Lesson Learned About Complacency

Hi Folks,

Those of you who are familiar with my posts will have seen me talk (practically brag) about how I can eat anything, no problem, as long as I chew well, keep hydrated, etc. Well, I just got a rude awakening. I just spent the last 30 or so hours in the hospital, first the ER, then admitted overnight. I went to bed Thursday night feeling a little gassy, not unusual for me, and expected it to work its way out. It didn't, and the pain got intense. I tried all the usual things, gentle pressure around the stoma, heating pad, bottle of warm Coke. Nothing worked, and the pain increased. At first, I was getting no gas or output, but then I started having some of both, but the pain did not decrease. I finally decided it was time to head to the ER. I didn't think it was a blockage; otherwise, why would there be gas and output? My fear was that I had perforated my ileum, which would be life-threatening for me as I don't have a colon anymore. Well, turns out it was a blockage, thank God, and after many hours of pain, nausea, and vomiting, it worked its way out. So, what caused it? The only thing I can think of is the bean soup I ate earlier that evening. Have you ever tried to eat soup and chew it? Not so easy as it just wants to go straight down, but beans need to be chewed up a bit. Those little buggers are hard to catch on their way through your mouth. I am going to be extra careful from now on and not just with beans. I've had my ileo for 3 1/2 years without a problem until now. Lesson learned! Don't be complacent!

Terry

Glad to hear you're OK. Fortunately, you are near an ER. Lately, I've been experimenting with eating food I'm not supposed to. So far, no trouble with my colostomy. But lots of pancaking and gas. I'm 10 minutes from a world-class ER/hospital... I get any pains... off I go. Better safe than sorry.

Hi Terry,

Same thing happened to me. I was feeling pretty invincible for the past year and a half since my stoma revision, and really thought I could eat anything. I typically eat a lot of fruit every day, mostly pears, bananas, and oranges. I always buy Bartlett pears because they taste the best and are easy to tell when they're ripe. But about two weeks ago I went to get some more and they were all out. All they had were Gaucho pears... so I said why not? Well, the Gauchos are bigger and their fiber doesn't break down as easily... but I didn't know that. Later that afternoon I noticed I wasn't having any output... which is VERY weird for me. Thinking nothing of it, I continued to eat like I normally do. Then the distention started and I knew something was wrong. I stopped eating and drank a nice sugary drink, which for me guarantees my small bowel will dump tons of my precious water into my bowel to dilute it. It finally passed a couple of hours later and my output was pure ground-up pear fiber. THAT sure brought back some bad memories.

The kicker was I didn't make the connection then with the Gaucho pear. I just figured I ate too much fruit too quickly and went about my business. Fast forward 2 weeks and I pull out another Gaucho from the fruit drawer in the fridge and go to town. But this time I remembered what I ate because when I peeled the little sticker off it, I stuck it on a napkin on the counter. So I'm doing my thing and I get that feeling again and don't see any output. Cheese and crackers... not again! When the output came it was the exact same thing... pear fiber. So the Gauchos got fed to the chickens and ducks and it's Bartlett or bust for me. Yes... complacency does suck.

;O)

Wow - lesson learned… 3-1/2 years for me as well and yes, I eat whatever I want too… I know to chew well, but on occasion, I slip up and think to myself, oops… Thanks for the reminder that our intestinal systems are now compromised and we must NEVER forget that and be aware of what we eat, making sure we spend extra time chewing… Sorry you experienced this… Take care… JB

Hi Terry, glad you are okay! Thanks for sharing! In October, when I was concerned Mom might have had an obstruction because she was having pains and dry heaving, her primary doctor asked if she passed gas that day, and she hadn't. So we were advised to go to the ER. We did, and she did have an obstruction. We were advised by her surgeon that no gas or no output were signs of blockage. Very interesting to know that you started to have little gas and output, and you did have a blockage… If my mom doesn't have any output in the bag for a day, I always ask, "Did you fart today?" I always feel better knowing she did. It's a little scary that even with gas in the bag, it could be a blockage.

Also, thanks for the reminder to chew well.

