Small bowel obstruction

[Eyman1]

OC stage 4 two masses as well as multi subcuaneous & peritoneal deposits ...4 line chemo is the nextn not big bositive response...I have abdominal sever pain, no clue what to eat, the Dr always tells me, i have to try and see what suitable, what scare me know, Yesterday CT indicate small bowel obstuction ..it looks like this is the source of the continous pain? is this, a begining of complete bowel obsttruction ? what to do or what to eat to ease my pain and big probelm? Your feed back please

[nork2]

Hi there. Sounds like your Docs are not giving you a huge amount of support with this? The advice I have had and seems to work for me is when very uncomfortable just stick to fluids. You can do this for a surprisingly long time if needed but you will need some fortified protein type drinks which can be prescribed for you. Then move onto soft mushy foods like mashed potato, well cooked fish in sauce, scrambled egg etc. ultimately moving onto a low fibre/low residue diet (google it but essentially NO fruit/veg/whole grains/nuts/seeds etc i.e. All the healthy stuff!) If it's a partial bowel obstruction you need stuff that will pass through the bowel quickly and easily. May need laxatives as well and plenty of fluids.

If your stomach is bloated, you start being sick or are in a lot of pain you mustn't suffer alone. The doctors should have a plan to manage this and sort you out. Have they suggested surgery?

Sending you lots of strength and love.

Lynne xxxx

[ma_belle in reply to nork2]

That is consistent with the experience of my sister. Is it lots and lots of stomach rest. IF you are throwing up and cannot keep anything down- get on a drip. Try and take every little bit you can

[ma_belle]

This sounds a lot like my sister. Lots and lots of stomach rest. They put her on drips and it was clear fluid for days , then a soft diet

If there is a lot of nausea there are meds that go with that. Something called octreotide. Also for stomach cramps they can titrate buscopan and fentanyl to give you a does that keeps you pain free.

Please ask to speak to a surgeon, if it is an obstruction, surgery may be an option. I hope you feel better soon.

[Eyman1]

Thanks to all for all the advices ...first of all no plan to do any surgery because the dr said is only small obstruction ...the pain coupled with vomiting is my normal life type style....especially the last 4 weeks...i am going home today after a week in the hospital ...the hospital made me sick ....too noisy, could not sleep and no plan except given me fluid, pain and vomiting control medicine ...at least i will go home and starting your feedback regarding the food ...thx again

[sharonforce]

When I couldn't eat properly following ovarian cancer surgery that included removing part of my bowel, my hospital gave me Nutrisip and Fortisip drinks, see: fortisipdrink.co.uk/ . They are a nutritionally complete, high energy supplement and I found them very easy to sip at when I wasn't able to eat. Each small bottle has 300 calories (equivalent of eating a sandwich so my nurse told me) and I really liked them.

Best wishes

Sharon

x

[tutti]

I had colostomy due to oc tumour but still have bowel obstructions due to adhesions and narrow bits of colon seven years later.Latest was after surgery on knee and I must have got blocked up in hospital.My solution is immediately take pain relief ,stop eating, drink plenty unless vomiting and pain goes within 24 hours.Then lactulose to soften stools so they move along,this can take a week! Meanwhile liquid diet followed by introduction of soft food.I agree with other replies that the days of eating a lot of veg and fruit have gone. I also avoid most meat as apparently that takes a long time to digest.I have been hospitalised a few times and all they can do is relieve pain and replace fluids so I am making a big effort to avoid this with a more boring diet. Good luck.

[thesilent1]

Make sure you drink lots of water as this will help to flush it through. I had bowel obstruction with first line treatment. They flushed it through with IV fluids. The pain is very severe. Take care. #Warriors. Ann xo