small bowel obstruction

Sisters,

I just returned home after a 3 day stay in the hospital for small bowel obstruction caused by scar tissue left from my hysterectomy almost 15 years ago. The pain I experienced on Tuesday made any other pain I have ever felt pale in comparison. I never would have dreamed that my complication-free hysterectomy so long ago would have put me in that kind of pain. We were able to clear things out with the NG tube (the MOST uncomfortable apparatus ever invented!) so I didn't have to have additional surgery. I'll definitely add more fiber to my diet and up the exercise to keep things moving. I wouldn't want anyone to go through this. Keep yourselves healthy, girls!

I was in the hosptial for 2-1/2 days back in June for a small bowel obstruction. That NG tube is awful! And the NPO was hard also. I finally convinced the doctor to let me have some lemon sticks. Thus far, I haven't had a reoccurence. Doctor advised me to limit the fiber and no raw veggies as he thinks the obstruction was from adhesions and the raw veggies take too long to digest and could get stuck. I do feel a little better since eliminating them from my diet.

Kim,

Thanks for the advice about the veggies. My discharge instructions regarding diet were "as tolerated" which doesn't tell me anything. I did some searching on WebMD and other medical websites to see what was recommended. Again, not a lot. I hope to see my regular doctor this week to find out what she says. I have eaten a pretty bland diet since I came home with small portions, and I'm concentrating on chewing my food completely and eating more slowly. I've also made sure to drink lots of water. I'm hopeful that those new habits will help as well.

Here's hoping that neither of us has to do this again!!

Denise

Denise,
My instructions when I was discharged were the same as yours! I went back to my GI doc afterwards and he did a colonscopy and the camera pill test to check for further issues and to make sure I was still unkinked.

Water is a good thing.

in there. Sounds like you are doing all the right things.