I know that bowel obstructions – mainly, avoiding them – are a really big deal for a lot of you. So, to that end, I interviewed one of my favorite abdominal teachers about this very important issue.
As I always feel about these interviews with other practitioners, I am so deeply grateful to Marty for the information and for the down-to-earth discussion of how to work with bowel obstructions and how to avoid them altogether.
And please let me know your feedback! I would love to know what you think.
Author Profile
- Isabel Spradlin is a Registered Nurse (RN), Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT), and CLWT abdominal adhesion specialist in Portland, OR. She specializes in educating people about manual treatment (massage) for abdominal pain and dysfunction, especially when it is adhesion related. Please see the "Programs" page to see her offerings.
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I hope this helps me. About 5 months after my gastric bypass, I had a bowel obstruction. Adhesions from scar tissue left me with needing an emergency open surgery. It was the worst experience. 7 months later, I had another bowel obstruction. They did insert an NG tube, but shouldn’t have, as it can puncture my pouch and cause more issues. I had laperscopic surgery 2 weeks ago and am so terrified that this is my new normal life…pain, nausea, surgery, loss of income, and huge medical bills. I want my old life back. I already have a lot of medical issues and have been so stressed that life will never be enjoyable again. I’m afraid that if I miss anymore work, they’ll let me go. I love my jobs and need to work. Thanks for giving me hope and I hope I never have a bowel obstruction again.
I hope you get the help you need. I haven’t had the types of surgery you had but I do have severe endometriosis. My miracle baby was born via c section and before that I had had a laproscopic surgery to remove some Endometriosis. When they opened me up for surgery for my son they said I was a mess and they would need to work on me for another 15 minutes. All that to say – I have had occasional partial bowel obstruction since and this latest round I almost went to the hospital but instead went outline and found out about clear pathways. I don’t think I will have to go to the clinic because the information on their website regarding food helped give me the guidance I needed there and then I used YouTube to find free videos teaching me how to do various forms of massage for my lower intestine. I did self massages on my stomach while laying on my back that were gentle. The thing that seemed the most effective was when I got down on the floor on my yoga mat and completed some exercises with my distended stomach uncomfortably against the floor. I couldn’t do many at first but just that firm pressure and squirming around under the pressure must have done something to help because I was able to have a very small BM on my own soon after that without any additional intervention or help. I hope this info helps you!