Worried about stuck pill cam

[Klivingston]

Hi, I just joined this group trying to get information. Diagnosed with Crohn's in 2005 & Dr now says I also have IBS. I swallowed a pill cam on March 23, had 3 X-rays since, & Drs now say it is stuck. Was in ICU Jan 2014 for Diverticulitis and Oct 2014 for an obstruction. I don't know where the cam is stuck, have only talked to the nurse. Drs are suppose to have a pow wow on Monday to figure out what to do. It's Easter weekend so Drs are not available. Ugh. Is there anything I should be aware of if in trouble? Have had diarrhea since swallowing the pill cam, Drs said X-ray showed an abundance of stool behind the pill cam & I was constipated. Nothing is making sense to me and I am so confused and worried.

 

[lenny]

I'm so sorry. I wanted to get my son a pill cam and then my husband told me that he read that they get stuck a lot.

 

[user 80599]

If you are not happy to wait until Monday, go to the ER.

 

[Lady Organic]

I have an idea you could bring to the doctors. it means the cam is in the colon if they see stools around it. what about taking a laxative solution to create spasm in the colon and evacuation mvts?, like the colonoscopy preparation or even the rectal enemas we take for short sigmoidoscopy?

 

[Jennifer]

Taking a laxative at this point in time will likely cause vomiting. If you start to feel a lot of pain, start vomiting and/or have a fever then go to the hospital right away. In the meantime drink plenty of fluids and eat soft easy to digest foods like soup if you're able. We have had many members with stuck pill cams and many don't have emergency surgery and are able to wait it out until a planned surgery date. Sorry you're going through this. Keep us posted.

 

[Klivingston]

Thank you for the responses. Dr called me yesterday, saying to eat soft foods, plenty of liquids, like I have been doing anyway. Head to ER if any type of pain or vomiting. Had a blockage last October, so I know all about uncontrolled vomiting from a blockage. Dr said he & surgeon will talk tomorrow for the plan. Not only remove the pill cam but to also remove the stricture. Since I have basically had digestive issues my whole life, I am pretty worried about the surgery and what will be found.

 

[Klivingston]

I had Ileocolic surgery to remove the pill cam & a foot of small colon which removed 3 strictures. My intestines haven't a clue as to how to work normally. Is it normal to not have an appetite? I have been eating small amounts of food as frequently as I can due to feeling queasy. Is this normal? Any suggestions as to foods that will get me interested in eating?

 

[24601]

It isn't unusual to have less of an appetite for a while after surgery as your bowel takes time to get back to working normally. Small meals more frequently and anything that tempts your appetite is usually the way to go. Sometimes supplement drinks - like Ensure or Fortisip - are really helpful to get more calories in until you feel up to eating normally. I've found that helpful after surgery when I've not been eating much before the operation and found it hard to resume normal eating after. Also after surgery I've sometimes been so tired that drinking my calories was easier than the physical process of eating which felt exhausting!

How long is it since your surgery? Are you still in hospital or home now?

Nausea can be an issue after bowel surgery and I've often been given anti-nausea meds in the immediate post-op period, and I think that's fairly normal, but it's also important to know that it's not caused by any complications of surgery. Have you told your doctors about the nausea? Have they prescribed any meds for it?

In my experience recovery can feel like it's taking ages but then you can make progress almost overnight and feel back to your old self - or even better. Hang in there, keep getting those calories in however you can and keep your doctors updated with any symptoms you're experiencing. Hope you're feeling better soon!

 

[UnXmas]

If you're on any new pain medications after your surgery, they can often contribute to nausea as well.

24601's suggestion of supplements is a good idea; if you don't feel like eating anything, they're an easy choice: easy to digest, no preparation needed, and nutritionally complete.

Have your doctors given you any advice about foods? A low-fibre diet of soft, bland foods is often a good idea after bowel surgery, so if you've not been advised otherwise, that might be something to try as it may help minimise pain and other symptoms that can put you off eating.

