Diverticulitis Support Group

I too had diverticulitis.......I've had 2 previous colonoscopies. The first about 6 years ago when they found a pocket and biopsied it......all ok! The second was a followup a couple years later. Then in 2007, at the end of April......April 28th to be exact.....(don't mean to be too graphic) I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. Thought I had diarrhea.......when I turned the light on......nothing but Bright Red Blood..and a toilet bowl full.....Massive GI Bleed. I woke my husband up, he freeked when he saw what was happening, asked me where It was coming from, I told him, he asked me where I was hurting. I said nowhere. I had "NO" pain with this. He rushed me to the hospital. Withing 3 hrs....I was in a room.....This was a Saturday....the Monday night they rushed me into surgery around 11 pm....I had already been given 8 units of blood, 1 more unit in surgery and 2 more after surgery along with 2 units of plasma.........total 11 units of blood. I stayed in the hospital 12 days........they removed "ALL" but about 5 inches of my colon. I'm grateful I didn't have a colostomy but this is definitely a LIFE changing surgery. If they would have waited one more day before doing surgery I would have died. I had as much blood inside me as what was coming out..... I used to tell my husband that I felt like I was laying down on a grapefruit or baseball, that's how big it felt inside me. It was a pocket that ruptured.......Dumb me, I ate popcorn that week and I think that's what started the whole thing. I haven't eaten popcorn since. Don't mean to scare anyone with this post but things have been getting better since surgery...........Thanks......Jenny
Posted on 10/30/09, 03:10 pm