Problems months after colon resection surgery: What Helps?

Hello,

I had a colon resection surgery for diverticulitis in August of 2020 and I am experiencing some pretty severe abdominal pain and digestive issues.

I was completely fine until about 6 months later. I woke up one morning with really bad abdominal pain and decided to get a colonoscopy, endoscopy, ct scan, the whole works.

One day, the pain went away and everything went back to normal. Fast forward 6 months and the pain came back in full force - I have tried several diets, been diagnosed with SIBO, Candida, Dysbiosis, Leaky Gut and even mold poisoning but my main problem is so much abdominal pain, especially in the colon with highly altered bowel movements (constipation, watery stools, hard lumpy stools).

I have also had a HIDA scan, CT scan for bowel obstruction, CT scan for adhesions which all came back normal.

However, when this problem started, I noticed these little 'knots' all over my gut which were very painful to the touch and I went to a place called Clear Passage twice and did intensive manual therapy for these adhesions and now they are gone but a big part of me wonders if there is some sort of adhesions or stricture that hasn't been detected by CT scan.

Just recently, I have been getting colon "attacks" where it feels like a knife or a gun shot wound to my sigmoid colon that lasts anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.

I've tried a wide array of different diets including fasting and intermittent fasting, supplements, natural and prescription prokinetics.

Now my doctor is trying to convince me to get a permanent nerve block but that seems absolutely insane to me with everything that is transpiring and this gradual worsening of symptoms.

Sorry for the long post but I am very very desperate at this point and looking for any possible answers I can find as I am in pain almost 24/7

Hello,

I had a colon resection surgery for diverticulitis in August of 2020 and I am experiencing some pretty severe abdominal pain and digestive issues.

I was completely fine until about 6 months later. I woke up one morning with really bad abdominal pain and decided to get a colonoscopy, endoscopy, ct scan, the whole works.

One day, the pain went away and everything went back to normal. Fast forward 6 months and the pain came back in full force - I have tried several diets, been diagnosed with SIBO, Candida, Dysbiosis, Leaky Gut and even mold poisoning but my main problem is so much abdominal pain, especially in the colon with highly altered bowel movements (constipation, watery stools, hard lumpy stools).

I have also had a HIDA scan, CT scan for bowel obstruction, CT scan for adhesions which all came back normal.

However, when this problem started, I noticed these little 'knots' all over my gut which were very painful to the touch and I went to a place called Clear Passage twice and did intensive manual therapy for these adhesions and now they are gone but a big part of me wonders if there is some sort of adhesions or stricture that hasn't been detected by CT scan.

Just recently, I have been getting colon "attacks" where it feels like a knife or a gun shot wound to my sigmoid colon that lasts anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.

I've tried a wide array of different diets including fasting and intermittent fasting, supplements, natural and prescription prokinetics.

Now my doctor is trying to convince me to get a permanent nerve block but that seems absolutely insane to me with everything that is transpiring and this gradual worsening of symptoms.

Sorry for the long post but I am very very desperate at this point and looking for any possible answers I can find as I am in pain almost 24/7

Welcome, John. This must be so frustrating to have this recurring pain 5 times in the past year, more than 3 years after surgery and that an x-ray showed nothing obstructive. Have you been able to recall any food you ate or activity you did the day before the painful episode in the night? Is there a common thread?

Hi All, 45 year old male. Had part of my cecum removed on Nov. 27 because of complex polyp found during routine colonoscopy. Everything was going great. At the two week mark I was opening up what I was eating. Really was surprised how well I was healing. At the one month mark the only issue was sore abs, like I had done a bunch of sit ups. At week 6 I started doing my exercise bike and figured I was almost 100% although I still had the sore abs. Then at week 7, I came down with a really bad stomach ache. It has been with me for about 5 days now. I've barely eaten the past 5 days. I got in to see my surgeon and he says everything looks good. In addition to the stomach ache, I get pains in my sides and then yesterday I started having a really bad lower back ache.

Reading through the messages it sounds like some of this is normal? Not sure why I was doing so well and then it took a 180 on me. I'm curious for some of you that have posted about the stomach aches if they finally subsided? Thanks! Glad I found this site.

Hi All, 45 year old male. Had part of my cecum removed on Nov. 27 because of complex polyp found during routine colonoscopy. Everything was going great. At the two week mark I was opening up what I was eating. Really was surprised how well I was healing. At the one month mark the only issue was sore abs, like I had done a bunch of sit ups. At week 6 I started doing my exercise bike and figured I was almost 100% although I still had the sore abs. Then at week 7, I came down with a really bad stomach ache. It has been with me for about 5 days now. I've barely eaten the past 5 days. I got in to see my surgeon and he says everything looks good. In addition to the stomach ache, I get pains in my sides and then yesterday I started having a really bad lower back ache.

Reading through the messages it sounds like some of this is normal? Not sure why I was doing so well and then it took a 180 on me. I'm curious for some of you that have posted about the stomach aches if they finally subsided? Thanks! Glad I found this site.

Welcome, John. This must be so frustrating to have this recurring pain 5 times in the past year, more than 3 years after surgery and that an x-ray showed nothing obstructive. Have you been able to recall any food you ate or activity you did the day before the painful episode in the night? Is there a common thread?

I take metamucil every morning mixed with cranberry juice and then a hot cup of coffee....No constipation. This is a long term solution, not a once n done fix. Hope this helps you.

Hi Shelfitz, welcome. How upsetting that your wife continues to have painful symptoms nine months after surgery, like rectal pressure and lower abdominal burning. You'll notice that I've moved your post to this discussion about post-surgical issues. I did this to connect you with other members like @joyce1 @robinmacdonald @louiel @dcoakley @doodily10 @phil123 @glacier @tbillz119 @mdavids @lorijbq who have had the same surgery. Through their experiences, I'm hoping that they can provide tips and ideas about your wife's discomfort and what course of action you might be able to pursue to get answers from her medical team.

Shelfitz, while you continue to look for the underlying cause, what do you find helps her sit comfortably? Have you tried an inflatable ring, like a pool ring? What has the medical team offered for her pain? Have you considered seeking a second opinion?