I found out the cause of my abdominal pain...

I posted on here a couple of weeks ago about starting yoga and having some abdominal pain.  Turns out the pain had nothing to do with the yoga.  I have a bowel obstruction.  The pain never went away--it just comes and goes at varying degrees.  I went to see my surgeon today and he scheduled surgery for tomorrow.  I'm posting this now to make others aware of the symptoms, so that they can seek medical attention.  The reason I was encouraged to pursue this was because of posts I have seen in the past from others who have gone through this.  I am so grateful that I had read about this before.

My symptoms began with mild abdominal pain that very suddenly turned severe.  At first I thought that the pain was a result of me starting yoga.  I thought I had pushed too much.  I was also having some nausea, which was odd because I really have not had any nausea since my RNY 10 months ago.  What really got my attention was a huge knot in my abdomen, right above my belly button.  That's when I decided to go to the ER.  They suspected a hernia, and ordered a CT scan.  They told me they saw no evidence of a hernia.  By this time the knot had gone down, so they sent me home.  The radiologist read the scan the next day, and thankfully called me to suggest I visit my surgeon.

So please, if you have any of these symptoms, or if ever something just doesn't feel right to you, please have it checked out.  Much better safe than sorry.

Take care!

You are right on target to be having a bowel obstruction, as I had mine right at 10 months out.  Mine started out as very severe pain that was an immediate onset when I was eating some Triscuit.  I tried to 'tough' it out, as mine happened on April 11, and I work for a CPA firm.  I went to the ER that afternoon about 4:00pm, and was admitted to the hospital that night about 10:00pm.  The pain got so bad that it was very difficult to 'breathe' through the pain.  Needless to say, everyone in the office was shocked that I was having surgery that afternoon.  Being all work dedicated, I was back at the office on April 15 (Saturday).  I felt good, except toward the end of the day.

I hope that you have a quick recovery like I did.

ETA:  I did ask my surgeon two questions...did I do anything wrong to cause this to happen, and he said 'no'.  And the second one...what was the obstruction...his response was scar tissue.

So very true on knowing the symptoms. I had one and went to the ER 3 times over the course of a week before they caught it. They did CT Scans but kept saying I just had the flu. Thankfully I was persistant because I knew something was wrong.
Prayers going out to you for a successful surgery and quick recovery.

sorry you have this obstruction Stephanie.  I hope you get it resolved soon.  Take care of yourself.

Karla

Thanks, guys.  I appreciate the support.

Take care!

Thank God you went to the ER and they ran a CT. Those things can get real ugly, real fast.  I know you will feel a whole lot better after getting it taken care of and can then continue on with the business of healing and continuing your journey! 

Hugs, Mari

Crap I'm sorry Stephanie but so very, very glad you were proactive and saw your surgeon.  Praying the surgery goes well sweetie.

Hugs,

 Eooow  glad they discovered it so early ..  

 I had a scare a couple of weeks ago  --  some symptoms that made me think "hernia" at first, too, but then a strange change of bowel habits had me worried it might be a BO.   I asked on the main forum, and someone posted a neat list of BO symptoms in response.  The main symptom was PAIN, which I really never had,    Everything passed (no pun intended) eventually, so I guess whatever it was was not a BO.  

  How did they decide to treat it for you, btw?    I've read conflicting reports on what to do for a BO ..  Some say "take laxatives" and yet others "DON'T take laxatives - can be dangerous" ..  

I know this may be TMI I just need to know if you had regular bowel movements when you were going through the pain?  I have been having the same pain too..