Bowel obstruction and recovery
I had posted a bit about this earlier, but I'll go into more detail here. I was out doing yardwork on March 12th and at about 4 in the afternoon, I got what felt like horrible gas pains. So I went and laid down on the couch and it just kept getting worse. Then later that evening I started vomiting. It was so bad that I almost drove myself to the ER at 3 in the morning, but my fricking car had a flat (go figure). So my hubby stayed home with the kids and I had a girlfriend take me the next morning.
When I got to the ER, I asked if they thought I might have a bowel obstruction. (Hey, I did my research...) "Oh no, I'm sure that's not it," is what the ER doc told me. So I had an ultrasound and he told me he thought I had a burst ovarian cyst. They morphined me up and sent me home with pain meds.
Well, when I got home I started vomiting every 20 minutes, and it was black. I mean, the toilet looked like a cup of coffee (TMI, I'm sorry.) I called the on-call Dr. and she said to wait until morning, because the flu is going around. By this point, I'm questioning the local healthcare professionals. Anyway, I waited until morning and had hubby take me back to the ER.
Finally, I insisted on being admitted and my personal Dr. came in while I happened to be throwing up. He saw what it looked like and immediately said, "Oh, I think you have a bowel obstruction." Duh. They took me down for a CT scan, and the lady who did the scan was the same one who did the ultrasound the day before. She said, "I wrote in your report that your bowels looked full of fluid yesterday." Evidently, they didnt bother reading the report. Sooooo....
they ambulanced me to Omaha, where Dr. Anthone is and everything went much better from there.
I had surgery on Tuesday March 15th for a major bowel obstruction. My intestines were all kinked up and had lesions from surgery that were like rubber bands not allowing anything out. So everything was backing up the other way. The pain of the obstruction was unbelievable. Worse than labor pain!
So I ended up in the hospital for another week, but am in quite a bit of pain still in my incision area. This leads me up to now... I have been having quite a bit of uneasy/upset stomach lately. Up to now, I have never had a bowel movement later than 9 in the morning, but was VERY regular after surgery. Now, I am having upset stomach and needing to go more often. They recommended going back to general diet, but I'm wondering if I should go back to the same light diet I did right after the original DS? Anyone who has had a bowel obstruction, I would love to hear your experience of recovery, and if you have ever had problems with it since. Thanks!
When I got to the ER, I asked if they thought I might have a bowel obstruction. (Hey, I did my research...) "Oh no, I'm sure that's not it," is what the ER doc told me. So I had an ultrasound and he told me he thought I had a burst ovarian cyst. They morphined me up and sent me home with pain meds.
Well, when I got home I started vomiting every 20 minutes, and it was black. I mean, the toilet looked like a cup of coffee (TMI, I'm sorry.) I called the on-call Dr. and she said to wait until morning, because the flu is going around. By this point, I'm questioning the local healthcare professionals. Anyway, I waited until morning and had hubby take me back to the ER.
Finally, I insisted on being admitted and my personal Dr. came in while I happened to be throwing up. He saw what it looked like and immediately said, "Oh, I think you have a bowel obstruction." Duh. They took me down for a CT scan, and the lady who did the scan was the same one who did the ultrasound the day before. She said, "I wrote in your report that your bowels looked full of fluid yesterday." Evidently, they didnt bother reading the report. Sooooo....
they ambulanced me to Omaha, where Dr. Anthone is and everything went much better from there.
I had surgery on Tuesday March 15th for a major bowel obstruction. My intestines were all kinked up and had lesions from surgery that were like rubber bands not allowing anything out. So everything was backing up the other way. The pain of the obstruction was unbelievable. Worse than labor pain!
So I ended up in the hospital for another week, but am in quite a bit of pain still in my incision area. This leads me up to now... I have been having quite a bit of uneasy/upset stomach lately. Up to now, I have never had a bowel movement later than 9 in the morning, but was VERY regular after surgery. Now, I am having upset stomach and needing to go more often. They recommended going back to general diet, but I'm wondering if I should go back to the same light diet I did right after the original DS? Anyone who has had a bowel obstruction, I would love to hear your experience of recovery, and if you have ever had problems with it since. Thanks!
Oh, you poor thing! I'm glad you got all taken care of.
I'm pretty astonished at the crap care you got the first day. You really should have a CT scan with oral and IV contrast whenever there is a suspected bowel obstruction.
And, after a burst ovarian cyst...the pain should subside! How annoying. Those are painful too, but once they burst, the pain generally dissipates.
I think you should be clear to eat a diet as tolerated. The light diet we are supposed to eat after a DS is mostly due to the stomach portion. Two-three weeks is a pretty long time to still be having major issues though...I'd probably call and ask about whether that is normal or not.
Any time you have abdominal surgery, you are open to the possibility of scar tissue/adhesions causing problems. There's always the possibility of more issues down the road.
I'm pretty astonished at the crap care you got the first day. You really should have a CT scan with oral and IV contrast whenever there is a suspected bowel obstruction.
And, after a burst ovarian cyst...the pain should subside! How annoying. Those are painful too, but once they burst, the pain generally dissipates.
I think you should be clear to eat a diet as tolerated. The light diet we are supposed to eat after a DS is mostly due to the stomach portion. Two-three weeks is a pretty long time to still be having major issues though...I'd probably call and ask about whether that is normal or not.
Any time you have abdominal surgery, you are open to the possibility of scar tissue/adhesions causing problems. There's always the possibility of more issues down the road.
5'9.5" | HW: 368 | SW: 353 | CW: 155 +/- 5 lbs | Angel to 
So sorry you've had so many problems also. It is horrible. I am hoping this surgery cures it long-term and I don't have to go back.
I fully intend on writing a long, detailed letter to the hospital explaining everything and telling them that my two days there were a total waste, and what I had to go through. Thank you for your support!
I fully intend on writing a long, detailed letter to the hospital explaining everything and telling them that my two days there were a total waste, and what I had to go through. Thank you for your support!
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From what I understand, he "unkinked" my intestines and then he said he "cleaned up the adhesions". I should have asked more details about what that meant, but no cutting of the bowel was involved, thank goodness.
It was really horrible. I hope reading this will make more people more proactive when they start feeling the symptoms and not wait like I did.
It was really horrible. I hope reading this will make more people more proactive when they start feeling the symptoms and not wait like I did.
That had to be horrid. Glad you got back to Dr Anthone and he took care of you. I would think you should progress slowly as tolerated with the diet.
Ginger<><
Revision #2 Dr John Rabkin June 21, 2013; First Revision DS - Dr Maguire 5-18-09; First DS 7-15-2003 Dr Clark Warden = Third time is the charm 
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