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DiscussionTips for managing chronic Small Bowel Obstructions
Digestive Health | Last Active: Sep 27, 2021 | Replies (187)Comment receiving replies
Replies to "My husband has had a partial bowel obstruction. It has opened on it's own. Would like..."
Hi Trec55,
I'm so sorry to hear of your husband's problems with his bowels. I think Catherine's suggestions of mashed potatoes etc. are very good ones. They sound soft on the bowel and yet, nutritous. Your husband also might try mashed bananas for potassium. Yogurt also might be good. It is soft and has the calcium he needs. Providing that he likes those kinds of foods. Cream of wheat is also mild and nutritious. Gatorade will help with balancing his electrolites if he can tolerate it.
Good luck! I'll remember both of you in my prayers.
PML
Thanks for your suggestions. He's doing well. Also has appointment with gastro in April.
A blockage recently put me in the hospital for a few days. Fortunately, I didn't have to have surgery. My psyche is such that I am forgetting the pain and discomfort and eating with an eye on heart issues as opposed to bowel issues. I am forgoing red meat altogether. I am eating lots of good fresh food I prepare at home. Since my red blood cell counts have gotten a bit low, I am trying to eat lots of animal protein that is not beef. That is almost entirely fish and chicken. But I do worry a bit about whether this bowel obstruction will happen again. 30 years ago, I had a splenectomy and many think that the surgery for that is what has resulted in some scarring in my abdomen/intestines. Good luck everybody on your health journey.
I have periodic small bowel blockages due to a mesentery mass that cannot be removed or biopsied. In the CT study they can see "tethers" reaching from the mass to the small intestine. I imagine the result of this is similar to people who have adhesions. I eat throughout the day - always half portions or less. for breakfast I eat Dannon Light + Fit yogurt (with 12 grams of protein) followed by orange juice with Miralax. A little while later I may have a scrambled egg cooked in the microwave for 35 seconds along with 1 piece of toast. After that I might have some rice krispies and milk. I can have small amounts of fresh fruit such as strawberries, blueberries, mandarin oranges, and melons. (Nothing that needs peeling like an apple and no fruit with skins like cherries. Also fruit like prunes or dates have too much fiber for me.) I can always eat canned peaches or pears. For juice I like apple or V8 fusion (which has both vegetables and fruit). Sometimes I drink V-8 juice which is all vegetables. For lunch I can have quiche, tomato soup, 1/2 grilled cheese or ham and cheese, 1/2 chicken salad sandwich, or sometimes leftovers from previous day's supper. For dessert: pudding made with milk or frozen fruit bar. For supper main course I am able to eat small amounts of salmon or small amounts of any dish that has ground up beef such as meatloaf, lasagna, shepherd's pie (from Costco) or even 1/2 of a stuffed bell pepper. Chicken Alfredo (also from Costco) works as well (and I take care to thoroughly chew the chicken), I make several soups with soup mixes with fresh meat that is cut up small and cooked until it is very tender. Beef barley soup and chicken soup are my favorites. I can even have pizza so long as I only eat one slice. For dessert my husband loves vanilla ice cream, so we have that a lot. For snacks throughout the day I could have a banana or applesauce, a boiled egg, or multi-grain crackers with peanut butter, cheese or premade guacamole spread (from Costco). Every day at some point I drink an Ensure Max --because it has 30 grams of protein! I got a food processor last Christmas after my first bowel blockage in November. I don't use it much, but it may come in very handy in the future. I am lazy as far as cooking goes.! I like things that are simple and easy to prepare. I had to give up a few things that I used to enjoy such as popcorn (too much fiber) and all kinds of nuts (too much fiber). Also I stopped eating power bagels for breakfast because they contain things that are hard to digest. I still eat small amounts of salad occasionally, as that has not yet caused a bowel blockage for me, but would recommend that with caution because of the fiber content.
I am really fortunate not to have a problem either dairy or gluten. I realize that some of the above suggestions would not be suitable for people with dairy or gluten allergies. I am open to other people's suggestion for what to eat to avoid future bowel blockages. Feel free to share your ideas. Dottie K
I had 3 bowel obstructions requiring hospitalization from April to September. Have had several tests such as colonoscopy, CT Enterography, normal CT scans, and exploratory surgery after the 2nd obstruction. They (GI Specialists) cannot find out what the cause is. They wanted to have me swallow the camera pill but it was too big for me to swallow. They now have me on 2 new prescriptions. The second one makes me feel naucious several times a week. I lost 20 pounds since March but am now ok with my weight staying where it is. I was drinking Ensure pretty well every day until my weight stabilized. One thing I do not eat is popcorn and most nuts. Otherwise, the doctors said to eat whatever I want (as they don't know what is causing this). My dinner meals are definitely smaller. I find that any alcoholic drinks make me not feel well so have cut down a on those. My husband and I are avid travellers but since this started I have had to cancel 3 trips. The last visit to the GI specialist he told me they are "frustrated". Wish they could do more for me but even hard for me to get a follow up appointment as they are so busy.
My husband was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. He has now been doing a infusion every 8 weeks of Entyvio. Has not had any blockages for a year. Occasionally he will feel like it might be starting, at that time he will eat well cooked carrots for a couple of days. Then so far he's better.
Buy baby food meat, have mashed potatoes, and Birds Eye squash, Apple sauce, cream of rice, yogurt, mashed anything!! Those are what I used.