Mental Component during a blockage

[Trapper]

Hello,

I was just wondering whether anyone else has noticed a severe mental impairment during a partial bowel blockage.

I had a partial blockage kick in on Wednesday night/early Thursday morning and it cleared about two hours ago.

Since it began all the jobs I had stacked up suddenly ended up being left and I spent the last 72 hours desperately trying to distract myself until the blockage moves. This is generally sit in front of my PC and work my way through videos on my NAS, stick headphones on and keep forcing vomiting to remove bile acid and stop the heartburn.

I have barely been mentally functioning - no driving as it's not safe, slurring my speech etc. Not all of this was caused by the painkillers, sedatives and anti-histamine drug cocktails I take to make the pain more bareable.

Now about half an hour ago I fixed a filing cabinet that has been in my garage since Monday. Suddenly I realised what I was doing - getting jobs cleared that I hadn't even thought about since the blockage kicked in.

I feel so much more awake and aware than I have in days now, even though I have barely slept in 96 hours and I have an opiate high kicking in. Suddenly whatever flag was set in my brain by my colon has cleared. Instantly.

This is really odd, and it's not a one off as I've noticed this several times during and after partial blockages - of which I'm getting about 2/3 a month at the moment.

Has anyone else noticed this, or am I just a weirdo?!

 

[ronroush7]

I dont know if it is related but I have seen people on here talk about brain fog.

 

[emmaaaargh]

Yes, there is definitely a mental component during an obstruction, at least in my personal experience. My brain seems to shut down entirely and all I can do is lie in bed, like I'm trying to sleep - my usual way of dealing with pain - but the pain is so intense I can't. I end up listening to some soothing music and eventually enter a trance-like state. The clearing of my thoughts after a series of vomiting cycles is usually how I know the worst has passed! It's a little terrifying to have the mind shut down like that.

 

[Bufford]

The pain and discomfort itself drains the life out of me and I have difficulty functioning and thinking. I could have thoughts on my mind that I would like to post, but when I go to type it out the brain fog will block it.
A good day will start out with a great bowel movement and leave my mind clear and energy levels are good. I'll take advantage of the moment for it never lasts for long.

 

[Justanothercp]

I can’t really function during obstruction. Too busy focusing on pain and worrying about whether or not it will clear... not to mention the depression.

 

[Layla]

Yes, braindead here too. I assumed it was due to the pain but who knows what it is. When the blockage has resolved the drain starts functioning again.

 

[cmack]

Hello,

I was just wondering whether anyone else has noticed a severe mental impairment during a partial bowel blockage.

I had a partial blockage kick in on Wednesday night/early Thursday morning and it cleared about two hours ago.

Since it began all the jobs I had stacked up suddenly ended up being left and I spent the last 72 hours desperately trying to distract myself until the blockage moves. This is generally sit in front of my PC and work my way through videos on my NAS, stick headphones on and keep forcing vomiting to remove bile acid and stop the heartburn.

I have barely been mentally functioning - no driving as it's not safe, slurring my speech etc. Not all of this was caused by the painkillers, sedatives and anti-histamine drug cocktails I take to make the pain more bareable.

Now about half an hour ago I fixed a filing cabinet that has been in my garage since Monday. Suddenly I realised what I was doing - getting jobs cleared that I hadn't even thought about since the blockage kicked in.

I feel so much more awake and aware than I have in days now, even though I have barely slept in 96 hours and I have an opiate high kicking in. Suddenly whatever flag was set in my brain by my colon has cleared. Instantly.

This is really odd, and it's not a one off as I've noticed this several times during and after partial blockages - of which I'm getting about 2/3 a month at the moment.

Has anyone else noticed this, or am I just a weirdo?!

I think it's normal for the situation you are in. I recall having similar issues from partial blockage with bad cramping before. Also I remember the sudden clearing of the, "brain fog."

Welcome. By the way, I like your avatar. I pity the fool!

 

[Trapper]

Glad to hear it's not just me then!

MY wife has a theory it's due to all the toxins that are probably building up in your body during an obstruction.

I had one clear on Saturday evening and by Sunday afternoon it was back again. I've spent the past 15 hours having to force bile and vomit out. 24 hours of zero solid food will sort it, and after emptying my stomach my brain is firing a bit more again.

It does worry me that I eat, and then the pain and bulging is almost instant. I have to force vomit whatever I've eaten back up to avoid the debilitating pain. Even when I vomit automatically the food comes out totally undigested - I can ID it! Surely that says the problem is in my stomach, not lower down in my colon?

I had a TI resection about 8 months ago, and I managed about three weeks of rude health after being released before I started to decline again. We think there may be a problem in my duodenum. I was a Nurofen Plus abuser for several years when the medical community refused to acknowledge I had anything other than IBS - I fear my trading in pain relief back then for possible future organ damage has actually occurred. My liver and renal function are constantly monitored due to this, but I kept creating duodenal ulcers by the ibuprofen abuse and I wonder if I've caused some serious damage. The have real problems getting a camera down to check as I have an unusually strong gag reflex, and going the other way they have to knock me out due to loopy bowel making the whole procedure very painful.

 

[ronroush7]

Trapper,i have been told the only thing that I can take is Tylenol. Nothing like Aspirin or advil. Those kind of pills can cause bleeding. Aside from the main issue, i had my terminal ileum removed also.

 

[Bufford]

Pain that is not being managed drains the body of energy leaving one wiped out. I take Percocet opiates on prescription and Tylenol #1s (which I can get by asking the pharmacist) to maintain pain. The doctor wants me to avoid ASA or Ibuprofen as these can cause bleeding and inflammation. I've been on this course of painkillers for close to 20 years and have not had problems. I try to use less rather than more, and have avoided dependency.