small bowel obstruction

[Little t]

Hello everyone,

It's me again. My husband went for x rays on Friday. This is after his colostomy surgery 2-19 he was having diarrhea and some pain no gas or solids coming though. The Dr. called and he has a small bowel obstruction. He is on all liquid diet this weekend and then we will call the office on Monday. What is the treatment for this? Is it always surgery? I hope not he is so week I don't think he could handle another surgery. He was so sick prior to the colostomy surgery. He had been in bed and only eating jello and pudding since Dec. Please tell me your experience's with this.

Thanks
Toni

[justsing]

I had an obstruction in the small bowel which was very early in the gut and they were able to resolve it by placing a stent endoscopically (they ended up needing a colonoscope to reach it, but it was still done by going down my throat) So I didn't need slice and dice surgery. BUT, my surgeon was ready in the wings if the endoscopic procedure hadn't worked.

Again mine was high, and my surgeon was planning to do it laprascopically and take the gut from just downstream of the obstruction and attach it directly to my stomach. I think if it's further into the gut, then they just resect it which can be done laprascopically, or open depending on what the surgeon anticipates, or finds when they get in there.

But ask about stenting. It has worked miraculously well for me so far. My obstruction was due to enlarged lymph nodes compressing the gut, so the bowel itself was completely normal. If there had been a tumor in the gut, I doubt a stent would have been one of my options, but I don't know that for sure.

Hope this helps!

[Little t]

Thank you Justsing,

That does help. At least it will give my husband hope for the weekend. I don't know the details of his blockage yet but I hope a stint can be done.

Toni

[bdurant]

Toni,
I continue to pray for your husband and for you.

[karin]

Toni, I'm so sorry about this new complication! He most be so uncomfortable.
we'll all be sending warmest wishes and positive thoughts your way for success on Monday.
Luv and Hugs,
Karin

[girlnextdoor]

Toni,

My husband's resolved by itself after day 3 in the hospital. Surgeon was going to go in the next day if it hadn't.

There is hope!

Lisa

[Little t]

Hello.

Thank you all so much. Lisa, what was the cause and location (if you know) of your husband blockage? Just wondering how it was able to resolve itself.

Thanks
Toni

[Marbry]

If your husband can keep liquids down and isn't in a lot of pain, it sounds like he's got a partial sbo. I've had a number of them and all have eventually resolved without surgery. Some resolve completely on their own with a clear liquid diet. He might need "bowel rest" for a couple of days, which means being in the hospital with an IV and nothing by mouth. He might even need a nasogastric tube. Once back to eating, he may have to be very careful about food and eat a low fiber diet or even change back to liquids for a few meals if he has no appetite or is queasy.

[BobH]

My experience is as Marbry describes. 3 wks after resection surgery, within 24 hrs I came down with nausea and vomiting, couldn't keep anything down. Off to the ER! Small bowel obstruction, got an NG tube, pumped the stomach for 3 days then I felt the obstruction gurgle by. Back to "normal", anyway was able to go again and eat. My surgeon said that the raw edges from the surgical incision caused an adhesion to the small intestine, developing a kink. Just have to be careful, he said. My primary care physician encouraged me to massage the tummy, that's what they do with infants - it will help the intestines as they rearrange themselves after the fiddling that has happened down there. I haven't had any problems since, but am cautious about any discomfort down there.
Bob

[Ivona]

What causes the small bowel to obstruct??

[BobH]

What causes small bowel obstruction? My surgeon says it's not too uncommon, a friend of mine had the same thing in January after she had surgery and a resection of her large intestine, from spreading ovarian cancer. The edges of the surgical cut are raw flesh, and the small intestine can stick to it. That can move the small intestine around as you move, probably the intestine does move around a bunch as it constricts to move material through it. The adhesion restricts this movement, sometimes causing it to 'kink' like a hose. Voila! Obstruction. Then everything backs up in your small intestine, eventually your stomach sphincter sees that there's no room, so it shuts down and you can't keep any stomach food down.

If you try to fix it by opening the incision back up, well, you've just made new raw surfaces for more adhesions! So sometimes it's just better to live with it. Sometimes surgery is really needed, like my friend had. Mine resolved sort-of, by unplugging the blockage.

[Cashmere2008]

Hi,

Sorry to hear your husband is going through this. I will share my experience. I have had several obstructions. My husband is a nurse so he had the following suggestions: If you have a bathtub, fill it with as hot a water as your husband can tolerate, make sure his entire abdominal area is under water, do not leave his side while in there. Have him relax in the tub as long as he can, 15-20 minutes, this relaxes the muscles, dry him off, get him in bed and then manipulate the abdominal area with as much pressure as he can tolerate. It will be very painful but this should work. He should throw up and then have the runs. I can usually resolve a blockage within a few hours now. If he has to go into the hospital, an NG tube should resolve the blockage, what that does is relieve the pressure at the point of the blockage so it can move through.

My last one was in January and I have since purchased a fruit/veggie juicer so I can get enough fruits and vegetables without chewing them. It is the non-digestible foods that will cause blockages. He also has to chew food until it's like liquid.

I hope this helps, take care, Pearl

[Ivona]

Thanks for the explanation Bob. So I guess this is common for folks who've had surgery in the upper colon?