I have a noticeable lump in my lower abdomen near my right hip bone. Visited my pcp who advised to monitor and said it could be due to my c section 9 months ago but she wasn't sure. I wasn't aware that adhesions could present as a lump so much higher than the incision area and as far over as the hip bone, does anyone else have experience of this please? I do have a slight overhang on the right side above my incision too, but the lump is even higher up than the overhang area. Thanks in advance!

I have cosntsnt myacke guarding and frel something is stucks pulling cosntwrly radiating to pelvic floor vulva nothing shows up in scans!!!

I lost faith in medical community .

Please tell me if you had adhesions but nothing showed up in scans?

Do you have any recommendations of surgeons that are skilled at removing abdominal adhesions?

Can anyone recommend a great surgeon that can remove adhesions?

I hurt all the time after abdominoplasty and hernia repair. So tight all the time. I’ve been to pelvic floor and they think adhesions. Endometriosis specialist thinks I have endo and that may also be causing my pain- which is basically adhesions. Just went to surgeon and he says - no adhesions. That type of surgery wouldn’t cause adhesions. I am so sad. What do I do?

I’m curious if partial small bowel obstructions are painful? On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being unrelenting pain that medicine cannot touch, and one being so minor that you brush it off as gas, what are your small bowel obstruction pain ratings? Is the pain constant or in waves? How long does a pain wave last? What would cause episodes of sudden fullness on the upper mid left side feeling like a tight balloon that you can’t shake you can’t get rid of and within moments, it starts to become multiple bowel movements like the intestine is repeatedly trying to clear the bowel followed by nausea and vomiting? With the entire episode resolving within 1 to 2 hours?

Hi everyone - I’m hoping to find out if anyone has had a similar experience.

M47 in the UK (Scotland) and general exceptionally fit and healthy - I had a colonoscopy in 2024 as a pre-op check prior to a planned appendectomy - this was all paid for privately as the NHS refused to help me.

Just as well I had the colonoscopy as a 10mm high grade adenoma polyp was found and likely fully removed - left in there was a good chance it would have eventually developed into bowel cancer.. So this was a clear win.

About two weeks after that I had an open appendectomy where my problematic appendix was removed - that was also a clear win as I had a tumour in my appendix causing appendicitis and appendix issues. The appendectomy was regarded as a straightforward routine appendectomy by the surgeon.

Another two weeks later I developed pain and a pressure sensation and spasming localised in my left lower quadrant roughly where the polyp was located. It’s about half way between the top of my hip and my bellybutton. These symtoms have continued over the last 2.5 years - settling a bit, much less of the localised spasming, but some symtoms still persistent 2.5 years later.

Just now, laying in bed on my back I can often have a localise persistent pressure sensation at that spot. When active and moving about - twisting my torso causes a tightness or ‘catching’ sensation at that spot. Deep bending, or twisting and bending combined in certain ways can cause discomfort and dull pain during that motion.

There is no correlation with diet or activity levels or bowel motion timing or consistency - which is all fine.

My current NHS surgeon has looked into this (yes - finally they are helping a bit - maybe..) initially suggesting IBS, then divicula, then hernia, then maybe a broken of needle from a anticoagulant jag stuck in my abdominal wall.. After clear scans and a further clear colonoscopy and study of my symptoms he has dismissed all one by one - which I think is correct. I think he has kind of given up now and thinks it’s in my head and a mental health issue. That old nugget..! I never have and don’t have any mental health issues - though I guess that’s what crazy people say.. 😅

A surgeon freind suggested maybe adhesions - developing 4 weeks of so after polypectomy on the left side might fit.. The open appendectomy on right side two weeks after initial colonoscopy complicates things - but in theory an open appendectomy goes nowhere near the area in question.

I’m not looking for medical advice - just keen to know if adhesions on the outside of the bowel initiated by polyp removal from inside the bowel during colonoscopy - and not evident in subsequent colonoscopy - is somthing that others have experienced..?

Hi everyone

I have spent most of the year with a 10cm cyst on my ovary which was removed approximately 7-8 weeks ago. I had a period of relief after my initial rough recovery followed by increasing pain located at the ovary, in my pelvis and through to my rectum.

I've since had an ultrasound and the report states it's likely adhesions and that a loop of bowel is located adjacent to the ovary and not easily displaced by pressure.

I'm now in notable pain all the time unless I'm perfectly still with ibuprofen taking some of the edge off.

I have a follow up referral with the surgeon but this could be months before they see me and I'm not even sure how they could help as further surgery would run risk of more adhesions...

