Worried....

I have been having gas pains on and off on my upper left side abdomen which started about 3 weeks ago.  Well on new year's eve the pains came back.  They lasted for many hours so DH decided I should go to the ER to make sure nothing was wrong.  All they did since I was pg was to take a urine sample and feel my abdomen.  Since my pain was not horrific, my stomach was not distended, and I was not vomiting they sent me home and said it might go away. 

It didn't go away, so I called my surgeon on new years day.  To my surprise he answered his cell phone.  With being pg he suggested first step is to start taking miralax to see if that helps since my bowels have been irregluar as well.

So now today I am still feeling the discomfort.  My surgeon said to me honestly that if I were not pg he would order an xray and upper gi to see if there was an obstruction but didn't know if that was the best idea.  He seemed reluctant but said the best thing may be to just try and eat softer foods, not too much at a time, chewing as much as possible etc.  Basically try everything to not make it feel worse if it was in fact an obstruction and hope for the best that it will go away which is possible.  With my symptoms if there is a blockage it would be partial due to the fact that I am not doubled over in pain and vomiting. 

I called the OB and spoke to the nurse about whether I could get the xray and upper GI and she felt too that maybe a wait and see is the best approach that the radiation is too much. 

I am very frustrated and worried.  I feel confident that whatever is wrong that I am not in eminent danger because I am still functioning but at the same time I want to know if something is wrong.  I feel like there is a pocket of gas bubbles that is just stuck.  Gas X does not alleviate it unfortunately.  It just sits there gurgling for hours with accompanying discomfort.  The only time it alleviates is if I don't eat for many hours but promptly returns once I have eaten. 

Have any of you had a partial obstruction?  If so could you please describe your early symptoms to me?  Both my surgeon and my ob office were very sympathetic to me but I am stuck in this catch 22. 

Hi Ellen,
I am so sorry you are going thru this pain and can't get any answers.  I haven't had an obstruction but wanted to let you know I hope it ends for you soon.  I think I would be asking for some tests.  I am sure an Xray is not the best thing to have, but before sonograms that's what they used.  I know my mom had them when pregnant with my sister and I. 

What about bowel movements?  are you having those or are you really constipated?  drinking enough?  laying on your left side? 

I hope you get to feeling better or get some answers soon! 

Bambi

Well when I had my RNY they were handing out fleet enema's to alleviate gas - Maybe you can check with your OB to see if you can use an enema and see if that relieves the pain.

What about walking, heating pad, arms over your head? All just crazy things I've heard to get rid of gas - if that's what it is.

Can't they do an ultrasound of the area? Or aren't CAT scans better for us?

I sure hope that you feel better!

I have had a few friends that have had a full or partial obstruction and well they were wishing that they were dead, doubled over in pain, morphine didn't touch it etc.

FEEL BETTER

Liz

Liz that makes me feel better that your friends had significant pain since my pain only ranges from 2-5 on the "pain scale."

I did ask the surgeon about an ultrasound and he said that it would most likely not give them any info. 

As for trying to alleviate the gas.  I have done the enema already but no real results as well as taking miralax daily in hopes of having more regular bowel movements.  I do put a heating pad on it as well as walk around too.  I hadn't however tried to put my arms up.  I will for sure give that a try. 

I really hope that this magically goes away, because I am terribly worried if there is something wrong what this could do to the baby.  I am not concerned for myself at all. 

 

I just had emergency surgery for a partial obstruction and internal hernia yesterday.  I had had a couple of episodes of "gassy" type pain before I got pregnant, but once I was pregnant the episodes had gotten worse and worse as the baby got bigger.  The first bad attack was about two months ago and my OB had no idea what to do with me.  The second attack sent me to the ER and my OB then sent me to a GI doc (my gastric bypass surgeon was out of town).  The GI doc didn't know what to do with me either, and basically said he couldn't run any tests because I was pregnant.  He put me on Nexium and said "let's hope it's an ulcer."  The pain came back with a vengeance last Thursday and Vicodin wasn't touching it, so I finally called my surgeon on Sunday morning.  He said it sounded like a hernia and to come in so we could do surgery immediately.  He had me in the OR by mid-afternoon and, sure enough, there was a hernia and I had a twisted bowel (or partial obstruction). 

My pain was definitely horrible by the time I finally got surgery, but it started out several months ago as just "gas" in my upper abdomen, right between my ribs.  I had two extensive ultrasounds in the ER that showed nothing.  All my blood tests were normal.  But if I had continued to just live with it, it could have been very, very serious for me and the baby.  Just please keep an eye on your pain level and if it seems to get worse, make sure everyone takes it seriously. 

Oh Tricia,  First I hope that you and baby are well on your way to recovery now and that you feel better very soon.  Then thank you so much for responding to my post. 

What you described is entirely what I feel like I am going through although I have thankfully not reached that terrible pain level yet.  When I was in the ER they said follow up with OB which I didn't do because I know this is not pg related.  They also told me I may be suffering from acid reflux and gave me a pill to see if it made the discomfort go away.  They didn't do one single test other than urine sample. 

In all I am at a loss for words.  I feel like the doctors won't touch me with a 10 foot pole because I am pg and my sypmtoms concern me.  In the same regard I don't want to do anything that puts the baby at risk, but I am scared.  I can tell in the tone of my surgeon's voice that he thinks I really might have an obstruction. 

At this point I have decided to take it one day at a time.  I have myself prepared that if my pain increases I need to go to the ER and I have been thinking over what I would say because I had to wait for 30 minutes to even be seen in the ER based on that maybe I should have been in L&D. 

Lot's of luck to you while you heal from the surgery and thanks so much for the reply!

Thank you, so far the baby and I are doing great!  I got to have another ultrasound and she is beautiful!! 

I don't know how far along you are, but just stay on top of things.  The most important thing is to stay in contact with your surgeon so that he is aware of any change and can make decisions accordingly.  I know how helpless you feel right now and I sure hope you get some answers soon.

I can't tell you the relief (along with the white-knuckle fear) that came with Dr. Ferrari saying "Don't worry, I'll take care of you" on Sunday morning.  I knew it meant another surgery so I was scared for the baby, but I couldn't go on with the amount of pain I was feeling. 

Good luck to you and I hope you get to feeling better and it was nothing more than gas...that would be nice!!!!

I've never had an obstruction, but I did have upper left quadrant gas pain a lot after banding. It eventually went away, but returned pretty often whil I was pregnant. From what i read, they call it splenic flexure syndrome (gas gets stuck in the bend of the colon near the spleen). It makes sense that these issues would come up while pregnant; it's really amazing how much that growing baby smooshes all of our innards out of the way!
The main things I found that helped when it bothered me was to drink plenty of water and lay down on my left side for a while to help the gas move along. If it got really bad, reglan helped as well. I would think that, if things like this work for you, that would probably be a good sign that it isn't an obstruction.

Hi Dev, thanks for the reply.  So that would be fantatic if the trapped gas is what I am suffering from.  I googled it but wasn't really able to find anything.  Do you remember if when you would have bouts of it if it would last all day?  I have had gas gurgling in that same area since new years eve.  The pain is just under my ribs but the gas bubbles are felt between my ribs as well.  The only time it is gone is first thing in the morning but returns within 15-20 minutes of eating or drinking. 

Thanks for taking the time to tell me about that syndrome though because I have obviously never heard of it and it would be an amazing relief if that is what is going on.  Just the possiblity of it makes me feel better. 

Mine was more intermittent, but would last several hours at a time and it was always after eating/drinking. It also hurt worse if I eating tried to stretch out OR bend over. I think I did have it a lot less aften after my gallbladder was removed.