Recurrent small bowel obstructions without prior surgery

Hi, @sarah303 - welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. Having more episodes with the small bowel obstruction (SBO) and soreness afterwards sound rough.

I'm tagging a few members on Connect who might know about small bowel obstruction without prior surgery @jlharsh @janetwass @mbs555 @shaleenv @catherine1290 @striplingmom @redreb. Hoping these members can let you know if they had SBO without prior surgery and whether they had adhesions or some other cause of SBO. They can also share about what to expect in your upcoming GI appointments and what testing you might undergo.

In the meantime, here is some Mayo Clinic information on bowel obstruction that may be useful:

- Intestinal obstruction
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/intestinal-obstruction/symptoms-causes/syc-20351460
How has your appetite been lately, sarah303? Have you had abdominal pain?

I had a partial SBO in December that put me in the hospital for a couple days. I had major fear of food for awhile after that. They think mine are due to adhesions from prior surgery though. I have a CT scan with Dye at the end of this month with mayo, which is supposed to show if it's from adhesions or something else. I have met with the GI doc at Mayo and that is who is sending me for the scan. I have also met with the nutritionist to learn what foods to avoid etc. I have not had one since, Thank God, but I am very careful about what I eat. Also if I start feeling like I am going to have another one I stop eating and do clear liquids for a day. I also take a teaspoon of olive oil daily which has helped me stay regular. I was having to use miralax and was still struggling. I told my nutritionist about the olive oil and she said she has heard others say the same thing and if it works for me then it is ok. I also found some research on it and they did some tests and learned that it does help with SBO.
I have not had any kind of endoscopy or colonoscopy and that has not been brought up yet. But I am still sort of new to this myself. I'm so sorry you have had to join this club and I hope you find answers. I can say joining mayo and these conversations helped reduce my anxiety about it all.
Ps it took a couple weeks for my soreness to go away completely after the blockage

I had an SBO last November and was in the hospital for a while. It was caused by adhesions due to a previous cancer operation. It was not fun at all... however, similar to the previous message above, I am very careful about what I eat. Nothing raw including fruit and vegetables, no nuts or seeds and only smooth food that can go down easily. There is quite a lot on line about what not to eat with an SBO. And I am also very mindful of constipation (Miralex, Senna and Metamucil!). Having said all that, there is life after an SBO. One does recover. If you keep an eye on constipation and eat carefully I am told it will probably not come back (emphasis on the probably!). Unfortunately there is no sure way of prevention as I understand it. And the only symptom that happened to me was vomiting.. then I knew there was a problem. I followed up with a gastroenterologist who was very helpful and fairly reassuring. I do hope this helps.

@sarah303
What symptoms do you have that lead you to believe you have an obstruction in your small intestines? Have you had a prior diagnosis for this? How have you been treated and what have you already tried to relieve symptoms? Have you had an endoscopy already or abdominal ultrasound? Have you had bloodwork to check for anything off/abnormal?

1. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/bowel-obstruction

My symptoms have been severe upper abdominal pain with nausea/vomiting. I have been hospitalized twice with SBO being diagnosed after CT scan. In the hospital treatment included IV fluids and IV pain/nausea meds and bowel rest. The second visit included the dreaded NG tube as symptoms wouldn’t subside without. Bloodwork including CBC and comprehensive metabolic panel were done during each hospital visit. No mention of anything being off. I’ve had several other episodes that I just suffer through at home knowing it must be SBO because of exact same symptoms. No lifestyle changes or management between episodes as I’ve not been instructed to make any changes. I have not had an endoscopy but I am wondering if it will be needed to help get answers. I’m hoping to hear from others on this forum what type of testing was done to find the reason for SBO.

@sarah303
When you meet with the gastroenterologist, ask them to check your gallbladder function with a HYDA scan.

When my gastroenterologist did bloodwork, abdominal ultrasound and endoscopy, all that was found was esophagitis and gastritis erosions. I was prescribed Omeprazole. This didn’t explain the pain I was having on my right side of my abdomen near my liver.

After having a HYDA scan, it was determined that my gallbladder function was only ejecting 7% bile when it should be a minimum of 35%-40%. They suggested removing my gallbladder. I haven’t had this done yet due to having many other surgeries over a short timeframe (have been prioritizing spine/spinal cord issues). In the meantime, I reduced fat in my meals and eat small meals more frequently which has helped reduce the abdominal pain.

Thank you for the welcome and tagging others who may be able to share their similar experience. Appetite and pain are fine on a usual daily basis. During an episode abdominal pain is severe and no appetite. Soreness and decreased appetite is experienced for a day or so after.

Thank you for your reply. Sorry that you’ve been through this as well and with even longer duration of abdominal soreness after.

Thank you for your reply and sorry to hear about your long hospital stay. I have no concerns with constipation and have not changed my diet. Unfortunately for me SBO has come back as I’ve had several episodes. Perhaps the GI doctor will recommend a change in diet. We will see. I am just anxious to find out why these recurring SBO episodes are happening.

I do hope you have some success in finding out why this is happening, I am sure your GI doctor will be able to help. Keep us posted!