Bowel obstructions caused by adhesions following abdominal surgery

Hello @marciakeren and welcome to Connect's discussion on adhesions and obstructions. I see that Members @thull and @nancybev have already responded to you with their thoughts. As you can tell, these two have unfortunately had a lot of experience with obstructions due to adhesions. You couldn't want for better thoughts than theirs.

It sounds like your previous surgeries have set you up for these adhesions and you are trying to deal with it as best you can. From my experience some of the best ideas have already been stated by @thull and @nancybev. I would just add bed rest when the pain starts and you begin to feel uncomfortable.

@nancybev's idea of doing mild stretching exercises after meals is also good. Many of us have also tried massaging the abdomen to get things moving along. It does seem to be a constant problem and one that is always on your mind. Like @nancybev said we all try to keep our meals as nutritious and as easy to digest as possible. When I feel an attack coming on, I resort to liquid nutrition drinks, juices (as clear as possible) and a lot of bed rest until the discomfort begins to subside (along with the abdominal massage and gentle stretching).

I also avoid binding clothes. Tight waist bands, belts, etc. Keeping clothing as loose as possible around the waist and abdomen are also helpful to me.

Feel free to ask any other questions. Will you post again and let us know how you are doing?

I really believe the massaging of my belly area during the small bowel obstruction helped. I would lay in bed and do gentle circular massage on the bloated area where the surgeon thought the blockage was. And some deep cleansing breaths

Just checking in to say that after four days I am feeling better, but I still feel that someone is squeezing my ribs.. this is how my attacks usually start - severe pain in my upper abdomen, just below the sternum and the sense that someone has their hands on my waist, just about lower rib level and is squeezing them. Right now i just feel a bit tight in the ribs. I have called a nutritionist, and my GP... I've been mostly eating soup and soft food.. Does anyone else experience the same onset pain?

@marciakeren
I'm glad to hear that you are feeling better now. Probably everyone's experience with pain depends on where the obstruction or adhesions are located, so there is no "one-size-fits all."

Have you tried the massage or stretching exercises yet? That might be helpful in addition to the diet.

Thank you for your answer. I do stretch and move around; I do massage when it starts to hurt... but not in any systematic way. I would love to find someone who could help me massage more effectively... As for diet, I would liike to find a nutritional beverage (like Ensure) - plant protein, no dairy etc... someone suggested Kate Farms Komplete, but I read the reviews on Amazon and the reports are that the ingredients have been changed and it is not as good as it was... other suggestions are Orgain and Owyn. I want to maintain my weight but make sure that I am getting enough nutrition. I really need a nutritionist who understands this condition, but have not had much luck in finding one... can anyone recommend a nutritionist? I don't think I have to see the person in "real life" - my husband (whose issues have nothing to do with any of this thread!) has a nutritionist he consults with via phone but she is not appropriate for me... Any ideas? Thanks in advance

When they had me on clears in the hospital and then at home while I was waiting for surgery, I drank Boost Breeze. They provided it in the hospital, but I had to order it from Amazon when I got home.
I like the peach and also the berry. I have not tried the orange.
250 calories, 9 grams of protein in 8 oz. This is what I lived on and I still drink them when I feel like I need more protein. All clear, no dairy. My nutritionist is at Mayo in Phx. The gastro dept set up my appointment. I saw her once and the rest has been over the phone.
Take care & I hope you get to feeling better!

I am currently in the hospital with my 6th SBO. The same protocol is followed each time. The surgeon thinks that I have scar tissue that stems from a laparoscopy I had back in 1980. So this was my only abdominal surgery before the obstructions began 3 years ago. I did have an exploratory surgery in August to determine the amount of scar tissue. I did not come away with much information, but have been warned that more surgery results in more scarring. I honestly don’t know what to do since the frequency of these obstructions is increasing. Are you talking about Clear Passage? If so, I’ve read about that also and definitely would consider that since my doctors don’t seem to have any suggestions other than to come into the hospital each time and go through the protocol. Such a painful thing! And I don’t know what to eat!

I too have tried to get help from a nutritionist. I asked my gastroenterologist for a name and made an appointment. Before the appointment, the nutritionist called and said she really couldn’t help me since I didn’t have a diagnosis, such as Inflammatory disease or celiac. I don’t understand why it’s so difficult to get help for this!

@dc10 , welcome. It's such a miserable thing to deal with, and very frustrating that doctors don't seem to have many answers.
On Clear Passage, my feeling is that you should be very careful before you lay out large amounts of money for their "treatments." I have not read a shred of evidence from the legitimate medical community that what they do really works. Look carefully at the list of "authors" on any of the Clear Passage "studies" in medical journals, and you'll see that they include the people who own the company--seems sketchy to me. I figure that, if the technique REALLY worked, it would be offered by legitimate gastroenterologists all over the world to offer some relief! Just my two cents...
But if you read through these threads you should find a lot of pointers on what diets and other tips people can recommend to at least make the issue more bearable.
Feel free to ask questions!

Makes sense. Thank you so much.