Partial Small Bowel Obstruction Pain: Do things get better?

I a so sorry to read of your Moms journey.. Grateful that you were there to help her. I am very outspoken as I had been dx with rare cancer 9 years ago when I felt great , then it all changed,, now it seems because of that and I am still alive I have to keep being my own DR, . you have to do the same. I take care of both of my parents as well. The truth is most medical these days truly sucks.. you are lucky to make it out alive unless you are lucky to be at one of the better clinics around the Country.. You don't have to be old , I wasn't that old I just had lousy Drs but thankfully a few good ones,, With your Mom,,, someone should have done a ct on her from day 1, all kinds of things can happen in the Colon . If she wasn't better in the first few weeks with diet and meds then a series of scans and scopes should have been done,,, No one will speak up for you,, I have learned I have to tell the DRs what I need and that doesn't always work,,,. hence my current situation did not turn out the way I expected,, but I am taking it in my hands to make sure everything is done. I hope your Mom is feeling better today ,, and I wish you both well,, stay on top of all Drs,,,, Use google!! I know I do.

Hi and thank you for sharing your story with me.. I am curious of course, what is the lysis procedure you had done? I have been googling everything possible to see what my options are. I did find another surgeon, who is a colon and rectal specialist at one of the other hospitals I hardly use. He saw my records and agreed to take me,, I can't get in to see him until the 29th but his MA has been very good . already set up a series of small bowel studies starting next week.. I am doing so so, not as bloated but My diet is so boring,.,,cottage cheese and banana, chicken breast grilled , no spices and steamed baby carrots every night,, and I can not help but eat fresh made sourdough bread every day,,, one of my customers loves to bake it, I will eat it,,, I diverted and had some tiny pasta with diced tomatoes for dinner one night, they were seasoned with garlic, rosemary , basil,, Off the list now, gave me horrible heartburn I rarely get , the next day was not pleasant,, I am pretty much low to no fiber and I don't know when can I have a salad again, or an apple peeled,,,., is that safe. Since my original cancer 9 years ago which was actually stage 4 lung cancer that mets to the colon... and terminal. between the extensive chemo and colectomies etc my entire system is messed up so I was taking the MiraLAX and dulcolax,, then the miralax I stopped for some reason but still need the dulcolax, nothing else will work. Hence I end up liquid,,, and unpredicatable... What was your initial problem that caused the scar tissue? Do you get regular scans and how is your pain levels now,, Thank you for sharing, 🙂

I am so sorry you are having to go through such a horrible time. I don't believe my situation is as bad as yours.

I developed all of the adhesions, scar tissue, as a result of a hemi-colectomy/appendectomy that was done 23 years ago. The adhesions have constricted my intestines and stomach and resulted in a partial blockage of the small intestines.

Lysis is a procedure (mine was done via laparoscopic surgery) by which the adhesive bands are cut through and removed with a laser or a scalpel. This frees up the intestines and hopefully allows for normal function. When I asked my surgeon how long it would be until we knew if the procedure was successful he said at least six months and that it might not be successful. It took a year before I noticed any sign of improvement but now I am experiencing much less pain
and my diet is a little more varied. Still almost no fiber.

I hope that this information is helpful and I wish only good things for you.

Someone on this thread mentioned abdominal massage and I have to say that I have also found abdominal massage to be very helpful in both relieving pain and promoting peristalsis. There are several videos on YouTube demonstrating the correct massage technique.

i pray that she is on the road to recovery. wish you all the best. d

Wow, that is scarey for sure. Unfortunately we only have one hospital in this city.

Well, you are all up my alley. My appendix burst on a cruise ship in 2015 so I had sepsis and 5 hours of surgery in the Azores. Not the best concept.
Since then I have had 4 more surgeries for incisional hernias and one for adhesions that caused obstructions. I have had 3 obstructions requiring the NG tube. The last one was in Sept. I live in Reno and surgeons here say they don’t have the expertise to care for my issues of a tortuous colon, mobile cecum and more adhesions.
Here is the issue. The more abdominal surgeries you have, the less chance you have of total recovery. I am always in pain. I was referred to the University of Utah Medical Center and the colorectal surgeon there is afraid he would do more harm than good if he performed surgery. So no more surgery unless it is emergent. I would then have to be flown to Utah.
For the past week, I have had a fever and the runs. Take ER docs say it is gastroenterisit. I am starting to wonder as I have had a fever for a week now. The CT scan shows “Increased colonic fluid, suggesting of gastroenteritis.” So the ER doc said it is gastroenteritis, not just a suggestion.
We need to stay vigilant as most doctors really don’t understand the abdomin.
Take care you all!

Wow so sorry for what you are going through,, I thought mine was bad but as I read yours I am getting a better understanding of just how bad these obstructions are and much more common.. My CTs for years since I had surgeries for the cancer in my colon, always show colonic fluid, distended colon blah blah and no one seems there was a problem but me, First I am told I have more malignant tumors, then they cant find it , then I have gastritis , take these pills, finally GI listens to me after I tell him I get full so fast eating a morsel of something I am stuffed things dont move fast through me , I am always bloated,, finally does a pancreas test, my pancreas isn;t working ,,,puts me on creaon , I just started that...,, then here I am finally comes to head the obstruction., so now I am waiting on seeing a new surgeon,. My surgeon of 9 years who did my original colectomies etc,,, and a hernia repair from one oversaw me in the hospital now doesnt want to deal with me,, so I am now thinking is he not qualified to or confident to treat,,,, Who is taking care of you and what are they doing,, I know how you feel and it is rotten, I read somewhere that Drs are starting to use a metal stent to open narrowed intestines which is what mine shows with strictures, ??? I am in my journey now to find a fix,, Id prefer to avoid and invasive surgery ,,,, I wish you well , I hate saying hang in there,, but do more research.,,don;t give up!!!! Best wishes!!!

The doctors are evasive because we can’t be fixed. From what I understand, we just have to live with it until there is an emergent situation.
Where do you live? If it is a smaller town like Reno, perhaps you should be seem by the Mayo or Cleveland Clinic. My insurance only will let me go to Utah so I did. The surgeon there said in an emergency, the6 could fly me in for surgery. I woke up this morning and still have a fever.

I don’t know if it’s safe for you to take Milk of Magnesia or not. I know it worked for me and my son. I hadn’t had a BM for 5-6 days before taking it.
It seems like more of the doctors want to write a script for everything instead of trying, old-fashioned remedies or something simpler first.

right. but you can't get them to give you something good for pain. they basically tell you to grin & bear it. or want you to do PT. first off i need something for the pain so i can do the PT. my doctor thinks PT is the cure ALL for everything. sheesh.