Paige and the Small Intestine

Greetings Above Top Secret,

I would just liike to say that my sister just had surgery on her small intestines, and the pictures are amazing. I have to write about it because these doctors put a 17 foot long camera into my sister's body. The definition behind these images are astonishing, definitley high def to the ninth degree. Take a look at this diagram of an intestinal procedure:

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/c2f44c5b7189.jpg[/atsimg]

My reaction is wow, why not? It only makes sense that we make these crazy experiments. I would also like to let it be known that my sister is completely fine-maybe a little daxed, but other then that among the living. She was under for about 4 hours, they found two pockets in her small intestine-some pockets are so large that they can sometimes consume a peanut or other debris and become seriously inflammated. Her diagnosis illustrated that the two pockets found in her intestine were miniscule and therefore not the reason for her constipation. If that was not the reason for her pain, what was really going on? It was concluded by the Doctors that because no irregular growths were found blocking her entire digestive tract, that she must be suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a,

"Disorder characterized most commonly by cramping, abdominal pain, bloating, constipation, and diarrhea. IBS causes a great deal of discomfort and distress, but it does not permanently harm the intestines and does not lead to a serious disease, such as cancer. Most people can control their symptoms with diet, stress management, and prescribed medications. For some people, however, IBS can be disabling. They may be unable to work, attend social events, or even travel short distances" (digestive.niddk.nih.gov...).

And as you can see, it likely affects someone you know:

"As many as 20 percent of the adult population, or one in five Americans, have symptoms of IBS, making it one of the most common disorders diagnosed by doctors. It occurs more often in women than in men, and it begins before the age of 35 in about 50 percent of people" (same link).

As you can see from the statistic, it hits close to home very easily. The most disabling effect of this syndrome on her is the constipation and lack of appetite she experiences. She is a world class waterpolo player and from what the doctors said quite healthy for the most part. It remains unfortunate that she will have to suffer this syndrome for the rest of her life, it has no cure,

"No cure has been found for IBS, but many options are available to treat the symptoms" (same source).

She will now live on a diet high in fiber that will likely be administered through cold or hot teas.
Luckily for the future they are working on more advanced treatments,

"The NIDDK conducts and supports research into many kinds of digestive disorders including IBS. Researchers are studying gastrointestinal motility and sensitivity to find possible treatments for IBS. These studies include the structure and contraction of gastrointestinal muscles, as well as the mechanics of fluid movement through the intestines. Understanding the influence of the nerves, hormones, and inflammation in IBS may lead to new treatments to better control the symptoms" (same source).

I have full faith in the people that did the succesful surgery on my sister today, with these type of people in the professional industry there is no telling what we will discover about health in the future.

God Speed, and Good Night

SVE








[edit on 24-7-2009 by thedude69]