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Bowel obstruction

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Chelly
(@chelly)
Joined: 2 years ago
Posts: 600
Topic starter  

Hi all,

I'm currently in the hospital with bowel obstruction.  Don't know how that happened but I have the dreaded NG tube at the moment. 


   
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 LK
(@dlkfiretruck)
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 1557
 

Oh, Chelly!! I'm so sorry to hear that!!  It's not fun at all ! Those obstructions are sneaky little 😈 devils & can happen quick enough. We do need to try and  take time to figure out what may have changed to land us obstructed.  Sometimes it's all functional...Scar tissue?  Not chewing the life out of what we've eaten? Was there less fluids for a day or a few days? A bigger meal then usual?

I'm presently down hard with Bronchitis right now & find I am really needing to force those fluids esp. with this fever and when I eat. It's hard to keep up when you just want to hide under the covers! 

People, this flu & cold is a nasty one this year. I've had an updated pnuemonia and the flu shot 3 1/2 weeks back, not soon enough I guess. My Grand missed 3 weeks if school & I'm 2 weeks in with a head cold & now  on antibiotics with a bad Bronchitis.  

I don't mean to highjack your post  Chelly,  but I came her to say that bcuz our immunity has to work harder this time of year, DRINK those FLUIDS! You too John! I'd also suggest you all wear a mask in public & gaurd your home over visitors who say " it's nothing, just a runner nose & it's just allergies ".  Don't let them in the door!! Lol!  You see them all the time anyways...? 

I wish I had avoided a few people who said those things above & then got this horrible cough & headcold & never said a thing until now. The fevers are fierce too. I also had a bowel obstruction starting but realized quick enough I was so worn out I had not been drinking nearly as well. My iron dumped to 3 & I can't get the infusion coughing like this. There's too many very sick people where I get them. 

Chelly, all the best to you for getting thru this horrid thing. I'll be checking back to check on you. Keep us in the loop. 

Linda


   
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LLNorth
(@llholiday)
Joined: 6 years ago
Posts: 562
 

Chelly, I hope that you are feeling better. I know a couple of people who have had surgeries for obstructions. Are you on a “watch and wait” right now?

Colostomy 4/30/18.
I love the smell of coffee in the morning. It smells like .... victory.


   
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Chelly
(@chelly)
Joined: 2 years ago
Posts: 600
Topic starter  

Hello,

So yesterday they put Gastrografin in my ng tube and then did xrays to see more information as it's a contrast of sort but doctor said it can a lot of times even trreat. So today they took my NG tube out and I can now have clear liquids. 

Im thinking this nay have started with a TV dinner. It had onions and celery in gravy by the meat. The celery pieces were strange  as they were small really hard pieces. I was picking them out but you know some may gave gotten past me. The doctor thinks it's  scar tissue. No one knows for sure. But yes Linda I agree i about our immune systems.

I guess we trialbhow I do without the tube and the clear liquids. Hopefully it cleared itself. We shall see but glad to have that tube 


   
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Tigerlily
(@tigerlily)
Joined: 4 years ago
Posts: 421
 

@chelly Oh, Chelly. I am so sorry that all of this has been happening to you. Haven’t you been through enough? I hope they get to the bottom of this so it never happens again. What happens if it’s scar tissue? How does that get resolved? 

If there’s a silver lining (and I have to admit that sometimes it’s hard to find one) it’s that this happened well before the holiday season is in full swing. Chelly, I hope you’re able to go home soon, and that you’re feeling better too. We’re all thinking of you here at VO.

 

 Laurie 

Just a semicolon


   
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VeganOstomy
(@veganostomy)
Admin
Joined: 11 years ago
Posts: 4372
 

Oh @chelly, I'm sorry to hear what you've been going through.

When there are no answers to what's caused it, I'd still err on the side of caution and work with what I have control over: food options, how I prepare or consume them, etc.

Your gut will likely be irritated and swollen for a little while, so use extra caution over the next week.

And @tigerlily is right about this happening well before a less ideal time of the month!

Just your friendly neighborhood ostomate.
~ Crohn's Disease ¦ Ileostomy ~


   
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Chelly
(@chelly)
Joined: 2 years ago
Posts: 600
Topic starter  

@tigerlily if it is scar tissue they will not just open you up.unless its a dire situation. From what this doctor told ne is that even to open you up to fix this scar tissue, would just be creating more scar tissue.

