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Hello! I haven't been on here much and I feel bad for that. It's almost like if I avoid the website, maybe I was never sick! Well, not the case.

I had my J Pouch down in 2 surgeries in 1996, so almost 20 years ago. Along the way I've only had a few isolated problems. Some pouchitis, but never too much. I have had some issues with adhesions. I spent a few days in the hospital in 2010 with them blocking me up a bit, but it passed with resting the digestive system entirely for a few days. However, this past Father's Day weekend, I got really sick and wondered if I had eaten something bad as I was sick to my stomach. Well, I ended up vomiting quite a bit for the overnight and into Sunday morning. My wife took me to the local hospital where a CT was run and it was determined I had a blockage. A total blockage. Talk about hurt! The problem was, the hospital was not equipped with a surgeon who was experienced with a J Pouch. I had to be driven 45 minutes to St. Joe's Hospital in Ypsilanti. Great hospital. I had surgery the following Saturday to clear the blockage which was suspected to just be adhesions. The surgeon spent 4 1/2 hours unraveling my adhesions. You can't cut them, it just creates more adhesions! So, I spent 2 weeks in the hospital. I'm finally doing a little better, but even 2 months post surgery, I have pain.

So my point to this post is to warn all J Pouch members to watch for blockages caused by adhecions. They can cause a lot of trouble!

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Thanks for the warning. It's surprising that you could go for so long with no problems and then suddenly develop such a bad adhesion. Between my first surgery and takedown I had an adhesion that caused a blockage bad enough that I couldn't eat solids the entire time. My surgeon unraveled it when he did the takedown, and so far I've had one partial obstruction in a different area, but no problem from the original one. I'm always a little afraid of more problems. 

Subzero....with all due respect (truly), what you are describing may be fascial strain patterns but it is impossible to have true 'adhesions' anatomically the way you describe or the way it is understood.  Fascial strain patterns absolutely, and agreed manipulation may be helpful.  The only reason I post this is so people don't get confused. Not sure if 'adhesions' would be used during Rolfing or certain massage, but those are very different then surgeons use the term for scar tissue wrapped around organs.  (Even if the inflammatory response is similar...)

I found your reply very confusing. The surgeons who operated on me call the mess I have myofascial adhesions and fibrosis. During the first surgery, every organ below my lungs had to be moved, rinsed and cleaned of contaminated ruptured organ tissue. After the second surgery, the surgeons said they took pictures of the adhesions because it was the worst case they had ever seen. The adhesion release therapy is not the same as active release therapy. There are only two people in my state licensed to use it.

I have a lot of adhesions also but my Dr. never mentioned therapy for it.  They just tell me that It is to dangerous for me to have them removed.  I had many problems after my surgery 4 in all within 6 months. The first surgery I contacted mercer I thought I would never get out of the hospital and many other problems.    I know many of you also went thru terrible times.  Thank God for all of you If I hadn't found this site and another one that I was on I don't know what I would have done.  Thank you all   Grace

I was lucky to not make too many adhesions (thank you d'Ehler's Danlos syndrom...my body suffers from a deficiency in connective tissue) but over the years with the collagene, silicum, silica and other supplements I seem to be making some...

My Chiro decided to try and break up my scar tissue assuming that I was like everyone else...I guess menopause has thinned my muscle mass too because they 'pushed right through' so to speak (figuratively not literally) and opened up 2 hernias (probably already weakened tissue)...I felt the pain immediately, could barely breath from the pain.

Just be careful...if your therapist is pressing extremely hard and it is hurting beyond reason then please  make them slow down or lighten up...some of us do have very fragile abdominal tissue.

Sharon

Subzero, your issues sound like they are unlike what most any of us might experience. Most of us get the run-of-the-mill adhesions between organs and the abdominal wall. What you had/have seem much more widespread and within the muscular and connective tissues, rather than surgical site related. I have heard of widespread adhesion type rections in rare cases when an adhesion barrier was used. Of course, peritonitis could cause his sort of mess too.

 

Either way, you have my sympathies!

