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Small intestine resection

Posted by fergalicious @fergalicious, May 25 2:31pm

Had 9 inches of my small intestines removed back in January-pelvic mesh and intestines decided they wanted to intertwine with each other and caused a blockage. Not even 2 weeks later, I started to have spasms in that area-bad enough to double me over in pain. In March, I had more adhesions taken out because I still had bad spasms. Here it is at the end of May and the spasms are still around. More frequently now and extremely painful. I went to see a different surgeon and he is running a lot of tests on different body parts (liver, pancreas, gallbladder). I do have gallstones and I do not know if they moved around or not-waiting for that test to be done. I am wondering if anyone else has experienced these issues and if so, how long do these spasms last? I had to take a leave of absence from work as these spasms come out of the blue and the only thing that seems to help is to sit and rest.

Thanks!

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fergalicious | @fergalicious | May 28 12:27pm
In reply to @phyllisden "Fergalicious- I’m so sorry to hear what’s going on with you and I can certainly empathize....." + (show)
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Fergalicious- I’m so sorry to hear what’s going on with you and I can certainly empathize..
I had 10” of my small intestines removed in 2018 due to a blockage that turned out to be a carcinoid tumor. Then in 2019 they removed 11” of my colon/large intestine due to another tumor (21” total gone and no gallbladder to help). I’ve been through PRRT twice (Mayo in 2021 and UNM Cancer Center in 2025). And I’ve been on Octreotide injections since April 2018.
So the stomach spasms are pretty common with intestinal surgery. I have found that what I eat, how much I eat, and how quickly I eat has a definite impact. I also have Dicyclomine to take when they get bad. Your intestines are cramping so if you can use a heating pad or a hot bath, that might help. And when one does hit, only eat soft, small meals - nothing spicy, hard to digest, no caffeine nor alcohol. And nothing heavy (like no heavy sauces).
Unfortunately, these are part of this disease we’re dealing with but we can find ways to help. I hope you do.

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@phyllisden thank you!

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kg | @kgrear | 21 hours ago
In reply to @fergalicious "@kgrear thank you so much for the response. What a subject to talk about heh? I..." + (show)
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@kgrear thank you so much for the response. What a subject to talk about heh? I will try eating smaller meals but more often during the day. I take MiraLAX every other day to keep things moving-scary when they do a resection as you don’t want to take the chance of it ripping apart. These spasms do come out of nowhere-mine aren’t as bad as yours though. If I’m walking and I get a spasm, I just have to stop and wait for it to pass. Sitting is the only time it doesn’t hurt but I am so tired of sitting around and doing nothing.
Thanks again!

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@fergalicious
I hope your spasms will improve over time. I was having a smaller spasm in one section of my intestine. My Mayo Clinic doctor, Dr. Starr, said to make a mental note of it and to try to ignore it. He said that understandably, sometimes nerves get damaged during surgery. The good news is that this particular spasm went away. I hope yours might also lessen a lot over time. 😊

Our bodies go through so much with these surgeries and the cancer.

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. It is so helpful to share symptoms like this.

Take good care! 😊

Karen

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fergalicious | @fergalicious | 14 hours ago
In reply to @kgrear "@fergalicious I hope your spasms will improve over time. I was having a smaller spasm in..." + (show)
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@fergalicious
I hope your spasms will improve over time. I was having a smaller spasm in one section of my intestine. My Mayo Clinic doctor, Dr. Starr, said to make a mental note of it and to try to ignore it. He said that understandably, sometimes nerves get damaged during surgery. The good news is that this particular spasm went away. I hope yours might also lessen a lot over time. 😊

Our bodies go through so much with these surgeries and the cancer.

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. It is so helpful to share symptoms like this.

Take good care! 😊

Karen

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@kgrear thanks!

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