I've never had an issue with obstructions. I've always eaten pretty much whatever I wanted. However, the last 3 weeks I've been getting terrible pains in my abdomen. To the point where I have to grit my teeth to get through some of the pain. I feel constipated and gassy and have strange bathroom patterns of late. It's been 3 weeks of this and I'm curious as to if partial obstructions usually last this long or would I "Know by Now" if it was a partial obstruction.

I talked with my Dr's Nurse and she suggested that I scale back on the Immodium (I take 3 in the AM and 3 at Supper). She suspected constipation because the note left for her to return my call mentioned constipation and she really didn't even consider an obstruction. She just stated that I need to go to the ER if I have pain in my abdomen again.

I've never had these pains before and am worried that by letting it go this long without being checked out could cause some problems if it actually is an obstruction.

I'm pretty much on a mush diet right now. I am staying away from hard to digest stuff. Also when I had my takedown the Doc mentioned I had A LOT of adhesions he had to clean up. I wonder if one of those buggers isn't being naughty.

Help!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: SmoothDouglas,

It could be a partial obstruction. If you're able, try a liquid diet for a bit to see if the symptoms go away. If you have some serious adhesions I would imagine that you could have an ongoing PO.

Another possibility could be pouchitis. If it's pouchitis you would take (usually) Cipro, Flagyl, or Xifaxin and that should clear things up.

The fact that the nurse 'suspected' constipation would sort of indicate that maybe she's not all that familiar with j-pouches. Or maybe I'm not reading your post correctly. Did you mention constipation and that's why she mentioned it?

Anyway, if you're continuing to experience pain you need to get them more interested in finding out what could be causing it.

kathy

Thanks Kathy,

I've used Flagyl before for pouchitis and it's worked wonders! This feels much different than pouchitis. I am on a liquid diet for now. Soup and hot cider for lunch.

My doctor is a Colo-Rectal Surgeon (3 hours away). His nurse works specifically for him and he's done many, many J-pouch surgeries. She should be more than familiar with J-pouches. I think she took and ran with the idea of constipation because when I left her a message with the secretary, I had first mentioned constipation and pain as the main problems.

I'll continue on the Liquid Diet and see how it goes.

Ugh...

I am seeing my local doctor tomorrow. I get gut pain every time I eat. Things are getting all the way through my system OK, but something is obviously wrong.

I do have a history of people having gall stones in my family. The symptoms are remarkably similar to a partial obstruction. I don't quite know what would be better to have?!?! An obstruction or gall stones? I'll probably have none of the above!

Hopefully, we can get this thing figured out tomorrow.

Yeah, which would be better? Gall stones or a blockage? I guess it depends on which one you're experiencing. At that point the other one would be better.

Are you eating fatty foods? If so, that could indicate gallbladder. But if you're doing mostly liquid and the pain returns if you eat something more solid, it seems like it could be a partial obstruction.

I hope they figure out what's going on tomorrow.

kathy

Might be more likely that it is gallbladder related since the pain is related to when you eat. An obstruction would be more consistent pain, unless it was very high up. Also, with obstructive pain, it comes in waves. Gallbladder related pain is usually in the upper right quadrant (under the ribs), but can also be referred elsewhere. Could even be gastritis.

Where exactly is your pain? The abdomen is a pretty big arena.

Jan

I lived with a partial obstruction for years (I don't recommend this) and Jan is right. It's more of a pain that comes in waves. It's a good thing you're checking it out but sometimes there's not much they can do about a partial obstruction except surgery to remove the adhesions and free up the bowel.

Let me guess. Was the nurse you spoke to at the Cleveland Clinic?

Good luck tomorrow!

KC

I went in today and talked to my family physician. His first two guesses as to what this is.....gallstones or an obstruction. He wasn't ruling out other things as well and had me do a CAT scan this AM. I had to drink this horrid tasting stuff, but hopefully this targets what is happening.

To answer your questions:

Eating Fatty Foods? I've gotten off my liquid diet yesterday and started eating regular things again (French Fries, Pork Chops) and this didn't seem to cause me any more or less pain than the liquid diet I was on. So...I don't know what to think about that.

