Just curious if anyone has info linking bowel obstruction to MC. I've had it in the past - they had to go in and "unkink" my intestines and suture part of them to my abdominal wall to keep them in place - a part of my small intestine was being herniated by a loop of large intestine each time it filled. That was about 15 years ago. I've had 3 other surgeries that have invaded my abdomen. Now i wake up every night with my left side hurting and a bulge that starts under my navel and goes to the left side. I mentioned it to my GI dr and told him i'm thinking i'm getting another obstruction but he just totally dismissed it (said it was probably a knot in my stomach from worrying about it! - which i really didn't appreciate nor did i think it was funny as he apparently did from the grin on his face). On Thursday morning as soon as they opened i was at my GPs office trying to get there early enough to show him before it resolved for the day. He agreed with my assessment and set me up to see a gastro surgeon that might be able to help. The left side pain has been there for nearly 2 years - sometimes worse than others and always exacerbated by gas or by doing anything that stretches that side. And, coincidently, my colitis has been flaring about a year and half (tho i didn't realize it until the recent diagnosis). Does anyone know if there might be a connection between obstructions and MC?
Carole
MC linked to bowel obstruction?
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MC linked to bowel obstruction?
The Lord never said it would be easy - He only said it would be worth it!
Carole,
I think I mentioned my stenosis to you, but that's nothing like the "choking" or twisting effect, that you're referring to. I doubt that you will find any research, or case studies, referring to this issue in connection with MC, but I could be wrong, of course. The bloating, and shifting patterns of gas, that go along with MC, could certainly tend to make some of the problems that you mentioned, a lot more likely to get out of hand.
When I was at the peak of my reactions, and bloated, like you, on many days, I could see a prominent bulge on my abdomen, (usually horizontal, as I recall), that would always appear in the same place, and sometimes it would remain in place for many hours. Then the pressure would shift, and that bulge would disappear. I assume that in my case, at least, the bulge that was the most frequent problem, was aligned with my transverse colon. My guts would sometimes writhe around like a snake, presumably as gas pressure shifted inside them. All of that disappeared, though, after I was on the diet long enough for my gut to heal, so that the bloating stopped.
One of my uncles, (in his nineties), had to have emergency abdominal surgery, because his colon kept becoming twisted. (He did not have MC, however). The medical team managed to get it untwisted the first time it happened, but then they had to operate, a few days later, when it happened again, and they couldn't get it untwisted, (from the outside).
Tex
I think I mentioned my stenosis to you, but that's nothing like the "choking" or twisting effect, that you're referring to. I doubt that you will find any research, or case studies, referring to this issue in connection with MC, but I could be wrong, of course. The bloating, and shifting patterns of gas, that go along with MC, could certainly tend to make some of the problems that you mentioned, a lot more likely to get out of hand.
When I was at the peak of my reactions, and bloated, like you, on many days, I could see a prominent bulge on my abdomen, (usually horizontal, as I recall), that would always appear in the same place, and sometimes it would remain in place for many hours. Then the pressure would shift, and that bulge would disappear. I assume that in my case, at least, the bulge that was the most frequent problem, was aligned with my transverse colon. My guts would sometimes writhe around like a snake, presumably as gas pressure shifted inside them. All of that disappeared, though, after I was on the diet long enough for my gut to heal, so that the bloating stopped.
One of my uncles, (in his nineties), had to have emergency abdominal surgery, because his colon kept becoming twisted. (He did not have MC, however). The medical team managed to get it untwisted the first time it happened, but then they had to operate, a few days later, when it happened again, and they couldn't get it untwisted, (from the outside).
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.