Bowel Obstruction

Parent Cafe
1

<p>Not me, my 27-year-old son. When he was 13, his appendix ruptured and they wound up removing a foot of large intestine. Every once in a blue moon he would get terrible stomach pains, which the doctors ascribed to “surgical adhesions.” About two years ago, he had a full-fledged obstruction and was in the hospital with a nasogastric tube for about four days. It finally resolved on its own.</p>

<p>Now, it’s happened again. The doctors say there’s nothing he did to cause it. He is not at all happy about the NG tube. He said two years ago it was the most uncomfortable thing he’s ever had. </p>

<p>He needs a hug. Unfortunately he’s around 800 miles away.</p>

2

<p>Oh dear! We have an adult friend with a similar issue. It seems to be fine for long periods of time…like 10 years or more. Then she has a flare up. Fortunately she has been about 50/50 with the need for surgery. </p>

<p>I hope your son is on the mend. No fun having a kiddo far away and not feeling well. No fun at all.</p>

3

<p>thumper, if he needs surgery, we’ll be out there like a shot.</p>

<p>I feel so helpless.</p>

4

<p>I am so sorry!</p>

5

<p>Aw…so sorry.</p>

6

<p>So sorry, sending out hugs for you and him!</p>

7

<p>What a bummer! Sending hugs and good wishes for a quick and uneventful recovery.</p>

8

<p>Poor thing! How long do these obstructions take to unobstruct?</p>

9

<p>Oh, that’s no good at all. Poor kid. I bet he really appreciates the phone calls and e-mails and the chance to vent to mom.</p>

10

<p>I’m so sorry, Very Happy, especially because I know from personal experience exactly what it feels like. I’ve had the exact same issue, with surgical adhesions from intestinal surgery many years ago causing bowel obstructions later on. They usually do resolve by themselves – I’ve had them four times in the last eight years, and only one required surgery – but I know that there are few more painful things while it’s happening. And yes, an NG tube is horribly uncomfortable, but at least it empties things out so the pain isn’t so terrible. </p>

<p>The very best to him; I hope it resolves itself soon.</p>

<p>Donna</p>

11

<p>major {{{{{{hugs}}}}} to your DS! And to you! It is sheer agony for a parent not be be able to take the pain away!</p>

12

<p>Thank you all for your good wishes. I had hoped there would be an email from him this AM (he has his computer with him). But, no such message. Maybe that means he spent a peaceful night. :rolleyes:</p>

<p>Donna: Good to see you back. Where have you been?</p>

13

<p>VH - big, big hug. I know the nasogastric tube is pretty horrible - I feel so sorry for him. There is NOTHING worse than standing by and knowing your child is suffering. Let’s hope that once the tube was in he was given something to help him sleep.</p>

14

<p>wnp, I told him to ask for a sedative before they put the tube down. Don’t know what happened.</p>

15

<p>When my son had an obstruction they recommended he lose weight as the belly fat acts as a band making it even more difficult to the bowel stuck with adhesions to move around. Of course, as a teenager he totally ignored this advice and it may not even be relevant for your son. He has now lost some weight though and I am especially happy as it will reduce the chance of this happening again! Or so they say.
Because of some other structural differences he has, we couldn’t get an NG tube in at all so he made do without one. It took about 5 days for his bowel to untwist. I have no idea if this is longer or shorter, but maybe it had to do with the no-NG tube?</p>

16

<p>So sorry for your son! My husband has experienced this 3–maybe 4–times. One time resulted in surgery. Working with his gastroenterologist, he has identified several foods that he needs to stay away from. He has also become very sensitive to how he feels as the obstruction is beginning to build up, and has been able to get to the emergency room in entry of time to have the NG inserted and the obstruction reversed. (And yes, the NG tube stinks.) Hopefully, your son won’t have another episode, but perhaps he can get to this point as well.</p>

17

<p>The silver lining of this episode is that he identified it much earlier than he did last time, which was the first time it occurred. So maybe this will be less bad than the first one. </p>

<p>I just spoke to him. He is not a happy camper. :(</p>

18

<p>How terrible for you and him! Just remember that if he has mom to vent to, he probably feels a lot better (emotionally, if not physically) after talking to you/hearing from you. It’s safe to vent to mom.</p>

19

<p>Does anyone know if, when this recurs, it recurs at the exact same spot in the bowel?</p>

20

<p>after several months of repeated bowel issues (including bowel obstruction), my bowel finally perforated. I went into a septic shock and would have died if not for the fact that medical staff at Memorial Sloan Kettering had my recent medical history and connected the dots immediately and performed an emergency surgery. </p>

<p>Even before this event, my doctors were already starting to consider a surgery to remove the portion of the bowel that seems to be a repeat offender. In the emergency surgery, my surgeon did remove about 2.5 feet of small intestine. I only wish I had a surgery before perforation and septic shock happened: the surgery for this was very traumatic - compared to this, a prophylactic surgery to remove the portion of the problem-area of the bowels would have been a walk in the park. </p>

<p>So, in my humble opinion, if the bowel problems start to present themselves on a regular basis, it’s good to check if it is in general same area. If so, surgical removal of that area might be an option.</p>

<p>Good luck. I hope your son’s case is sporadic and not a repeat affair. Let’s just say that I really understand what your son is going through.</p>