Bowel obstructions caused by adhesions following abdominal surgery

Posted by Sandi @idnas, Mar 20, 2015

I just joined this site and am looking to see if anyone talks about bowel obstructions caused by adhesions following abdominal surgery. I had successful sugery for colon cancer in 2008. About 6-months later I was hospitalized for 5 days with a bowel obstruction (that did resolve without further surgery). It took several months for my system to get back to "proper working order," but it did and for the past 5-years everything worked normally. Then, out of the blue, I had another bowel obstruction 2-months ago. I was hospitalized for 6-days, but again, no surgery. At this point I can only have bowel movements by taking Miralax and then I have diarrhea. I'm trying to eat a normal diet, just smaller amounts at a time and more frequently. I'm paranoid about another bowel obstruction, and also that my guy will not get back to normal. Has anyone had experience with this?

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Profile picture for elewis23 @elewis23

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?

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They cause partial blockage at this point. Small amounts of food cause bouts of saliva and dry heaving shortly after eating. Also bloating and very uncomfortable feeling. However because of pandemic, this is not environment to travel to hospital

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Profile picture for nova1976 @nova1976

They cause partial blockage at this point. Small amounts of food cause bouts of saliva and dry heaving shortly after eating. Also bloating and very uncomfortable feeling. However because of pandemic, this is not environment to travel to hospital

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From 1/24/2018 to 3/1/2019, I had 5 abdominal surgeries due to diverticulitis. After the 1st surgery, major bowel blockage due to adhesions. At that point, I had a temporary colostomy for 6 months. During the reversal surgery, another blockage due to adhesions. I swelled up so bad, I could feel my intestines bubbling in the small of my back. They opened me up again to try and get to the blockage but the surgeon said there were so many adhesions, it looked like glue had been poured over my intestines. I went home after 17 days in the hospital with a PICC line and on TPN because I could not eat anything. I did massage on my abdomen and it seemed to help. After about 3 weeks, everything cleared. At this point I was finally able to get an appointment at Mayo here in Phoenix. They kept me on low residue diet.In Nov 2018, the diverticulitis came back and I had to go to ER. They sent me home on antibiotics, but 2 weeks later same issues and they admitted me. Got to go home for Christmas on clear liquids only, 4th surgery 1/7/2019. Blockage was so bad they couldn’t even get the contrast to go through during the radiology test.
They tried to do laparoscopy, but adhesions were so bad they had to open me up again. They laised the adhesions for over 2 hours, nicked the small bowel, had to repair that and ended up doing Deloyers’s procedure on large intestine. So thankful I was at Mayo with a Colorectal surgeon. If I had been at the old hospital with a general surgeon, I probably would have ended up with a permanent colostomy.
5th surgery was to fix area where the colostomy had been because the 4th surgery caused the area to pull and buckle and become uncomfortable.
I still do massage on my abdomen every day and have not had any further blockage issues. Staying on low residue diet as well, since all the surgeries have now caused gastroparesis. I don’t eat anything that is hard to digest, and eat small amounts of food at a time. If I eat too much, I get really sick to my stomach and vomit.
I started doing the massage because I was doing research and was looking at the Clear Passages webpage.

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Profile picture for thull @thull

From 1/24/2018 to 3/1/2019, I had 5 abdominal surgeries due to diverticulitis. After the 1st surgery, major bowel blockage due to adhesions. At that point, I had a temporary colostomy for 6 months. During the reversal surgery, another blockage due to adhesions. I swelled up so bad, I could feel my intestines bubbling in the small of my back. They opened me up again to try and get to the blockage but the surgeon said there were so many adhesions, it looked like glue had been poured over my intestines. I went home after 17 days in the hospital with a PICC line and on TPN because I could not eat anything. I did massage on my abdomen and it seemed to help. After about 3 weeks, everything cleared. At this point I was finally able to get an appointment at Mayo here in Phoenix. They kept me on low residue diet.In Nov 2018, the diverticulitis came back and I had to go to ER. They sent me home on antibiotics, but 2 weeks later same issues and they admitted me. Got to go home for Christmas on clear liquids only, 4th surgery 1/7/2019. Blockage was so bad they couldn’t even get the contrast to go through during the radiology test.
They tried to do laparoscopy, but adhesions were so bad they had to open me up again. They laised the adhesions for over 2 hours, nicked the small bowel, had to repair that and ended up doing Deloyers’s procedure on large intestine. So thankful I was at Mayo with a Colorectal surgeon. If I had been at the old hospital with a general surgeon, I probably would have ended up with a permanent colostomy.
5th surgery was to fix area where the colostomy had been because the 4th surgery caused the area to pull and buckle and become uncomfortable.
I still do massage on my abdomen every day and have not had any further blockage issues. Staying on low residue diet as well, since all the surgeries have now caused gastroparesis. I don’t eat anything that is hard to digest, and eat small amounts of food at a time. If I eat too much, I get really sick to my stomach and vomit.
I started doing the massage because I was doing research and was looking at the Clear Passages webpage.

