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New Member - wickedaj87 Partial obstruction ?

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Posted 4/3/2011 3:06 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, I've been searching the internet furiously after 3 ER visits within the past month, referred to 2 doctors (an Ob/gyn weirdly enough, and a general practicionar.) and several tests later and STILL no one can tell me what's wrong! I was having the same exact symptoms! I was in crippling pain, the normal 1 dose of oxycodone wasn't helping (and im not really a big pain killer user) I had to take 2-3 at a time every 6-8 hours for relief and was normally knocked right out! I suggested a partial bowel obstruction to the general practitionar but she blew me off saying that i wouldn't have ANY bowel movements at all if that was the case, even though i was having diahrea. (Which didn't make sense to me.) So she didn't bother to test for it at all. The ER took only a lower abdomen CT scan.
See, the pain is always in the same spot though and nowhere near my lower abdomen, but because of a Radical left Nephrectomy due to a dead kidney I gave no feeling on the left side of my stomach, so if I have pain there, I wouldn't even know. I never had this problem before the surgery so I'm worried that its scarring pressing against the intestine or something.... but this is the only diagnosis i could find that would fit!

If you have any advice or anything I would greatly appreciate it but for now I'm sitting at home just suffering through the pain cause the ER won't listen to my suggestions. Only pop me full of pain and nausea meds and send me back home!
After months of unemployment, and searching for a job I finally got a decent one the day before this happened again and I already had to call out 2 days!

Please, help me if you can!
Posted 4/3/2011 3:18 PM (GMT 0)
Hi wickedaj87 and welcome to Healingwell. You attached to a very old post, so I made a new one for you so you would get more responses.

Let me explain to you what an obstruction is. It is pain that comes in waves much like labor pains. You will not be able to move air or stool out of either direction. The pain will continue to get worse and worse, and then the nausea and/or vomiting will start. Generally by this time you HAVE to go to the ER, much like you did.

Now on a partial obstruction you will have all the same of the above, but....you can have a small amount of diarrhea as that is more liquidy and is usually the stool that is on the exiting side of the narrowed area. I do think you might have had a partial. But what makes me question it is the ability to burp. I could never pass air out of either direction. My stomach would be so bloated, and painful.

To find out if you have a narrowed area, you might want to ask your doctor to order a small bowel follow thru. This is a good test to see if there are any narrowed areas. I hope you find some answers to whats going on. Hugs!
Posted 4/3/2011 3:31 PM (GMT 0)
Response from onthecan:

Hi I had about 12 obstructions now mostly partly 3 total and 1 that lead to a rupture,,the pain is indescribable really after open belly surgery u r in agony right but with a bowel obstruction its on real the pain it doesn't stop however there is some differences in our stories I throw up stool with almost all mine and end up with a NG tube but wherever u live they do a CT 2 determine the narrowing or the stricture here in Canada all they do is a stomach series of the right and left lower quadrant and sometimes a ultrasound series as well as a chest x-ray 2 make sure the bowel contents did not rise 2 the lungs than u bcome very sick and bcome septic and I always end up in the ICU,,I know how frustrating it can b to get this diagnosed and I don't know your history if u had any narrowing or strictures shown form a scope or even any bowel surgery,,I had alot of surgery my first obstruction went like this I was in the hospital in the city 5 hours from home and recovering from a bowel resection and I keep on telling my GI surgeon that there was something wrong the pain was getting worse and the nausea and I knew it wasn't normal cause this was my third resection and the pain should have been residing and there should have been no nausea I could barely eat but I believed he was right and I was wrong and my family came 4 a visit the next day and the surgeon came in and said well your family is here u can go home and I tried pleading with him and so did the nurses but some doctors just can't admit a patient knows there own body I was into the drive about 4 hours and I was in agony and so sick 2 my stomach and the vomiting began @ first it was belly contents and bile some what normal than I was doubled over and couldn't even hold my head up 2 get sick cause I had 2 hold my belly cause the pain was so intense and I started vomiting stool @ first I had no clue cause this never happened 2 me b4 but trust me u can clearly tell it was stool the taste and smell was something u just never 4get,,I was helpless 2 my family they didn't know if it was safe 2 turn around and go back 2 the city or drive a few more hours and go 2 our local county hospital were there is no GI what so ever and 1 surgeon whom is only a general and he very rarely does anything much bigger than appendix,bladder,,etc,,,so I made it 2 our hospital and they did the belly x-rays and an ultra sound and put in a NG tube and rushed me back 2 the city hospital 4 emergency surgery that was my first experience with an obstruction,,after that I had repeated obstructions due 2 narrowing and strictures and numerous dilatation's but in the end surgery was my only opinion in the end,,and trust your own body cause those doctors can't feel the pain u feel and b clear describe your symptoms as well as u can get those x-rays demand them and don't take one doc's opinion cause obstructions r no joke and can lead 2 serious problems take it from me when that pain hits go 2 the emergency room right away don't wait till the nausea hits I hope this helps u a bite,,and I pray 2 god u never have 2 go through this again I know have short bowel syndrome due 2 all my surgeries and don't have enough bowel left 2 absorb anything I'm on TPN everyday as well as potassium and magnesium and numerous other vitamins... So good luck 2 u and don't let those doctors tell u any more u tell them its your body if one don't believe u ask 4 a second opinion always,,keep us posted on how u r doing??? God Bless... Jen~~))))HUGS((((~~
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Posted 4/3/2011 4:49 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you for reposting this for me, I hadn't realized how dated back the thread was that I was replying to. I'm just desperate for answers.

