Bowel obstructions caused by adhesions following abdominal surgery

I had pelvic surgery roughly 10yrs ago, in August 2019 I had my first bowel obstruction caused from adhesions. I’m May of 2020 I had my second bowel obstruction due to adhesions, this surgery was much worse. My surgeon tried laparoscopy but had to stop and do a mid line incision because of how dense the adhesions were. She accidentally nicked my intestines which caused a infection, long story short I spent two months in the hospital. Fast forward to January 2021 I had appendicitis and once again another surgeon knowing I had adhesions tried avoiding the area we thought was the worst. But he made several small incisions and nicked my intestines. I ended up with abcsesses and spent almost a month in the hospital very sick.
My question is are their other people going through similar problems? Did anyone ever warn you about the possibility of adhesions when you had your first surgery? Does anyone know about anything that will help stop the recurring bowel obstructions caused by adhesions?

Hi, I’m so sorry for your struggles right now. I know you’re in pain and scared. I’m so sorry.

I have had two bowel obstructions, last year in 2022 and the year before that. My first surgery was when I was minutes old and I’ve had about 9 or 10 bowel or pelvic obstructions, with my most recent surgery a hysterectomy in 2022 (with HOURS of adhesion removal) and an obstruction a few months after that. I’m just now starting a treatment plan with my doctors, I have multiple specialists since this is taking over my life. I also have scar tissue that was very severe on my ureters (he removed what he could) , which is called “retroperitoneal fibrosis” and can cause urine to back up and cause kidney damage and kidney failure. I’m waiting for my labs to see what’s going on, kidney wise.

I deal with severe abdominal pain at times, I’m sure you can relate. I’m working part time now from full time and the pain can be awful and so hard to deal with.

I just started acupuncture which apparently is supposed to help, although I’m not sure if it’s helpful in the “severe” adhesions case. I also just got a script for an “Alpha-Stim” which is electrical and supposed to help with pain, anxiety, depression and insomnia. We will see if it helps at all. I’m hoping it does. I also use medical marijuana and CBD, both flower and edibles. For me, it’s a lifesaver.

I’ll be praying for you. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you, I’m so sorry that you’re dealing with these bowel obstructions.

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?

Hi, I am new to this group and am finding it very helpful. I am a seventy-eight year old maleI had a hemi-colectomy/appendectomy twenty one years ago and had my first partial SBO six months ago. It was cleared in the hospital without surgery but I have continued to have abdominal and back pain. I recently went to a colorectal surgeon and had laparoscopic surgery. He said I have a lot of adhesions. My stomach and part of my transverse colon were adhered to the abdominal wall. He freed these and some other areas with lysis. I am still having pain, both from the surgery and the adhesions, but can tolerate a low fiber diet most of the time. When I have a flare-up I drop back to a liquid diet until it passes. My doctor says we won't know if the surgery was successful for six months or so.

Every doctor that I have seen says that I should be able to tolerate a regular diet but I find that to be untrue.

My question is does anyone take Miralax ? I have been taking Miralax daily to keep things moving and find that it works pretty well but I'm having trouble determining when and how much to take.

I would very much appreciate any advice I can get.

docm

Hi! I’m so sorry that you’re having SBO and pain. I have had 10 abdominal and pelvic surgeries and I’ve had two small bowel obstructions and two small bowel resections. I’ve had multiple surgeries for Lysis of adhesions and the adhesions seem to reform worse than before. I’m prescribed Lubiprostone and I use Miralax too.

Hi llcc8800. I have lost twenty pounds since I started this process and I'm having to deal with periodic diarrhea and inability to eat a normal diet. Everything has to be liquid or pureed. How do you handled these things? My doctors are very little help in these matters. Thank you for your advice. I hope that you're doing OK!

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?

Can I ask how you learned to do the massage for abdominal adhesions on the Clear Passages webpage ? I can't find it anywhere and am desperate for some relief. I've had two bowel resections due to Crohn's disease, and have lots of scar tissue which is causing more and more problems which are getting worse by the day. SIBO symptoms, chronic constipation, etc. I thought about contacting Clear Passages but I'm going to assume the cost is astronomical.

Hi, I am new to this group and am finding it very helpful. I am a seventy-eight year old maleI had a hemi-colectomy/appendectomy twenty one years ago and had my first partial SBO six months ago. It was cleared in the hospital without surgery but I have continued to have abdominal and back pain. I recently went to a colorectal surgeon and had laparoscopic surgery. He said I have a lot of adhesions. My stomach and part of my transverse colon were adhered to the abdominal wall. He freed these and some other areas with lysis. I am still having pain, both from the surgery and the adhesions, but can tolerate a low fiber diet most of the time. When I have a flare-up I drop back to a liquid diet until it passes. My doctor says we won't know if the surgery was successful for six months or so.

Every doctor that I have seen says that I should be able to tolerate a regular diet but I find that to be untrue.

My question is does anyone take Miralax ? I have been taking Miralax daily to keep things moving and find that it works pretty well but I'm having trouble determining when and how much to take.

I would very much appreciate any advice I can get.

docm

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?