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How do you do the massage could you decribe it. I have had adhesion surgery but still have some blockage and constipation. I hope every thing works out for you.

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Profile picture for carlwgordon @carlwgordon

How do you do the massage could you decribe it. I have had adhesion surgery but still have some blockage and constipation. I hope every thing works out for you.

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I start at the top of my abdomen and make small circles and press down with the heels of my hands, working all the way down. Nothing too hard. It has really worked for me.

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Profile picture for thull @thull

I start at the top of my abdomen and make small circles and press down with the heels of my hands, working all the way down. Nothing too hard. It has really worked for me.

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Thanks for the replay so you dont have vonstipa or anymore blocksges

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Profile picture for carlwgordon @carlwgordon

Thanks for the replay so you dont have vonstipa or anymore blocksges

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Not having any problems currently, which I am so thankful for!

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Profile picture for thull @thull

Not having any problems currently, which I am so thankful for!

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Good for you wish all the best 5ake care

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Profile picture for carlwgordon @carlwgordon

Good for you wish all the best 5ake care

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Thank you and good luck to you as well!

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Profile picture for carlwgordon @carlwgordon

How do you do the massage could you decribe it. I have had adhesion surgery but still have some blockage and constipation. I hope every thing works out for you.

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Hello @carlwgordon

You asked about abdominal massage and that made me wonder if you have ever seen a pelvic floor therapist. These therapists are specially trained to help with elimination problems, either urinary or bowel-related. They can give you excellent suggestions for dealing with constipation with exercises, breathing techniques, and abdominal massage.

Might you consider asking for a referral to one of these therapists?

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Profile picture for thull @thull

From 1/24/2018 to 3/1/2019, I had 5 abdominal surgeries due to diverticulitis. After the 1st surgery, major bowel blockage due to adhesions. At that point, I had a temporary colostomy for 6 months. During the reversal surgery, another blockage due to adhesions. I swelled up so bad, I could feel my intestines bubbling in the small of my back. They opened me up again to try and get to the blockage but the surgeon said there were so many adhesions, it looked like glue had been poured over my intestines. I went home after 17 days in the hospital with a PICC line and on TPN because I could not eat anything. I did massage on my abdomen and it seemed to help. After about 3 weeks, everything cleared. At this point I was finally able to get an appointment at Mayo here in Phoenix. They kept me on low residue diet.In Nov 2018, the diverticulitis came back and I had to go to ER. They sent me home on antibiotics, but 2 weeks later same issues and they admitted me. Got to go home for Christmas on clear liquids only, 4th surgery 1/7/2019. Blockage was so bad they couldn’t even get the contrast to go through during the radiology test.
They tried to do laparoscopy, but adhesions were so bad they had to open me up again. They laised the adhesions for over 2 hours, nicked the small bowel, had to repair that and ended up doing Deloyers’s procedure on large intestine. So thankful I was at Mayo with a Colorectal surgeon. If I had been at the old hospital with a general surgeon, I probably would have ended up with a permanent colostomy.
5th surgery was to fix area where the colostomy had been because the 4th surgery caused the area to pull and buckle and become uncomfortable.
I still do massage on my abdomen every day and have not had any further blockage issues. Staying on low residue diet as well, since all the surgeries have now caused gastroparesis. I don’t eat anything that is hard to digest, and eat small amounts of food at a time. If I eat too much, I get really sick to my stomach and vomit.
I started doing the massage because I was doing research and was looking at the Clear Passages webpage.

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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.

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