And Wow onthecan, I'm so sorry that something like that even happened to you! You must be a strong person though cause you've made it through the situation!

My first couple visits to the ER last month (Which is when this had started.) I had sudden pain and I thought maybe it was a really bad case of indigestion or gas, then it just got steadily worse and I've never had a child and I'm 23, So when a doctor asks me how bad is the pain I never say 10 because I imagine thats the worse pain in the world which from what ive heard is child birth (So i reserve that number.) but its a good 8 and it would, i don't know to describe it, the pain of 8 would be steady then it would sharpen to a 9 then back to an 8. But yeah I could pass gas, both times I've taken pepto bismol at first hoping to god it would help and that stuff always makes me burp. but soon the nausea set in, and i couldn't vomit, i was dry heaving though, but when i drank water I threw that back up.
This second time the pain was exactly the same, and the nausea was setting it but I managed to use an antinausea i had left over in time with 2 1/2 oxycodones. Here's the weird thing, When i pushed on a certain spot, the center of the pain, It made it waaaay worse and it stayed that way for about 10-15 minutes before going back to its regular pain. (I was trying to see if i could feel anything out of the ordinary.) Then (the pain started at 4:30am) around 8:40a, while i was curled up in a corner cause lying down hurt worse, i felt like... a release of pressure, kind of like a pop from where the pain was and the pain faded...
Now i've had gas before, and really bad gas from after stomach surgery and this was not that at all.

Letme tell you a little of what i've had done so far though, nothing as severe as what you guys have gone through im sure. Ever since I was little I would have problems with constipation at least once a month. It was normally pretty painful. I dont remember what would clear it up though.
And around the age of 10 I started having really bad side and flank pains that would make me cry and I'd rock back and forth for some relief, that would happen every 8 or so months (Being a child, I never thought of trying to see if there was something I was doing that might cause this.) I went to several doctors, who took x-rays, blood samples, urine samples even fecal samples directly from the source (Which when you're a ten yr old girl, having a 40 year old male doctor do... very creepy and confusing.) No one knew what was wrong, many even told my parents I was making it up for attention (Cause children LOVE being a human pin cushion I guess.) This went on until After i turned 22, several ER visits and over the years the pain was more frequent and much worse. Finally an ER in Raleigh, NC took the ONE right test that NO ONE else thought of doing. A CT. SHowed that I had a narrowed ureter from my left kidney and that that same kidney was 3-4 times its normal size. I was dehydrated but the IV fluids were making me worse. I made a follow up with Urologist later. The Kidney wasn't draining, infact it wasn't doing its job at all besides getting infected and spreading infection along with being basically dead. It had less than %5 functionality and the tissue had been so stretched over the years and so infected there was basically none left. So in september of 2010 my only option was to get it removed entirely. But when I recovered 3 months later... I was happy! No more pain! I could drink sweet tea (My love). And now this..... and once again, no answers....
Posted 4/3/2011 5:41 PM (GMT 0)
I had a laproscopic kidney surgery about 8 mos ago, it was not pleasant. I am wondering if you have adhesions now causing your partial obstructions. Is your pain centered around the belly button? Thats the usual area where the pain is with a obstruction.

Definetly get in with a doctor soon. Like I said the small bowel follow thru would be a good starting point in your tests. Have you had a colonoscopy that might be another one to do to get a look at things. Good luck!
Posted 4/4/2011 1:24 AM (GMT 0)
Pain with obstructions can be anywhere in the GI tract, depending on where the obstruction is. If it's an adhesion from the belly-button camera then it can be there, but otherwise it can be anywhere. You need a good GI. Are you still in RDU?
Posted 4/4/2011 4:29 PM (GMT 0)
I didn't have a larposcopy. I had a complete or open surgery, I can't remember what they called it. But it's the other one that requires them to make a bigger incision and takes longer to heal. They couldn't do larposcopy because they needed to remove the entire kidney and because of how much scarring there was and it had become so disfigured over the years they wanted to make sure they had gotten it all.

