Susan’s Personal Story: GI Motility & Constipation
I had an emergency appendectomy when I was 7, 1956. When I was 16 I had emergency surgery, after being given an hour to live because my heart was failing, which turned out to be adhesions covering all my intestines and colon. I struggled off and on with constipation. In my 20s I started having abdominal attacks of cramping that would last 8 hours and was diagnosed with IBS. At the age of 50, 2000, I was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer and had a complete hysterectomy. Constipation increased and I could mostly control it with diet. In 2011 I had Ovarian Cancer again with a tumor on my ascending colon and surgery again. I was told after the surgery that I was covered with adhesions and had a redundant colon. In 2015 the cancer was back in 3 places. My gynecologic oncology surgeon spent 8 hours cutting out the adhesions and cancer. Her theory was the cancer was being carried in the adhesions. My constipation could no longer be controlled by diet and occasionally took laxatives. In 2023 I had an abdominal attack and ended up in the emergency room, was released, went right back into an attack and had emergency surgery to remove adhesions from the blockage site. I was told again that I am covered with abdominal adhesions. I follow a rigid diet of no “flour” products and no meat as they constipate me. I’ve had 2 more abdominal attacks since. Doctors have prescribed medications for constipation and they don’t help. Seems like it’s “til death us do part” with constipation.