Well, as far as what to do to keep this from from.happening again, is to back off food when you feel.it coming on. Just like when we can tell we have a blockage to back off and do a liquid diet. Then go to soft foods snd move our way back up. This is what the doctor gs how people are managing their scar tissues aka adhesions. 

Im.feeling a bit queezy in the tummy tonight but I'm thinking it's the empty pit that omly has a bit of liquid dropped into it. Im  really hungry for some food. 

Don't know how long I will be here for but I guess this is a slow process. 


   
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Chelly
(@chelly)
Joined: 2 years ago
Posts: 600
Topic starter  

@veganostomy thanks Eric for the advice. It's always appreciated. You know I think this thing could have been slowly building up. Well, then I jinxed myself looking at that picture of you with that nasogastric tube a fee weeks ago.lol


   
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 LK
(@dlkfiretruck)
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 1557
 

Hey there Chelly!! Stay strong in attitude  & be encouraged by our group. We all hate the dreaded NG TUBE!! I Know that you may never figure out the exact cause of this blockage but what you do want to do is to try & eat a bit differently in the future so you have better control over "preventing" a blockage.  Reasses all the things you know you did right, or wrong if your like me & the list is longer! Lol!.   Slow down eating, drink plenty of fluids with a meal too. My general rule of thumb is if you're eating a food that needs to absorb fluids for cooking, then I either cook them in a bit more fluid, like rice & a bit longer so the inside is soft but no crunch to it,  rice always gets 1/4 - 1/2 cup of water more & about 5-10 min. more coking time. If I have something in the oven cooking while tice does, then I may toss the extra water in the bowl & stick the whole thing covered  in the oven with the meat for instance. . Noodles...  bcuz spaghetti just gets soggy trying to cook it a little longer, I find I have better control over cooking texture if I use the skinnier version of noodle, like spaghettini. Those noodles take only a few min. to cook well  & a single min. longer can make a difference in digestion tolerance without over cooking the noodle. Yiy have no idea how overjoyed I was to hear a T V. Chef say that that "toothy texture" in other words, that we'd bit if a crunch in rice IS NOT what you want. If the crunch is there then it's cooked incorrectly, same with noodles, if you have a gummy stick to your teeth texture, your fair is not cooked enough.  I was raised cooking in big kitchens & we never cooked noodles or rice to have a "toothy texture". Why, bcuz it's not cooked thru if it has that texture.

I was told that I don't have enough guts for another surgery & what I do have has so much scar tissue it created thinner opening for foods to pass thru as it digests and the blockage can occur when foods get tripped up on the smaller openings. Picture a small elastic over your intestine only the elastic will not stretch.  If you've had bowel or intestinal surgery, then you very likely have scar tissue. This means we need to eat preventativly. I know that my partial blockage a few weeks back was caused by my waiting too long to eat & then being so hungry I never drank anything until after I was done eating.  Then I was too full to drink much at all. That envelope of fries & a few onion rings came back to call in concerning way. My guts were so not happy with me. After I was done eating, I forgot to drink extra fluids & hello blockage pain. 

I guess I needed that reminder to slow fiw  & chew chew chew my food,& to wash it down the hatch. As Eric sa8d one day, put your fork down between bite of food to help you take a little longer to chew helps tremendously as well.  I'm saying some of this for a reminder as we head into the holidays too and for our newbies.  I also had a nucs biwl of turkey soup Id mafe a frw mobthsbvsvo  & froze for these days Im too tored to cook. I thaw & heat ir all in the over so there's no standing there stirring.  I remembered some of that was problematic for digesting too. So, just be ccareful you all. Not even baked goods aare as innocent as they look. Beware of coconut, nuts & again foods like chips in aany form & pretzels too. If your not sure, break a chip or pretzel, a piece of bread even into pieces, drop in a glass of water & watch what happens.  

Chelly, I'm so glad that tube is out of you. Those for me are horrid things but they are needed to rest your guts while the blockage occurs. In the start, I have had a blockage resolve with that fluid you mentioned. No matter what you've eaten folks, if in doubt have the doctors check it out. It's not worth a bowel obstruction turned perforation.