But the pain was about an 1/2 an inch above the belly button. And no, i'm not in RDU anymore, i'm closer to wilmington.
Posted 4/4/2011 5:00 PM (GMT 0)

partial or full obstruction is very serious. the full I had, I was 20 and it almost killed me. I've had dozen's of partial's, they just take time for gas to pass and then the inflammtion to go down, so you can have bm. not to say they aren't painful, partial's to me are dreadfully painful, I'm in fetal from anywhere 2-12 hr's until gas starts to pass. then I know I'll be OK. aside from pain, they mentally tweek my brain, so bad, because of near death, I can't get that out of my mind. and this was 40 years ago, still very fresh in my brain, like yesterday.

AG

Posted 4/5/2011 2:14 AM (GMT 0)
Oh also, I know this sounds insanely simple, but I use a lot of peppermint tea and gas-x to help move the gas around the stricture when it happens. maybe that'll help you too. Also, if you decide to go the surgery route, I have a surgeon I think very very very highly of in Wilkes Barre Pa. He's my 5th surgeon, and he's my last. Wonderful skilled man who specializes in abodominal adhesions. if you're interested I can give you his URL. Wonderful people - everyone. He is one of the most skilled adheison surgeons on the planet, and does almost everything laproscopically. I travel to see him myself. He will respect your pain and not doubt you for a minute.

Post Edited (janicea) : 4/4/2011 8:18:46 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/6/2011 9:45 AM (GMT 0)
artist guy,
I am sorry for asking, but I need to know this:

Now the last year I have been ok, but I know it's often a question of time before this returns to me again:
I am not sure if my pain that very often lasts 12 hours or even more, is a partial obstruction or a total obstruction:

I get the same kind of pain that you're describing like a partial obstr. but I am vomitting and having a low grade of fever, I am very cold, shivering so much that my teeths are clappering. I have to put on extra blankets, and extra cloths so to stay warmer. Even something around my head. I am vomiting bile and then in the end ..it comes nothing, still vomiting. And my pain comes in waves. Sometimes the pain is durable for hours.

My GI has told me to stay at home and wait untill this stops. Prior to LDN I used to have this very often, maybe twice a month.

Should I continue to listen to my specialist? I've never been to the ER because of this.

Post Edited (BeeSting) : 4/6/2011 3:49:16 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/7/2011 11:17 PM (GMT 0)
I know you're asking artistguy this but if that's all your specialist is telling you to do, sit at home and wait it off, there's a problem and you definitely need to see someone else immediately, those are deserving ER symptoms. Meaning you should have gone to the ER as soon as they started happening.
I highly suggest you see someone else ASAP.
Posted 4/8/2011 2:21 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Beesting what you are describing sounds 100% like an obstruction. Especially when you said you were throwing up bile. I was already in ER with an obstruction when I started throwing up the bile. And they considered that as the final straw.

That ever happens again, I highly recommend you go to the ER. Obstructions can be really serious and you could perforate if its not treated properly. Hugs!
Posted 4/9/2011 1:01 AM (GMT 0)
Saw a local doctor today. I Feel mentally better! He actually listened to me and my symptoms and asked related questions no other doctors thought to even ask!

He said that what I have is a surgical adhesion to my small intestine and probably some in my pelvic region. I've been given some daily medication to help move things along in the right direction. But apparently this type of problem is common for people who've had surgery, especially abdominal surgery, just that most adhesions have no symptoms and dont cause too many problems. I start my new medication tomorrow. And I will admit that all the new and different meds ive been on since my surgery does get nerve racking sometimes, its much better than the limited life i was living before! :-)

Thank you all very much for your help!

Posted 4/9/2011 7:16 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you, I am glad you answered me. I just can't understand my GI specialist telling me that I don't have to go to an ER, when this is happening. The so called ER we're having where I live - is one hour away by car, and the place is so small, I'm not sure if they've ever had a patient with this kind of symptoms. They'll probably send me home again with a pain pill. smhair
Posted 4/9/2011 4:45 PM (GMT 0)
IF they try to send you home with just a pain pill and don't do the proper work up, you warn them that you'll sue for negligence. That should get their butts in gear. Whether you mean it or not is entirely up to you, but it's sad when we have to threaten health care physicians into doing their job correctly instead of just throwing patients out because they dont want to deal with them. But it happens.

Post Edited (wickedaj87) : 4/10/2011 1:36:34 PM (GMT-6)

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