Abdominal Adhesions
If you’ve had any kind of abdominal surgery, there is a chance that you could have abdominal adhesions. After being exposed to air during an operation, your internal structures and organs can adhere together.
Although many people are not even aware of them, abdominal adhesions can cause chronic pain even years following an operation. Unfortunately, the most common treatment requires another surgery to cut and remove the adhesions.
Bowel Obstruction
Imagine inserting a golf ball into a garden hose – water will not be able to pass the golf ball and will eventually start to back up.
This is similar to what occurs with a bowel obstruction- the colon can be blocked by stool or a large tumor resulting in painful symptoms. You might even suffer what seems like diarrhea, as a liquid stool can sometimes trickle around the blockage. Left untreated, a bowel obstruction is life threatening. Most likely, surgery is needed to remove the blockage.
Cancer of the Small Intestine
Although this type of cancer is uncommon, the symptoms can sometimes mimic those of colon cancer. Similar to the colon, adenocarcinoma is one type of cancer found in the small intestine and the risk factors, growth, and treatment of the two types of cancer are similar. However, small intestine disorders are not visible on a colonoscopy exam. Endoscopy and x-rays of the upper gastrointestinal tract can detect small intestine cancers.
Celiac Disease
Over two million Americans are walking around with Celiac disease, whether or not they are aware of it. This disease is not contagious, you are born with it. It is an autoimmune disease of the small intestine where your body cannot tolerate gluten, a protein found in wheat and some grains. If you do not alter your diet and remove the gluten, your body starts to attack your small intestine and cause abdominal pain, gas, bloating and diarrhea.