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Hubby has jpouch for 30 years - three weeks ago had partial blockage, went to ER, got tube for three days, IV, had CT scan, Xrays, bloodwork, four hour small bowel movement test.  After three days he went ten times to the bathroom and he was sent home to follow fluids, then low fiber diet.  He was on fluids for five days and when he started on full liquid adding cream of wheat, he had a bit of a problem not going as much.  How long can this take to heal?  He takes grape juice, apple juice and now is losing lots of weight.  Going back and forth on fluids to full liquid is depressing but keeps out of the hospital.  The colorectal surgeon  said if he went six times a day he is not blocked.  Some days he goes 11 times of liquid and small stuff and other days he doesn't go for many hours but eventually stuff comes out; no tummy pain, no vomiting, no nausea, no bloat.  How long can his going back and forth on different diets go on?  FYI, after 30 years with the jpouch this is the first time and doctor said it's adhesions.

 

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No one can tell you for sure how long this will persist. In the meantime, some context might help, at least a little bit.

1) There’s a big difference between a complete obstruction and a partial obstruction. They are both unpleasant and have a large impact on your life, but a complete obstruction is a much bigger deal, and it’s probably what the surgeon is talking about when he describes this as “not blocked.”

2) After an obstruction clears (assuming it clears completely)  things can be swollen and sore for quite a while. I don’t know that your husband has even gotten to that point, though - he may be stuck, for the moment, at a partial obstruction.

3) Obstructions are most often caused by the intestine getting kinked or twisted where an adhesion attaches it (to the abdominal wall or another loop of intestine) instead of letting it slide freely. They usually untwist themselves, but not always. Sometimes obstructions are caused by a stricture (a narrowing around the circumference of the bowel). These may not clear up on their own. Presumably the imaging studies ruled this out, though.

Good luck! Be patient!

Thank you Scott, but if I might ask:  can he safely go back and forth from clear to full liquid?  If he stays on full liquid with less output would it correct itself or should he go back to clear?  Right now he is trying to mix the two - like breakfast is full liquid (cream of wheat); lunch would be creamy soup; and dinner back to clear broths and juices.  Any idea how long this can take?  I hope he can eventually go back to eating in a restaurant and enjoy time at holidays.

If he has no pain then why do you think he’s still blocked? A liquid diet will often yield a liquid output. Not going as much isn’t by itself a sign of a continuing blockage - it could just be that as stool gets more solid it moves more slowly. Is it possible that things are fine, but you’re both still worried and his diet is strange?

We think he is still blocked because of the stool output not like it was before this happened three weeks ago.  The images saw blockage, but he also has hiatal hernia and GERD which may be making it worse as his hernia is 5cm.  He wants to continue the full liquid/clear diet for now but sporadic output is causing him the stress and anxiety.

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