 

Jan

Last edited by Jan Dollar
Certainly have our sympathy.  I understand what you are saying with regard to your surgeons and surgeries. I guess I have never heard of surgeries referred to as therapy, perhaps a semantic confusion?  No harm meant, it certainly does sound far different then the general abdominal adhesions many here speak of.  Fascia cover all individual muscle groups so perhaps that was the miscommunication. I understand adhesion release therapy is different from ART.  Regardless, it sounds like you have been through a horrible ordeal.
Last edited by thumprhare
Elisa W. Thanks for the well wishes! I have been very fortunate and I believe part of that had to do with being 23 at the time of my first two surgeries and being a very active young man. I was strong and able to handle a lot. I'm 42 now and things are a little different, to say the least! It truly is amazing what youth will do for you. I did have some small issues along the way though, but only 1 that required any hospitalization. This summer however has scared me to the point that I'm changing a lot about my lifestyle. I'm doing everything I can to lessen the chance that I have adhesions or pouchitis or any other issues. I know that I cant eliminate the entire chance that something could go wrong, but I'm trying to control what I can control. Best of luck to you and everyone else out there. J Pouchers are unique and strong!

Hello! I haven't been on here much and I feel bad for that. It's almost like if I avoid the website, maybe I was never sick! Well, not the case.

I had my J Pouch down in 2 surgeries in 1996, so almost 20 years ago. Along the way I've only had a few isolated problems. Some pouchitis, but never too much. I have had some issues with adhesions. I spent a few days in the hospital in 2010 with them blocking me up a bit, but it passed with resting the digestive system entirely for a few days. However, this past Father's Day weekend, I got really sick and wondered if I had eaten something bad as I was sick to my stomach. Well, I ended up vomiting quite a bit for the overnight and into Sunday morning. My wife took me to the local hospital where a CT was run and it was determined I had a blockage. A total blockage. Talk about hurt! The problem was, the hospital was not equipped with a surgeon who was experienced with a J Pouch. I had to be driven 45 minutes to St. Joe's Hospital in Ypsilanti. Great hospital. I had surgery the following Saturday to clear the blockage which was suspected to just be adhesions. The surgeon spent 4 1/2 hours unraveling my adhesions. You can't cut them, it just creates more adhesions! So, I spent 2 weeks in the hospital. I'm finally doing a little better, but even 2 months post surgery, I have pain.

So my point to this post is to warn all J Pouch members to watch for blockages caused by adhecions. They can cause a lot of trouble!

 

This thread has gotten a bit confusing, partly because we've called some very different things by the same names. Jan and thumprhare have helped shed some light on this. When surgeons talk about adhesions they're just about guaranteed to be talking about fibrous connections of scar-type tissue in the abdomen that attach things together that shouldn't be attached - two different parts of the bowel, for example, or part of the bowel to the abdominal wall. These are a common consequence of *any* abdominal surgery. Sometimes (certainly not always) they can be in very troublesome locations, and as the bowel tries to slide around freely in the abdomen these attachments can't let go. The attached bowel can get kinked or twisted, or even a different section of bowel can get wrapped around the attachment. If you've ever had something in a tumble clothes dryer get twisted on or wrapped around a drawstring you may have a useful visual.

 

When these twists or kinks interfere with gut function they may cause a complete or partial blockage. Sometimes (usually) things slide back to where they belong after a time, and the blockage is resolved. If not, one option is surgery to either cut the adhesions or simply to unblock ("unravel") the bowel. Most surgeons will cut the adhesions if they are "in there anyway." Any abdominal surgery, even one to deal with adhesions or blockages, can cause more adhesions.

 

When adhesions are so troublesome that they must be dealt with, surgery simply to cut/remove them can be performed. Surgeons tend to be reluctant to do so, because the outcome is far from guaranteed. Some people get tremendous relief, but others get worse (or no better).

 

There are methods of abdominal massage that attempt to resolve blockages caused by adhesions, or even claim to help adhesions in semi-mysterious ways. They haven't been well studied, as far as I know - if someone knows otherwise please share. Surely some people have had blockages resolve after such a treatment, but it's hard to know if the treatment had anything to do with it.

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