Where exactly is my Pain? My pain is over the entire abdomen, but hurts more in the center (belly button) and a wee bit more on the right-side. I get pains that last usually about an hour. Some last several hours.

Nurse from Cleveland Clinic? My Colo-Rectal surgeon is based out of Sioux Falls, SD at the Sanford Hospital. Great Doc and he did a fantastic job on my J-pouch. Really good bedside manners and great guy.

I could find out as early as late today (Thursday), but more than likely Friday or Monday, about the results. They have to be reviewed by a radiologist and then my family doctor.

I'm a bit concerned because this could be just about anything. None good. I'm just hoping it's the lesser of all the bad thing

No Partial Obstruction, but an inflamed pancreas that could be caused by gall stones. The CAT Scan they took didn't show any gall stones. They are not going to do some other tests that should tell what's going on with the pancreas/gall bladder.

The doctor wanted to put me in the hospital over the weekend until they had the tests done on Tuesday, but I refused. He was surprised the pain hasn't caused me to go to the ER. I should of told him...I had Ulcerative Colitis and a J-Pouch.....this ain't NOTHIN'!

Hopefully, they can determine in more detail what's going on and get me mended up. No Obstruction is good news...I think

Smooth, I was just diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis. I know what you mean. I think our pain tolerance is way high! I hope everything turns out ok.

Well, the Ultrasound didn't show any gallstones. I did another test after that which will be reviewed today. It tests the function of the gall bladder. I just want to know what's wrong. It's frustrating no knowing.

Now off to see my Surgeon in Sioux Falls. It appears that nothing is wrong with my gall bladder. Tests showed that it was functioning just fine.

It may be my pancreas. My local doctor thought it was a bit inflamed, but didn't get into too much detail.

I am frustrated.

I hope you got some answers from your surgeon and aren't stuck in the hospital right now.

I just wanted to throw the fact that it could just be pancreatitis - it isn't always tied to gallbladder function. Have they done bloodwork to check your amylase and lipase? If those are both elevated, it is likely pancreatitis, for which the treatment is usually having nothing to eat or drink, and IV hydration until it settles down.

On another note, it could still be a partial obstruction/slowdown of some sort. Mine never show on CT's unless they're full-on obstructions. My last one was actually very low down near my pouch (to the point where I continuously felt the need to go to the washroom but was unable to pass much). I spent close to a week in the hospital with all kinds of tests which showed a lot of stool and gas but could not pinpoint the obstruction. Eventually they did an MRI with rectal and IV contrast, which took almost 3 hours, but it did show a sharp angulation in the bowel above my pouch and a distended bowel above that. They didn't end up doing anything, but after months of a near all-liquid diet at home, and a pouchogram in an attempt to blast it open with contrast, it seems to have straightened itself out.

Whatever is causing your pain though, I hope it's something easy to fix so that you can be back on your feet quickly!

Please update us when you get a chance!

I FINALLY got a diagnosis on my pains in my stomach area and back. My family doctor had four tests to check for gall bladder stones/problems. I had the last two done last Tuesday. The following day I called the doctor's office and was told that, "All your tests came back negative. Nothing is wrong with your Gall Bladder. We will have to refer you to a different doctor." Howver, I got my TRUE answer yesterday afternoon.

I went and saw a well respected surgeon in town to have him look at my tests taken by my Family Doctor. Since nothing on the tests showed I had Gall Bladder problems, I was driving myself crazy speculating on what I actually may have. Before I even talked to the surgeon his nurse told me, "It looks like we are going to have a gall bladder removed." I was taken aback and asked her why I would be having my gall bladder removed when all the tests came back negative. She responded, "Your last test, the HIDA Scan, showed that your gall bladder is only working at 18% efficiency." I then spoke with the surgeon and he reiterated the same story. Anything below 35% they deem as a poor performing gall bladder and it needs to be removed. They expect someone my age to be around 70% efficient. Well, to make a long story somewhat shorter….I need my gall bladder out. I have yet to decide whether I want it done at my local regional hospital or 3 hours away with the Doctor I had my J-pouch surgery with a few years ago.

A person isn't normally GLAD to hear they need their gall bladder out, however, considering what "other" things a person could have, I was relieved.

I hope this Thread helps someone other than myself get through their issues.

Thanks everyone for your comments!