about yourself, and making small changes to improve how you feel. As you may already know, getting stressed out about IBS usually makes it worse, so try to keep a relaxing and ejoyable attitude towards this new adventure. Also check out the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy section if you feel daily stress is a major trigger of symptoms, but laugh it off if you find it to be too overwhelming, or too silly.


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## 23199 (Oct 29, 2005)

Thank you very much, Funny Gutz! Your supportive positive attitude and further advices on coping with IBS are very precious. I will try to take it easy and look at it as much as positive as I can. I know how important the psychological attitude is in coping with physical problems so I will try to find what best works for me in reducing the stress factor (the Cognitive Therapy seems to me as an option I could try). Thinking also of trying some of the diets (I am anyway most of the time not eating very well in the last 3 years, living with my belly discomfort). I suppose I will have lots of questions puzzling me the more I read about IBS so I guess I will post some more of them soon but first I plan to go on a holiday (should help for staying positive and relaxed so I hope my IBS will calm down a bit).Take care and good luck.


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## 17648 (Nov 2, 2005)

I just had a colonoscopy yesterday and they had to take a biopsy and I had a little bit of blood yesterday when I got home. I also have pain this morning. I still feel like I have a lot of air down there.....







I should be feeling better in a couple of days. I called the nurse this moring and asked about the blood and she said that its normal for a person to have blood after a biopsy was taken.


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