Internal Hernia & Intestinal Twisting/Blockage

I am 18 months post-op RNY and yesterday I experienced an intestinal obstruction. I just wanted to share the experience in case anyone else finds themselves with these signs and symptoms. It can be life threatening, so please don't mess around with it.

I woke up at 5am and felt great. I had an omelette for breakfast along with several cups of coffee and headed off to work.

At about 10am I started having a little abdominal discomfort. Thinking it was gas or cramps of some sort I didn't pay it much mind. By around noon it was getting pretty uncomfortable so I thought maybe I needed to go to the bathroom, which I I did. I actually felt worse than before and started to get concerned something might not be right. I laid down in my office for a few minutes, then put a call into my surgeons office and left a message.

By 1:30pm I was in a fair amount of pain and realized I needed to leave work. Having not heard back from the doctor I decided to just stop by his office as it's on the way home. The pain continued to increase during this 10-15 minute drive.

Dr. Weiner took one look at me and said "you need to get to the hospital right now for surgery. I'm calling you an ambulance". Off I went.

During the ride to the hospital the pain became AGONIZING. Like nothing I've ever experienced. This continued for hours. Morphine didn't touch the pain. Eventually they gave me Dilaudid and that did the trick to get the pain manageable.

At about 5:30pm they rolled me into surgery. It took a couple of hours to repair the Hernia hole and fix up the intestines.

I am in the hospital recovering today. I feel really good with just some soreness in my abdomen. They are about to discharge me and send me on my way.

Dr Weiner was just in to see me and told me he was actually concerned for my life yesterday (and this is not a guy prone to melodrama). Given the intensity of the pain and the fact that you could visually see the twisted intestines, he was afraid they would be irreparably twisted, which would lead to death.

Scary stuff. Glad to be on the mend. And thankful to Dr Weiner for giving me yet another lease on life!!

My advice? If you are experiencing any sort of abdominal discomfort reach out to your surgeon ASAP. They know best. Don't try to tough it out, it's literally a matter of life and death.

So glad everything turned out OK for you. Definitely a good reminder - don't ignore pain, it could save your life.

SO glad you were seen in time!!!

Yikes! Glad you're okay. That's honestly the complication I fear most. Did your surgeon say if there's anything to be done to help prevent it?

No. It's basically random. Just happens in a small percent of cases. He did say that now it is repaired, there is less than a 5% chance of recurrence.

Something is very wrong with me. I had very sharp pains but only lasted minutes. Now for a month I hurt abdominally. About a 4. My dr is sending me to Mayo. I go tomorrow but I called earlier in tears and was told I have to wait till tomorrow. Called several weeks ago. Called where I had surgery and my surgeon is dead. I am not a melodramatic person. I have no supplemental insurance so not crying wolf. Was told I could get in right away if it was a 10 but a 4 can wait?!!

You might want to reconsider your pain level and report it as a 10. Just a thought.

Lying to your medical provider is not a good idea.

I had pains after I ate from 4-10 on and off for 4 months. When the 10 become more frequent, and every time I had them when I ate dense foods- I had surgery to fix the hernia and twisted guts.

You may have that, or fast trapped, or constipation, or adhesions.

My hernia and twisted guts never showed on ct-scans.

In total - I had 3 surgeries over the years to fix my insides.

Holy cow Jester! Glad that you are okay!