Living with Your Ostomy | Hollister

G-Day Terry, Wow, you were lucky. I'm so glad you're OK. My one and only blockage up to now was after eating my homemade curry, and it turned out that cardamom seeds are my worst enemy. The pain was excruciating, and after a few hours when it finally gave way, the bag filled up in seconds, and not once but twice. It sometimes needs a kick in the ass to learn a lesson fully. Eat, drink, and be merry, but chew, chew, chew, and then some. Regards, IGGIE

Sorry to hear you've been unwell with a blockage but pleased to hear you're feeling better.

I've never been much of a chewer with food myself. I think too much fuss is made about it, or I just have a cast iron stomach as I've been told many times by doctors and nurses lol. Our digestive system is just like life, always changing. Just because you can tolerate a certain food today doesn't mean you will tomorrow. Luckily, the last bad blockage that put me in the hospital for 5 days was 20 years ago. I remember that very well! Quite a few foods in recent years cause me blockages now that I could eat problem-free 30 years ago.

I am glad to hear you are okay, Terry. Quite the scare! It had to be the bean soup. Swallowing a bunch of whole pinto beans sounds treacherous. I hear you on complacency, and I try not to get that way. My wife baked a carrot cake yesterday, but she started it late, and we had to meet our son and his wife for brunch. So, she turned off the oven and let it sit until we got back. It was then she discovered she was light on the baking powder. So, what she ended up with is some compressed semi-raw cake. Still, she is eating it, but I won't touch it. My grandmother taught me to never eat raw dough, and that was when I had a colon. I am still trying to find the best way to tell her that. She baked the cake for me. :-)

Daniel

I was a little worried about this trip to the ER, as I've recently moved from the big city with world-class hospitals to a small town (15,000 pop.) with one hospital, which I had heard was a good facility, but... who knows? I wondered if they would even be familiar with ostomies and know what to do with me. I had nothing to worry about! It was probably the best ER experience I've had, and I've had many! The bonus is that it's a five-minute drive from home. It's some comfort to know it's there, although I hope I won't need it again!

Terry

Thanks, JB.

Yes, I still think it's odd that I was having some output and gas, but I guess this is what you would call a 'partial' blockage. There was enough room for some stuff to get past, but it was still obstructed.

Terry

Thanks, Iggie. I'll bet that homemade curry was good, though! I had a similar experience with some stir-fried Asian veggies. I had a couple of hours of intense pain and no output, and then I suddenly felt something 'give' inside. Hard to describe, but my pouch filled up so quickly that I barely made it to the loo in time!

Terry

Thanks, Daniel. Awe, can't you just maybe fake eating it, like surreptitiously put it in the trash and say you ate it?

Terry

And run the risk of getting caught? Fat chance! :-)

Hi Terry - having a bowel obstruction is a miserable experience. I've had an ileostomy for 37 years now, and unfortunately, due to a narrowing in my small intestine, I've had several bowel obstructions. For me, I have to make sure I don't eat any raw vegetables or fruit. My rule of thumb is under 3 grams of fiber, small portions, and staying well hydrated. When I feel like an obstruction is coming on (pain, nausea, limited output of stool), I take some fast-acting laxative. It causes cramps and doesn't taste good, but it sometimes keeps me out of the hospital emergency room and having NG tube placement. Good luck!!

Hi Terry

Glad you have had a speedy recovery. Blockage isn't fun, and I think you have done well to go so long prior to that episode. I think we are all guilty of not chewing everything, no matter how much we try. XX

Peppermint pills! This relaxes the intestines and has prevented many ER visits.

Thank goodness it worked itself out without surgery. That happened to me a few months ago after eating a little too much roughage, especially cauliflower rice. The surgeon scheduled me for an X-ray to be taken every 15 minutes after drinking something really sweet and awful. The surgeon told me that the fluid would likely open me up, and before 1/2 an hour, everything started flowing and flowing and flowing. Such a relief, especially without surgery. I will definitely not eat cauliflower rice again, but I will also limit roughage and fiber, which to my GI sounds strange because that should make one go. But, I think with at least my system, no large colon, only small, I can't process roughage without a problem.

Yes, indeed. It's the colon that benefits from fiber or roughage. The small intestine can't process it.

Terry