Diagram of Mystery Bump

and possible cut.

The red x is vague and now that I am looking at it probably on the wrong side of where the appendix is shown. I had my appendix out right before my son turned 1 and so that isn't there...unless the mystery bump is actually crohns inflamed appendectomy leftovers. (could be) Red line is also approximately where they will lop off intestine if they can't just lasso the mystery bump with the colonoscopy. I wish I knew where the doctor's funny little sketch was, I could scan that in.

And...just in case you weren't sure what the cecum did...

The cecum, the first part of the large intestine, is a sac with a closed end. It occupies the right iliac fossa, the hollow of the inner side of the ilium (the upper part of the hipbone). The cecum, also spelled caecum, is a pouch or large tubelike structure in the lower abdominal cavity that receives undigested food material from the small intestine and is considered the first region of the large intestine. It is separated from the ileum (the final portion of the small intestine) by the ileocecal valve (also called Bauhin's valve), which limits the rate of food passage into the cecum and may help prevent material from returning to the small intestine.

In humans, the cecum's main functions are to absorb fluids and salts that remain after completion of intestinal digestion and absorption and to mix its contents with a lubricating substance, mucus. The cecum's internal wall is composed of a thick mucous membrane through which water and salts are absorbed. Beneath this lining is a deep layer of muscle tissue that produces churning and kneading motions.

The structure and function of the cecum varies in other animals. Vertebrates such as rabbits and horses, which live on a diet composed only of plant life, have a larger cecum that is an important organ of absorption and contains bacteria that help digest cellulose. Animals that eat only meat have a reduced or absent cecum.

In Honor of Prep...Bathroom Quiz

What Your Bathroom Habits Say About You

You are a giving soul. Way too giving in fact. You often get stuck doing the dirty work that no one else will do. Your idea of fashion is jeans and a t-shirt. Clean, if you're lucky. You have the perfect blend of confidence and class. You're proud of who you are - but you don't broadcast it. In relationships, you tend to be very romantic and demanding. You'll treat your partner like gold, but you expect a lot in return.

What Do Your Bathroom Habits Say About You?

What the Doctor Doesn't Tell You

about getting ready for a colonoscopy. Ok, about getting ready for bowel prep. About 18 hours before prep is to begin...depending on your appointment time and doc's rules...they leave out an important pre-prep step.

The doctor or actually the "scheduler" at your g.i. doc will probably give you a long list of do and do n't do instructions when you get your marching (to the bathroom) orders. These involve things like drinking lots of water, not eating red foods and not taking aspirin in the days leading up to your prep. Check your own instructions for your particular doctor's rules.

What they don't tell you to do is this: clean your bathroom. This may seem counterproductive, after all, you may get it a bit messy during prep. (especially if you vomit, some people do) However, cleaning the bathroom, the night before prep, is a very, very important step. You will spend a lot of time in there. You will feel wretched. When you feel wretched, bathroom crud will annoy. Important details: sit on the toilet and look around. Anything you actually see from the toilet should be wiped down or washed. This includes the wall, light switch, toilet paper roller thing, grout lines, door, etc. Nothing like focussing on odd dirt specks while hoping your guts settle down a bit. You will not feel like wiping them while in prep. You should do this important step yourself, do not foist it on some unsuspecting family member, friend, or cleaning lady. You do not want to growl about their housecleaning during prep or during those nice hours after anesthesia when you are not permitted to sign important documents. It isn't nice.

You may also wish to stock magazines for the bathroom at this time. Food magazines are not a good idea. Vegetarian Times=BAD colonoscopy/bowel surgery prep reading. Books likewise=bad colonoscopy prep reading, particularly if they are of the literary type or the sort you have to follow. I have heard that the Uncle John's Readers are good for colonoscopy prep, but have not tried this method. There are also some intriguing toilet seat shaped books at Barnes and Noble that I look at every so often that might be suited for prep. Magazines really do seem to work well for me. Reader's Digest, Entertainment, other sorts of light, non-food reading.

The up side to all of this is: prep is the worst part. Cleaning the bathroom means you will have a clean bathroom and a productive way to spend your time the night before you start prep!

Look! The Future is Here

Look what I am doing tomorrow! Well, actually, the surgeon involved likes to start things off with a bang, so tonight (despite going to the bathroom 7 or 8 times today) I get to take two of the laxative tablets. Then tomorrow...more laxative tablets (generic Dulcolax) and the bottle of wal-phosphate (generic phospho-soda).

Then on Thursday, I get to bathe with special soap. (ok Dial, but they gave me my very own hotel sized bar this morning at pre-admission.) Then, go to the hospital by 8 am, where I will commence waiting for at least 2 hours. (Surgery isn't scheduled until 10). Then, colonoscopy, guided by laparascopy...culminating most likely in a bowel resection followed by a couple days in the hospital followed by two/two and a half weeks at home before returning to work if all goes well...which it may not because of course this is Crohn's and well, Crohn's and resections don't go smoothly a significant part of the time. (as he hastily reassures us that he hopes it will this time)

Sigh. I will be out of sick leave by Monday afternoon. Hopefully, the rest can be worked out with vacation time (not much more of that than sick leave) and a dispensation to work from home. (cross your fingers).

Meeting today with the surgeon was in his office...not in an exam room. That was made up for by a four room extravaganza in admitting at the hospital, complete with bright red hospital bracelet I was worried I would have to wear until surgery. (I don't, they made a second one) The blood draw was the easiest in YEARS. I asked her if she could do the i.v. on Thu. LOL.

Worst part will be missing open house. I never miss school stuff, ever.

Guts in an Uproar

LOL, great phrase isn't it?

Update: mystery bump surgery scheduled (don't even get me started about how we learned this! ARG!) for 9/7. Pre-op 9/5.

Current tummy status: bleah! Mucus! Blood! Bathroom trips! Woo-hoo. Not too unmanageable but gross.

Ultrasound Today

And it is a ....................does anyone know? I know.