Diet and Health FAQ

Tagged As: Obstructed Bowel

Question:
How do you know when you have an obstruction or blockage???

Answer:
I can only speak for myself, but my first trigger is vomiting and lack of bowel movements.  Last year when I had an obstruction in my bowel, the digested food could not pass through the opening in my intestine (it was the size of a piece of yarn), the food kept on coming back up because there was nowhere for it to go.  I guess it all depends how obstructed you are.  It is possible to still have BM's with a blockage. Of course, there would be pain at the site.  I even had visible swelling in one particular area of my stomach along with pain and tenderness. Frequent, low volume bowel movements Pain Vomiting Bloating Audible sloshing of intestinal contents Dehydration to danger levels within a couple of days Prostration Trip to ER Lots of abdominal cramping, the taste of bile in the back of your throat, the inability to eat anything more solid than mashed potatoes or apple sauce without severe cramping.  At least, that’s how it was for me. It may sound cruel/weird, but I couldn't help laughing at this particular symptom.  I've been there though and it wasn't very funny at the time. You don't know for sure until they do an x-ray, but if your in a lot of abdominal pain, are distended and nauseated and or vomiting, I'd bet on it being an obstruction. I got excruciating cramps--felt like I was going to die!   Hope you are not experiencing this--but you'll certainly know it when you do have blockage. I have had three in the past three months.  Here is how I know.... - the pain comes on really fast, like in an hour or two, much faster than a flare - I get very distended - the pain is really, really INTENSE - I throw up - I stop passing gas and stool - the doctor can't hear much in the way of bowel sounds - my abdomen is quite sensitive to the touch It can be easy to confuse with an appendix problem.  Sometimes not all this happens, like when the obstruction is partial. A word of advice to IBD patients everywhere, especially those with small bowel CD.....if you ever have abdominal pain, followed by vomiting, go immediately to the hospital.  My GI told me this, and it saved me from perforating. Umm...ok, you guys are scaring me a little.  I have this intense 'would rather die right now' pain all the time.  I would say 4 to 5 days a week. Bowel movements are very little lately but that is because I'm not eating more than one bowl of mashed potatoes every day. If I eat it just plain hurts too damned much. Lots of bowel sounds too which is new for me.  I have seen quite a few patches of 'white' stuff on stools which I guess is mucus. The Vicodin 500 are a joke now. Do nothing for this pain. I need something stronger I guess. The Donnital not stopping the spasms like it used to. Also, the morning after I have sex with my hubby, the pain is just so bad I can barely stand up enough (hunched over is more like it) upon waking to this pain, to make it into the bathroom to sit there for 20 minutes to an hour waiting till the diarrhea finally decides to come out and then the pain does stop the 'stabbing' but the continual pain will stay with me for days.  (keep in mind we are newlyweds so this really really really sucks, it means sex once a week at most if I feel I can bear the pain I know will follow) This happened yesterday and when I woke up screaming in pain I had no idea he was home from work early :(  He has never seen me like that as I usually have it under control by the time he gets home. I know I upset him and he feels so helpless knowing he can't help me and it was caused by the sex the night before.  He is now saying 'it's all my fault' and it isn't his fault.  *I* knew the risks, *I* took them.  I feel so bad for him and it seems there is nothing I can say to make him feel differently. I am calling the doctor later today to speak to him about all this.