Ileus

[Barbro]

Hi all,

Everything worked well for many months, and suddenly I got blocked intestine (I think its called ileus). I vomited and had a bad stomach ache for 12 hours before I understood what it was (vomited from the small intestine finally) and we managed to get me to the emergency. The contrast fluid luckily solved the problem. They saw at the X-ray that the stop had gone because the contrast fluid had gone through all the intestines (however, I don't know the reason to the stop).

Then back home it took almost a week to get rid of the stomach pain and bring order to the stomach (first too hard, then too soft). Now after a week I started irrigation again. It seems to work.

My question is if you have any good advices about ileus and irrigation? It was my first ileus and I really want to avoid it happen again... it was terrible.

[ot dave]

Seems like you would need to find out why you had the ileus. I've been irrigating for over 6 years....never had ileus. I don't think the two are related. Usually ileus occurs because peristalsis stops. Ileus is most often associated with an infection of the lining of the stomach.
Another common cause of ileus is a disruption or reduction of the blood supply to the abdomen. Handling the bowel during abdominal surgery can also cause peristalsis to stop, so people who have had abdominal surgery are more likely to experience ileus.
So, have you had any recent procedures or illnesses that would have contributed to ileus? Do you have a hernia? Hernias can create an obstruction and have similar symptoms to ileus.
Irrigation will continue to help you "clear out" your colon and have some control over your bowel movements. It's a lifstyle activity for me as I like to go all day without output.
Hope that helped some.

David

[Barbro]

Hi David, thanks for answer. Yes I have been operated for hernias. Once for stoma hernia and a small just above the umbilical, and once for a pelvic floor hernia. The pelvic floor hernia is gone. The stoma hernia was better after operation but there are problems still. When irrigating everything works well but if not, there is sometimes congestion just inside the stoma. I am currently asking for a so called three dimensional ultrasound to see what is causing the problems there.
However, now the stop seems to have been earlier, in the transition between the small and large intestine. The doctor was not very clear about this, maybe everything is not visible at the x-rays. But he said the small intestine was inflated which is a sign of stop later on. This thus took place at the emergency, maybe they are not so knowledgeable there.
Next time I will see the surgeon that operated the cancer (three year follow-up, in Nov) I will try make him figuring out what was causing the problem with stop.
All good advices before that are welcome.
I hope irrigating is not related, because also I feel I am depending on it, it really gives me a lot of freedom and a feeling of safety.