1. < Digestive Health

Small bowel obstruction has led me to fear of food

Posted by marciakeren @marciakeren, Feb 15, 2022

Hi all. I have not posted for a while; I thought I had my SBO under control, but after emergency surgery for a femoral hernia and an overnight in the hospital with an NG tube for another incident... (2021 was not a great year!) I find that I am almost totally on a low residue diet and watching every bite of food I take. As a result, I am frequently anxious about eating and find myself feeling constipated and bloated (and worried). Any advice on how I can eat better and feel less sluggish? Thanks in advance. This site is so helpful.

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Mentor
Jennifer, Volunteer Mentor | @jenniferhunter | Feb 15, 2022

@marciakeren I understand how your experiences could make you nervous about eating foods. I was wondering if there could be other contributing factors that could cause constipation like perhaps other prescription drugs or antibiotics? It may be worth talking to your pharmacist for information. Have you been on antibiotics that would be killing off your normal healthy gut bacteria? You can re-establish beneficial gut bacteria with supplements or foods like yogurt. These would be questions to ask your doctor as to what is right in your situation. Water consumption is also important because your body will reabsorb it from the colon if you are dehydrated. Your body needs water for kidney function in removing waste products from the blood stream. Ask your doctor how much you should be drinking on a daily basis, and remember caffeine is a diuretic and removes water from your body.

This is from Harvard about gut bacteria https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/microbiome/

Has your thyroid function been checked? A low functioning thyroid does cause constipation and I have experienced that myself. I had Hashimoto's thyroiditis which can cause hormone levels to fluctuate and eventually the thyroid will have low levels of its normal output. I do take a prescription of natural desiccated pig thyroid and if I do not get enough, I get constipated and tired. When my dose is right, all is well.

Here is a link.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hypothyroidism/symptoms-causes/syc-20350284
Has your doctor discussed any of these possible issues with you?

REPLY
1 reply
Mentor
Teresa, Volunteer Mentor | @hopeful33250 | Feb 16, 2022

Hello @marciakeren

I can empathize with you about fearing food. I have had three surgeries of the upper digestive tract and the first two surgeries involved a 6-day hospital stay for each surgery. During that time, I was dependent on an IV for hydration, I had an NG tube so I had nothing by mouth for 4 -to 5 days.

I also found it difficult getting back to eating because it was hard to know which foods would cause other digestive tract symptoms. What was helpful for me was getting a referral to a registered dietician at the hospital. Dieticians can be very helpful and supportive in working out a food plan to help in these types of situations.

Have you seen a dietician yet?

REPLY
1 reply
marciakeren | @marciakeren | Feb 16, 2022
In reply to @jenniferhunter "@marciakeren I understand how your experiences could make you nervous about eating foods. I was wondering..." + (show)
@jenniferhunter

@marciakeren I understand how your experiences could make you nervous about eating foods. I was wondering if there could be other contributing factors that could cause constipation like perhaps other prescription drugs or antibiotics? It may be worth talking to your pharmacist for information. Have you been on antibiotics that would be killing off your normal healthy gut bacteria? You can re-establish beneficial gut bacteria with supplements or foods like yogurt. These would be questions to ask your doctor as to what is right in your situation. Water consumption is also important because your body will reabsorb it from the colon if you are dehydrated. Your body needs water for kidney function in removing waste products from the blood stream. Ask your doctor how much you should be drinking on a daily basis, and remember caffeine is a diuretic and removes water from your body.

This is from Harvard about gut bacteria https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/microbiome/

Has your thyroid function been checked? A low functioning thyroid does cause constipation and I have experienced that myself. I had Hashimoto's thyroiditis which can cause hormone levels to fluctuate and eventually the thyroid will have low levels of its normal output. I do take a prescription of natural desiccated pig thyroid and if I do not get enough, I get constipated and tired. When my dose is right, all is well.

Here is a link.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hypothyroidism/symptoms-causes/syc-20350284
Has your doctor discussed any of these possible issues with you?

Jump to this post

Thank you for your advice. My thyroid is fine, I hope! ; dr checks it every year, so thank goodness that is not one of my problems. It is just the intermittent SBO caused by adhesions that is my issue. I find that I am hyper aware of everything I am thinking of eating now and scared of "the wrong thing." But I will ask the dr about potential thyroid issues.

REPLY
marciakeren | @marciakeren | Feb 16, 2022
In reply to @hopeful33250 "Hello @marciakeren I can empathize with you about fearing food. I have had three surgeries of..." + (show)
@hopeful33250

Hello @marciakeren

I can empathize with you about fearing food. I have had three surgeries of the upper digestive tract and the first two surgeries involved a 6-day hospital stay for each surgery. During that time, I was dependent on an IV for hydration, I had an NG tube so I had nothing by mouth for 4 -to 5 days.

I also found it difficult getting back to eating because it was hard to know which foods would cause other digestive tract symptoms. What was helpful for me was getting a referral to a registered dietician at the hospital. Dieticians can be very helpful and supportive in working out a food plan to help in these types of situations.

Have you seen a dietician yet?

Jump to this post

Thank you for the advice. Unfortunately I have not been able to find a dietician here who understands the issues.. still looking. And your encouragement is sending me back to the hunt!

REPLY
1 reply
Mentor
Teresa, Volunteer Mentor | @hopeful33250 | Feb 16, 2022
In reply to @marciakeren "Thank you for the advice. Unfortunately I have not been able to find a dietician here..." + (show)
@marciakeren

Thank you for the advice. Unfortunately I have not been able to find a dietician here who understands the issues.. still looking. And your encouragement is sending me back to the hunt!

Jump to this post

@marciakeren

Your GI specialist might be able to connect you with a dietician who can help you.

I would like to know how you are doing. Will you continue to post?

REPLY
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