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Partial Obstruction Like symptoms due to muscle spasm

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Posted 6/20/2014 1:03 PM (GMT 0)
Hey guys,

I have had symptoms of a partial obstruction for the past 3 or so days. Foul smelling gas and liquid will pass, and sometime thereafter the rest of the meal will pass through. I get the waves of cramping prior to any output, and a lot of the times the output will be a very thin gushing jet stream like effluent. My stoma is also very firm and retracted closer to my stomach then normal.

I hadn't eaten anything unusual and had been sticking to the soft foods that have been causing me no problems since my surgery (just over two weeks out now). All the methods such as a hot bath, massaging, knee to chest, etc have not worked, though when I am laying in a hot bath my stoma relaxes right away and softens up and un retracts.

Everything does eventually pass through me, and this has happened in the past once or twice with my loop and would resolve in anywhere from 3-5 days. I called my surgeon and he said if I didn't eat anything too fibrous or unusual close to when it started, it most likely is my intestines have just gone into a spasm (and that being so close to surgery still they are vulnerable and this can often happen). He is prescribing a short course of bentyl for a few days, an anti cholinergic, to try and relieve the spasms and hopefully get things back on track, otherwise he believes it SHOULD resolve with time.

HAs anyone ever experienced similar situations with the muscle spasms??
Posted 6/20/2014 2:35 PM (GMT 0)
Do you have unbearable pain or just some spasms? I had a blockage/kink with my loop a few days after being released, I ended up back in the hospital for another 10 days, the pain was super intense when it hit and then the pain would go away.

Do you have an appetite? when I had my obstruction I had no appetite because of it.

Have you tried grape juice or wine? Sometimes coffee works to help clear it up if it is a blockage but won't help if it is only spasms.

I had an open surgery so they told me not to take baths or swim.
Posted 6/20/2014 2:45 PM (GMT 0)
no, its not unbearable, just some brief stabbing pain/pressure, and i do have an appetite

i am guessing its just early since my surgery and expected :/
Posted 6/20/2014 2:47 PM (GMT 0)
I have been sticking to using my nutri bullet and blending blueberries, banana, protein powder, peanut and almond butter, etc and flavored quaker oatmeal packets so its all liquid.
Posted 6/21/2014 6:06 PM (GMT 0)
Do you guys find that doing something like gatorade or pedialyte only for a day helps the bowels rest and the spasm to cease/things to get back on track?
Posted 6/27/2014 5:43 AM (GMT 0)
yes but also be sure to drink things with more nutrition like boost, ensure, etc.. basically stick to liquid diet... but make sure you are getting nutrition
Posted 6/27/2014 5:25 PM (GMT 0)
In case it is somehow a food blockage, hot broth always did the trick for me to get things unblocked. I used to get partial blockages just about every weekend, despite being on low residue diet, complete with pain, and never had to go to the emergency room, thank goodness. The hot broth would start up the forceful jet spray and then boom, out it would all come. That part was always mildly entertaining in addition to being a relief...just the sound of the spray hitting the inside of the bag that hard was amazing.
Posted 6/27/2014 7:38 PM (GMT 0)
This close to surgery it's not out of the question to have spasming like your surgeon said, regardless of what you eat. Keeping your diet liquid and low residue will make you more comfortable but the spasms will happen regardless. They should resolve in a week or two at the most though, I would think.
Posted 6/27/2014 10:45 PM (GMT 0)
Had surgery the 4th and it's now the 28th. Back in the hospital today with an ileus :(
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