Chronic small bowel obstruction from adhesions
This is my 5th SBO with hospitalizan in 18 months, due to adhesions. No surgery yet, but am considering Small Passage treatment. Last 3 times happened in the last 4 months. This is getting old. Any idess?
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Yes, I’m having the surgery at Cleveland Clinic.
@dc10
I trust that all will go well for you. I had surgery there about 4 years ago. I live about 300 miles from Cleveland, but I feel it was worth the drive.
Would you be comfortable sharing the date of your surgery?
I’ve been dealing with adhesions my entire life and hospitalized to many times to count with obstructions and blockages. GI doctor does not want to go surgery and neither do I. But this last “episode” has been going on for months. I’ve been reading about Clear Passage and wondering if it would help. I don’t live near one so I want to make sure it’s a good place. I know there is no guarantees, but I can’t take much more of this. I can barely take my son to school. I feel awful for everyone who goes through this but it’s also nice to know I’m not alone and it not in my head(what lazy doctors like to say)
I’m sorry you had to have another surgery. I absolutely refuse unless it’s life or death, so I need a plan B.
In my case they were able to pinpoint on the CT scan where my obstructions are taking place. They say that there is a thickening in my small bowel but don’t know the cause. So, at this point, I feel comfortable having an amazing surgeon with tons of experience taking that part out. Then it will be analyzed and hopefully, I’ll know the cause.
Also, one of the other members on this site said that if it was helpful to message adhesions away then all the doctors would be doing it. I tend to agree
@bentley33 , you sound so much like me, except that my episodes are acute (short and very severe) as opposed to chronic. Either way, it sucks!
I've said this several times here, but I'll repeat it--think very carefully before you spend large sums of money on Clear Passage. I have seen ZERO credible evidence that it helps (if I thought it did I would do it in a heartbeat!).
Any "studies" I've found in medical "journals" have been co-authored by the owners of Clear Passage--not exactly objective! And I assume that real GI doctors would be recommending it (and insurance would probably cover it) if it really worked.
Perhaps I'm wrong, but the whole thing seems like a money-making venture that tries to prey on desperate people like us. And they've made sure that they pop up first on almost any kind of internet search regarding obstructions!
Joining this discussion on the late side. To all my fellow SBO sufferers, I send my best. I have chronicled my SBO attacks elsewhere on this blog - in this thread or another one (forget at this point!).. I have tried a couple of more "new age" type "cures" - like Clear Passage, but not exactly.. massage, Reiki, etc. .. and none has helped at all. Controlling my diet is the only thing I do right now to try to keep well...
@dc10
Massage does help, however, it does not "massage adhesions away" it just relaxes the muscles and helps the processing in the digestive tract. It is certainly worth a try (and no prescription is needed)!
Thank you for reading my post. They used to be short( 3-7 days) but this is not going away. I am skeptical about the Clear Passages. It’s very expensive and no guarantees. That’s why I joined this group. I’m desperately looking for relief but also don’t want to be taken advantage of. I don’t want a surgery and neither does my GI doctor. He is afraid it’s to high risk. It’s been months and I can’t keep living this way, it’s more like surviving the day. I’ve also looked into CBD oils. I just don’t know what to do at this point.
@bentley33 , I'm so sorry. I've said it many times before, but it's so frustrating that cures have been found for so many things but no one has a clue about sbo's. And it makes me really mad that anyone would try to take advantage of that with snake oil cures that cost a fortune.
May I ask what your specific symptoms are? As I said, I've only had (many) acute episodes, but I can't imagine how anyone could survive that for more than a day or two (especially if you have a child to care for).
The only thing I've come up with on my own (and does seem to help) is a pretty strict diet, which I've detailed elsewhere here. Once I figured out that it's really purely a mechanical issue (not like a food allergy or stomach virus), it helped a lot in deciding what, when, and how to eat.