Has anyone been diagnosed with an Ileus?

@tjanet - hello, and I'm sorry to hear about the constant abdominal pain and nausea. That is a difficult way to live.

You mentioned you were diagnosed with ileus. So that you could chat with others talking about a similar subject, I moved your post here:

- Has anyone been diagnosed with an Ileus? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/has-anyone-been-diagnosed-with-an-ileus/

If you are replying by email, click on VIEW & REPLY so that you will be brought to the new discussion. I suggest reading through and jumping in where you feel comfortable.

If you'd like to check out this Mayo Clinic page on Intestinal obstruction https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/intestinal-obstruction/symptoms-causes/syc-20351460, you will note near the bottom of the page there is a subhead called Pseudo-obstruction. This should provide some information that will be useful for you.

Have you heard back from the doctor who sent you for the imaging tests about your new diagnosis of ileus and what the treatment plan will be like for you? If so, what did he or she say?

I have been having constant abdominal pain and constant nausea for a couple months. Doctors have done tests. Doctors now say it's ileus. My GI prescribed Xifaxan,he thinks it's caused by SIBO. Eating food doesn't change how I feel. Having bowel movements doesn't change how I feel. I have some swelling upper abdomen/lower chest area. No bloating, No gas,No indigestion.
Is taking Xifaxan the right way to treat ileus? I have short bowel syndrome. I only have 2ft of my small intestines left and I have all of my large intestines. Had a small bowel obstruction surgery in 2019.
I eat regular food (low fiber diet). I do LR IV fluids 5 times a week.

@tjanet: I've seen by your prior posts you've had this abdominal pain for quite some time; this must be distressing to deal with. It appears there is some discrepancy in diagnosis now with perhaps the majority of your doctors stating you have ileus - or a stopping or loss of muscle tone of or in the intestines - vs. SIBO - an overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestines. Each has specific diagnostic criteria; for instance, for SIBO it is generally breath tests or direct culture- not imaging such as endoscopy. SIBO may be treated with Xifaxan; however, ileus is usually treated with bowel rest, intestinal decompression or other medications.

Have you consulted with all of your medical providers to obtain a consensus on the underlying pathology to get a better understanding of what treatment would be best indicated for you at this time based on the results of your testing?

@grammato3
My GI doctor is the one that prescribed Xifaxan. My PCP doesn't want to help me with my GI issues, so I only have my GI doctor. I can't do the breath test for SIBO because of my Short Bowel Syndrome, so I don't know for sure if I have SIBO but the MR enterography, CT enterography and small bowel follow through showed ileus. My GI doctor didn't have me go NPO.

@tjanet: the small bowel syndrome does present more challenges for testing although it may not preclude these diagnostic procedures altogether.

If your PCP feels the GI issues are beyond their scope of practice and you’d like greater consensus on your understandable questions about the use of Xifaxin for the treatment of ileus, have you considered seeking a second opinion from another GI doctor? I wonder if that would be the most reasonable option considering your concerns.

I have been having constant abdominal pain and constant nausea for a couple months. Doctors have done tests. Doctors now say it's ileus. My GI prescribed Xifaxan,he thinks it's caused by SIBO. Eating food doesn't change how I feel. Having bowel movements doesn't change how I feel. I have some swelling upper abdomen/lower chest area. No bloating, No gas,No indigestion.
Is taking Xifaxan the right way to treat ileus? I have short bowel syndrome. I only have 2ft of my small intestines left and I have all of my large intestines. Had a small bowel obstruction surgery in 2019.
I eat regular food (low fiber diet). I do LR IV fluids 5 times a week.

@tjanet - hello, and I'm sorry to hear about the constant abdominal pain and nausea. That is a difficult way to live.

You mentioned you were diagnosed with ileus. So that you could chat with others talking about a similar subject, I moved your post here:

- Has anyone been diagnosed with an Ileus? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/has-anyone-been-diagnosed-with-an-ileus/

If you are replying by email, click on VIEW & REPLY so that you will be brought to the new discussion. I suggest reading through and jumping in where you feel comfortable.

If you'd like to check out this Mayo Clinic page on Intestinal obstruction https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/intestinal-obstruction/symptoms-causes/syc-20351460, you will note near the bottom of the page there is a subhead called Pseudo-obstruction. This should provide some information that will be useful for you.

Have you heard back from the doctor who sent you for the imaging tests about your new diagnosis of ileus and what the treatment plan will be like for you? If so, what did he or she say?

@lisalucier sometimes people get it soon after open abdominal surgery…best ways to avoid it—it can be nasty— is to be careful of narcotic use post-surgery and to walk and be upright as much as possible…. Worked well for me.