Time to call your doc. In the meantime, get on your knees and rock back and forth. Get on your back, knees bent and feet on the floor, rock legs back and forth.

You can get by pretty well on a liquid diet, but not clear liquids. You can add things like Ensure without worsening the obstructive symptoms. But, yeah, time to call your doc.

Jan

walking might also help dislodge the obstruction. and if you want to get really inventive invert yourself, as close as you can to a headstand. I lean up against a wall upside down. and yes as Jan suggests the lack of calories will weigh against you after a few days. try jello, broth as well, pedialyte maybe too. but a liquid nutritional supplement sipped gingerly on the rocks, stirred not shaken, will probably help too.

and yes I hope you've reached out to your doc. if its not getting better after a day, its time to make the call.

Thanks all for the feedback/advices! Right after I submitted my post, I went and bought some Ensure, which definitely helped. I also attempted some of the exercises/positions mentioned and noticed by late afternoon that I was no longer distended. My output has thickened and I'm feeling substantially better. I had contemplated calling my doctor (though I've since moved out of that state), but fortunately all is well now so there's no need. Thank you all again for the feedback and encouragement. I truly appreciate this supportive online community!

Great news! Now, you should think of this as a warning that you need to get established with a local gastroenterologist or colorectal surgeon. You should not wait until you have an urgent need to find a doctor, and you should not rely on a doctor you cannot see in a pinch. It is fine for advisories, but not if you need to see someone.

Jan

^ listen to Jan. many people wait until an emergent situation materializes to contemplate the hassle of navigating a new patient/doctor relationship but given whats at stake is that the best practice? of course not. as a surgically altered human being you should have excellent local contacts that know your medical history and can be of assistance.

now the next question what do you think caused the obstruction. for me I can often pinpoint it to a food or the way I consumed the food. for example inhaling food is never a good idea, I learned that by obstructing once when eating an egg on a bagel breakfast sando, and again while wolfing down linguine and clams. chew chew chew, drink water while eating and take care. I would also remain gentle on the guts for the next week as they are probably still unhappy.

glad you didn't need the ol' NG tube.

Absolutely! I've been planning to find a local doc so this incident was a great reminder to get on it. 

There are certain foods that I have to be careful with because they've caused partial blockages in the past - specifically roughage. I had a burrito the night before the obstruction started bothering me. It had some lettuce in it so I'm thinking that was the culprit. The most frustrating part is that I can eat a particular meal one night with no problems and then have the same meal a week later that causes a blockage. Not sure if you all experience the same thing. This incident was yet another reminder to be careful with raw veggies/roughage and, if consumed, to chew like crazy!

Usually, a specific food is not a culprit, unless it is very fibrous and you don't chew well. If you have a stricture, food can be more of a problem, but it is more consistent. What is more typical, is that you have adhesions and your gut moves and twists. The adhesions cause a kink and an obstruction. So, it largely depends on whether your gut is zigging or zagging at any particular point. This is also why you can't figure out which food you ate as causing your problem.

Jan

I will defer to Jan's medical experience, but I will add that from my personal journey, I avoid roughage/fiber like the plague, and jokingly as its coincided a couple of times, I am a thoughtful chewer when I have clams, my doc likes to admonish me to not have clams because twice we could arguably name them as the guilty party. aren't burritos also laden with beans? although ive heard, that refried beans are supposedly an excellent source of SOLUBLE fiber which in theory is okay.

I'm glad things cleared up.

Dewey, you make a good point. Clams and other shellfish can be difficult to digest, so if you don't chew well, they can remain big chunks. 

For me, I need to be careful with mushrooms, as they can remain as big chunks that "hang up." 

So, it is more of an issue of "roughage" or insoluble fiber, than soluble fiber. This is why raw fruits and vegetables are problematic for so many.

Jan

UCfree2012 posted:

Absolutely! I've been planning to find a local doc so this incident was a great reminder to get on it. 

There are certain foods that I have to be careful with because they've caused partial blockages in the past - specifically roughage. I had a burrito the night before the obstruction started bothering me. It had some lettuce in it so I'm thinking that was the culprit. The most frustrating part is that I can eat a particular meal one night with no problems and then have the same meal a week later that causes a blockage. Not sure if you all experience the same thing. This incident was yet another reminder to be careful with raw veggies/roughage and, if consumed, to chew like crazy!

I have found out that Roughage always gets me locked up, So I never eat raw veggies, NO Cheese , very little bread. And most of all never woof down that food. What I found out is if I eat high fiber > beans it will start the blockage , a few days later im locked up and have to look back at what I eat days before. Sure enough it all started with a particular food days before. So here goes that half to full bottle of Citric magnesium , heat pad, coffee and pain for a few hours. I have had my J-pouch for 28 years now

Glad you are feeling better.

I've had two in the last two weeks and I don' think food had anything to do with it. I think it's the adhesions and a kink. I've been doing yoga for 3 weeks. Lots of twists and compressions. Any thoughts on that anyone?

Hello I've had my pouch for 15 years and as the season come and go it's always different I seam to forget to drink water in the winter because I don't seam thirsty just like the summer I have to drink twice as much I also find stretching my body everyday helps to so LOTS OF FLUIDS ever day