 

 

Linda


   
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Chelly
(@chelly)
Joined: 2 years ago
Posts: 600
Topic starter  

@dlkfiretruck everything you say here is true and how dare me get so brave that I was not being mindful. It's been so long since i've had a blockage that I must have taken things for granted. Normally I would keep diet coke and grape juice on hand tjust for blockages and I stopped doing that.. 

I made it out of the hospital last night on  my liquid diet. Had to walk in the cold rain to the store to get supplies for it. Then came back and put my new bed frame together and bed. It came while I was in the hospital. I was like ...should I really be doing this stuff right now? No, but I had to get the liquid diet stuff and I needed a bed to sleep in. Showered and now relaxing in bed. 

I still can't believe I got that obstruction. I was like a whooped puppy dog. Never thinking I'd ever get another. I'm just so thankful I live by a great hospital. They told me a lot of obstructions coming in lately. 

You are so right about the slowing down too! I've been hoofing my food down like a vacume . Always busy and in a hurry. This really scared me this time. 

Thanks to all you for the support, it is much appreciated. You are all such a kind and good group here. ❤️❤️


   
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Tigerlily
(@tigerlily)
Joined: 4 years ago
Posts: 421
 

@chelly We have all been there, for one reason or another, and we know how awful it feels. And how miserable it feels to be in hospital. Glad you’re out and back in your own home now. Chelly, it’s easy to believe that “it won’t happen again “ so don’t beat yourself up. We all live with some level of denial, or we wouldn’t be able to face the world, I am convinced. I guess now you need to make a kind of checklist to keep yourself safe: keep Diet Coke in the house, avoid foods that are suspicious, put your fork down between bites, come up with a minimum number of chews, etc.  And take Linda’s comments to heart!! 

When we have a setback, it’s kind of like paying dues to belong to the “Everyone has a story “ club. Membership in this club requires that we understand that everyone is struggling with something, visible or not, and that reminds us to be more empathetic. It’s never a bad thing to get a reminder to be empathetic; just hope it doesn’t mean a trip to ER. Take care, Chelly.

 

 Laurie 

Just a semicolon


   
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 LK
(@dlkfiretruck)
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 1557
 

@chelly ... Hey, that was all lots of blockage experience talking! Lol! My kids used to call me the "Queen of Blockages" bcuz I had them so often!  It was some rather grueling tests that told the Docs what was causing them.  I'm very thankful for the dyes they can use to see the stories in guts.  Being told there's not enough intestine left for more surgery is scarey output! Lol!  What's next I asked? One Doc said, they are working on perfecting intestinal transplants!!!! Sorry, I just could not fathom that at all. So my guts have so much scar tissue and the scar tissue makes them look like elastic bands squeezing down on them. I can eat a normal meal, but I have to keep it softer. Ex; more gravey with potatoes, more cheese sauce on veg if available... red meats if I dare them are cut against the grain & basically shaved off. Pre-chewed my son calls it! Salmon & Sole digest easy. They just break down amazing well & Do not hurt To digest, BUT I really have to mix my food up when I eat. Fluids!! I drink a glass of milk & 2 of water with most meals and plenty in between.  Erics tip about putting your fork down between bites was a huge game changer for me, along with more frequent & smaller meals.  I've never been big on red meats, even as a 10 yr. old,  I was aware certain foods hurt like crazy to digest. Thank Heaven my Dad did a lot of fishing.  Mom Always overcooked her veggies & I loved tender crisp & raw veggies. But that came to a screeching hault in one very obvious lesson from my guts! 

After finding Eric's VO, I realized by binge watching videos that I had a lot more to learn. The first thing I learned was that it was okay to talk about our guts, output, medical experiences... you name it, it was talked about here!! I appreciate it so very much too! 

So, what Laurie said, don't be so hard on yourself! We've all been there in one form or another.  Keep taking care of yourself, you've got this in the bag!! Hehe! Oh, and what in the world does the coke do??  

Linda


   
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Chelly
(@chelly)
Joined: 2 years ago
Posts: 600
Topic starter  

Thanks to both of you for the kind and informative words. Today starts the soft diet. I've had an egg  and a cheeseburger chewed thoroughly though. Let's see how this goes. 

They say coke can clear a drain lol! I've found it has cleared blockages for me in the past. Then a nurse told me about grape juice but instead of drinking it cold , I heat it in the microwave as hot as a cup.of coffee. That has helped as well. 


   
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