One thing to try when you're lacking appetite is to temporarily forget convention and healthy eating rules when making food choices. One of my surgeons once told me to eat a Mars Bar for breakfast if I felt like it. So don't force down a healthy, balanced diet if it's too hard right now, especially if you're underweight.

Things that often go down easily, and which fit into the low fibre, soft food categories I mentioned above, include ice cream, custard, yoghurt and other milk-based puddings (not if dairy gives you problems though!), white bread or toast (maybe cheese on toast or scrambled eggs), tinned fruit, soup, and plain crackers and biscuits.

It does take time for your digestive system to settle down after surgery, so you should start gradually feeling better over the next few weeks.

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

I agree with UnX - eat whatever you can, whether it's healthy or not. I haven't had surgery, but last year I had inner ear inflammation which caused horrendous vertigo, and the vertigo made me constantly nauseous for several months. I wasn't able to eat solid foods for awhile, and during the worst of it I couldn't even keep down sports drinks. Only water, anything else would make me vomit. But I found that I could suck on hard candies like Jolly Ranchers, and those candies didn't worsen the nausea nor make me vomit. So some days all I would have to eat was some hard candies, but at least I was getting a few needed calories that way. So if nothing else sounds appealing, try having a piece of candy or two and see how that goes.

 

[Klivingston]

My surgery was on April 20th. Did have a vomitting spell while in hospital, I came home the 24th. I ate a banana with chocolate sauce this am, but guess I shouldn't have. I have been on soft foods & liquids since March 23 when the pill cam got stuck. Right now nothing is appealing to me. Things just don't taste the same, but I also got thrush while in the hospital. Thank you all so much with your words of wisdom. I just want to eat and totally enjoy what I'm eating!

 

[UnXmas]

Cat - I don't think I've seen you mention your vertigo experience before, it sounds awful!

Klivingston - banana and chocolate sauce was a good thing to try. Bananas are one of the few fruits that are soft and easy to digest even when fresh (as oppose to tinned or stewed, etc.). And the chocolate sauce would be easy on your digestive system too, as it's liquid/semi-liquid, and sugar-based.

Is the thrush oral? Have your doctors checked it's not spread to your throat or anywhere else? Are you on antifungals? (Sorry for all the questions, I got a really nasty fungal infection in my blood last time I was in hospital.)

 

[Klivingston]

Yes, oral thrush.
Have to admit, I am getting discouraged. Nothing tastes good, have no appetite, daily diarrhea, no energy, & all I want to do is sleep. At this rate, I won't be ready to go back to work in the 8 weeks I've allowed!

 

[UnXmas]

Your surgery was less than two weeks ago wasn't it? That's not long, and as long as you have no complications, you should make a lot of progress over the next few weeks. Six to eight weeks is generally the time frame for recovery given for moderate to fairly major surgeries. I would look for consistent, steady progress. It may seem slow, but I'd only be really concerned if you feel like you're going backwards - if you're feeling worse now than you did a week ago, or if you've developed a new symptom. I've found that I sometimes have an increase in pain levels after the first few days following a surgery, which I think is due to the effects of the anaesthetic wearing off, but after that I've found that recovery should be a steady improvement in pain, exhaustion, lack of appetite and other post-surgery symptoms. When those symptoms have worsened, it's been due to a complication, e.g. an infection. Though that's not necessarily a big deal - when I've had infections post-surgery, they got better as soon as I started antibiotics.

The thrush could well be the reason things taste bad, and if you're on anti-fungals, they could be contributing to your digestive problems. Assuming you're on treatment, the infection should go and when you've finished the treatment your symptoms could resolve or at least significantly improve. It may be worth consulting a doctor to check you're getting the right treatment and to see if there's anything you can take to minimise the symptoms in the mean time.

