Intestinal Blockage (Throwing up, extreme bloat, constipation)

[SM]

I had laparoscopic surgery to remove an ovarian cyst. I spent one night in the hospital and then was sent home. I had thrown up a bit in the hospital but the doctors were not particularly concerned as this can be a normal side effect of anesthesia. My first day home, I felt more or less fine (besides being a little sore from the surgery) but still threw up when I ate. As the days continued, my stomach started to bloat (like visibly so!), I was constipated (I was literally sobbing in pain trying to go to the bathroom), and I threw up after eating anything. I called my doctor but they said I was just constipated from the pain killers and told me to stop taking them.

I stopped taking the pain killers and the symptoms subsided a little bit but I still threw up after eating anything and felt constipated. After 3 or 4 days post-surgery, I felt like I had turned a corner (in retrospect there was no food left in me), but by that evening (I believe I tried to eat something but my memories of that night are so foggy), I could not stop throwing up (by the end I was just dry heaving) and was even more constipated. I was worried I would dehydrate from not being able to keep anything down and I was in more pain than I had been in after the actual surgery so I went to the emergency room.

There they did a ct scan and found that I had an intestinal blockage (Paralytic Ileus). The only way to fix a blockage is to “restart” your system. So they stick an NG tube through your nose which connects to your stomach to clear away the blockage. This took about 3 days for me (you can’t eat while you have this in so your hooked up to an IV). Then they keep you in the hospital and introduce foods back into your systems (starting with liquids, then light solids, etc). I wasn’t able to leave the hospital until I went to the bathroom so they could be sure everything was working.

My doctor said that this was a VERY rare side effect from surgery involving the ovaries; however, this can happen if the ilium is accidentally hit during surgery or can be a complication from anesthesia. Unrelated, people with GI issues can also have a blockage.

Post

[Kumar Mandal]

Hey, i am starting today.

[Sarah]

oh my gosh – thank you for sharing. I’ve had laparoscopic surgery to remove an ovarian cyst in the past and thankfully, no blockage but this is obviously really real.

If you need surgery again, is there anything they can do to help with this?

 

[Author]

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