Bowel obstruction is a debilitating, potentially life-threatening condition that can leave one trapped in a repeating cycle of surgeries and obstructions. National news anchor and previous patient Linda Vester discusses her struggle to overcome bowel obstruction caused by post-surgical adhesions.
Transcription
After about six surgeries, I started to notice that I was having “stuck” feelings, tightness, and soreness that I had never had before, but I lived with it. Then I had a partial bowel obstruction, and it was mind-bending pain. It was scar tissue that was left over from my surgeries. My doctor said that I should get more surgery to cut out the scar tissue. That didn’t seem like a very good idea — more surgery for the other surgery, which was only going to cause more scar tissue. I thought about a choice between an expensive, invasive surgery and a natural therapy; that’s easy, I’ll go to Clear Passage®.
After the first day of being treated for the scar tissue from all my surgeries, I started to stand up straight and feel free around my waist and back. I felt taller, and I also just felt this incredible weight off of me. It is kind of hard to describe, but it was the literal weight pulling me down and the emotional weight of all that scar tissue. Each day as I got treated, I felt freer and freer and freer. After several days, I felt really great. What I learned is that all these conventional doctors just don’t talk about the scar tissue that you can get from surgeries and what it can do to you. The more surgeries you get, the more adhesions you get. They just don’t talk about that.
After my bowel obstruction, the doctor said, “Well, if it happens again, you can go back to the hospital and get another tube down your nose; if it keeps happening, you can get surgery.” I’d like to think I have some good doctors, but no one ever mentioned scar tissue or explained that surgery causes scar tissue. So, I had all this scar tissue, and none of my doctors ever told me about it or told me what to do about it. They just don’t. What they did at Clear Passage® was educate me about how to take care of myself after treatment so I could prevent this from happening. Now, I know what to do as opposed to being dependent on the hospital emergency room to fix me.
After my bowel obstruction, I started having to live with this fear every day that this thing was going to come back. It was hanging over my head like a dagger — when was it going to come back? Could I travel with my family? No, I needed to be near a big hospital because I never knew. Having to live with that is awful. Now that I have been treated and I know what to do if I ever get those symptoms again, I just feel this huge weight off my shoulders. The fear is gone, and I feel like I can travel with my family and not worry about it, and just get my life back. It takes a place like Clear Passage® to educate you and to be willing to treat you because most doctors won’t.
Do you or someone you know suffer from recurring bowel obstructions? Complete our online contact form to schedule a phone consultation with a therapist, at no cost to you, and learn whether our therapy can help.
“If the information in this article sounds like it may relate to what you’re experiencing, the team at Clear Passage® Physical Therapy is here to help. Many people living with this condition simply want to know if there is a natural treatment option without drugs or surgery that could work for them. The good news is you don’t have to figure it out alone. You can request more information to speak with a knowledgeable team member who will review your situation and help you understand whether this specialized therapy may be a good fit. If you’re ready to move forward, you can also apply for therapy so the clinical staff can carefully review your health history and determine the best path toward relief. Taking a few minutes to reach out could be the first step toward getting answers—and possibly getting your life back.”