 

[Klivingston]

Surgery was April 20th.
No temperature. Was swishing & spitting Nystatin for the Thrush. Vomited when swallowed. Stopped it yesterday.
It's good to read words of encouragement. My family is still waiting around for me to cook.

 

[24601]

UnXmas is absolutely right about this being early days still and that the only thing to really worry about in terms of progress is if you were going backwards. Definitely an increase in pain (after stopping your immediate post op pain relief) and getting increasingly tired as time goes on are things that can be a sign that all is not progressing as it should be, as well as fever, as you mentioned, and the inability to keep food down.

But do be reassured that at this stage not having a normal appetite and experiencing a little nausea and lacking energy is very normal.

I know it's especially hard when you have people who need and want you to get back to normal and be able to take care of them and do all those things you normally do but right now you do need extra rest and to not push yourself too hard so that you can make a good recovery.

I know it doesn't feel like it now but there's every reason to believe you'll be okay at the 8 week mark. You may make steady progress over the next few weeks as your gut settles - and guts really do take time to settle down after surgery. It's not just the incision you see on the outside or those on the inside that need to heal but your bowel doesn't like being moved around by the surgeon and it needs time to get back to it's normal rhythm and start working normally after surgery.

I have had a surgery where it felt like I was not making much progress at all and then almost magically at the six week mark I felt all better - better than ever in fact. And that was a big Crohn's surgery with a resection, lots of strictureplasties, many adhesions, an abscess and infection to be drained. I'm hoping that it sounds encouraging to you that I didn't actually walk for 11 days after that surgery because the pain was so bad and had hardly any appetite but six weeks to the day after surgery I asked my surgeon if I could go skiing and he said yes

So yes, I agree with the 6-8 week timeframe. My surgeon talks about 6 weeks being the magic timescale often with abdominal surgery.

About the oral thrush. I suffered with that after my last surgery, I think because my mouth was so dry for so long (and I probably needed to do extra frequent toothbrushing and mouthwash because of that, but didn't), and I did warm salt water mouthwashes three times a day and found that really helped .

Good luck! And keep us updated!

 

[Klivingston]

THANK YOU! You guys really are helping me with my discouragement! Yesterday, I was up all day and ate small amounts of food. This am way too nauseous to eat, but getting better throughout the day.

 

[24601]

How are you doing now? I hope you're holding your own and maybe seeing a little improvement

 

[Klivingston]

Surgeon started me on Imodium & Metamucil yesterday due to the diahrrea. I haven't been able to leave the house because of it. Still don't have much of an appetite either. Every day I hope I'll be turning a corner so I can at least go for short walks. Thank you for asking.

 

[24601]

Totally understand the frustration/disappointment at not being able to get away from the bathroom and start to be able to do more and eat more. Is the nausea any better?

 

[Klivingston]

While having diarrhea, the nausea was gone. This am, the Imodium must be working, no diarrhea, but the nausea is back! I can't seem to catch a break!

 

[24601]

Has your doctor discussed putting you on an anti-nausea med? Or if you're already on one swapping to another?

In my experience, yes, these things can be 'just' our gut settling down after surgery but we can need or be helped by the right choice of meds to get through this period. If you're still unable to eat adequately because of nausea i'd think an anti-emetic would be a good idea. It's so important to get adequate nutrition.

Just my 2c.

I've often been on pain killers (for me opiates post-op so they also had a slowing effect on the bowel) plus ondansetron/zofran (for nausea) and omeprazole (for acid reflux) for a bit after surgery. I've found at times with my gut that if I can eat more (and more variety too) that I have fewer bms and less d so it's necessary to get the nausea under control so I can eat enough to reduce the frequent bathroom visits. We're all different of course but I think sometimes you have to tackle the issues from all sides at once and perhaps for you this is one of those times.

I really just wanted to say hang in there. Boring as it is at the just over two week mark, I think it's still early days for your recovery. :ghug:

 

[lenny]

I hope you feel better soon. Nausea is the worst!