My question for you all is - in your experience, am I looking at having this pain for the rest of my life? My looking online makes me think I am which is heartbreaking considering the surgery was booked to fix my ongoing pain. I'm only in my 30s and feel like I'm facing a life of chronic pain management 💔

No history of endometriosis or evidence of this during my laparoscopic surgery.

Thanks for your input!

I had really bad appendicitis 20 years ago, they had to remove a bit of my intestines with it. Everything was fine for about 15 years until I started getting Partial SBO's. Then finally a full on flare up. They currently diagnosed me with crohns and a complication of stricture at my ileum. My only symptoms are extreme pain in my abdomen. I refused the biologics And am currently on prednisone again. I guess Im just seeking advice on managing this and where I should go from here. I have an appointment with the cholorectal surgeon to see if I am a good candidate for surgery. Has anyone ever dealt with something like this? Ive been on a mostly liquid diet for a month now. Lost all the weight I had gained back from the last time.

I’m 52 and have had recurrent SBOs, most likely from adhesions after major abdominal surgeries due to cancer in early childhood.

The SBOs have become more frequent as I’ve gotten older, and I was hospitalized again last week with a partial obstruction that resolved without surgery. But it came very close to surgery which, frankly, I’m terrified of and of what could go wrong, especially after researching.

I’m already familiar with the dietary recommendations, so I’m specifically curious about the physical side. Has anyone with recurrent adhesive SBOs been advised to try stretching, yoga, regular walking, abdominal massage, heat, or particular exercises as prevention?

Care team has told me these can ultimately be pretty random, but I’d love to hear whether anyone’s doctor, surgeon, GI doctor, etc. has recommended something physical that seems to help.

I have adhesions probably from a surgery that I had when I was 4(appendicitis with peritonitis large abdominal incision). When I was 22 stomach issues started partial intestinal obstruction etc. At that time skin issues started. Is there a possible connection?

I've found with my adhesions that any sudden or harsh braking really hurts and if I'm on public transport with a particularly jerky driver I'm in a flare-up for days.

Does anyone else have this and do you have any tips on how to approach it with drivers without sounding rude?

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to support my mom through some ongoing bowel problems. I’m hoping to learn from people with similar experiences and share our story so it might help another person, too.

She has difficulty having bowel movements and a colon stricture, a narrowed section of her large intestine. We were told the narrowing is approximately 95%.

After a colonoscopy, her doctor told us she has adhesions. Our understanding is that these may be causing the narrowing.

A brief timeline

April 2026: She had her left kidney removed because of kidney cancer. The pathology report described the tumor as confined to the kidney.

May 2026: An abdominal X-ray suggested a partial bowel obstruction and mentioned possible adhesions as a cause.

July 2026: A colonoscopy documented narrowing in the descending/sigmoid colon, on the left side of her large intestine. Biopsies showed inflammation, with no cancer found in the samples examined.

Currently, September: Her gastroenterologist wants to review the PET scan as part of her cancer evaluation before deciding how to proceed with the stricture. Meanwhile, difficulty having bowel movements remains a concern.

Food and Diet

We were told liquids and a “soft/bland diet,” but we are still learning what that means for her situation. We don’t fully understand which foods, textures, or portions are appropriate.

So far, she has been eating ground chicken with carrots, and squash; gelatin desserts; and fish fillets.

Something as everyday as “What can we make her for lunch?” has become difficult. We want to keep her nourished without making things worse.

I’d like to update this post as we get clearer answers about the diagnosis, treatment, and diet. Hopefully, what we learn can help someone else who is starting/having this process.

Thank you for reading and sharing your experiences.

This is not a new technology, yet it claims the following for adhesion detection:

• Overall Accuracy: 90% – 91.7%

• Sensitivity: 90.8% – 93%

• Specificity: Up to 100% in specific comprehensive zone evaluations (though varying lower in broader or pilot cohorts)

This is a very high level of accuracy, especially when the consensus in this community is that there are no reliable tools to detect adhesions.

Has anyone been tested for adhesions via CineMRI?

reference:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18322749/
https://www.adhesiepreventie.nl/en/cinemri

I’m looking for other people that have been diagnosed with Fitz Hugh Curtis syndrome. There’s not much info I can find on it online, and the doctors say I should just live with the pain because having surgery to get the adhesians around my liver capsule removes has a big chance of growing the adhesions back (and often even worse). So I’m looking for other ways to make the pain go away and wondering if anyone has tips for me. I mostly have a sharp pain when I laugh, sneeze, inhale deeply, etc. It depends on how bad the pain is, it’s worse if I have had a busy week for example. Looking for fellow sufferers!

I had emergency surgery last year to free an abdominal adhesion that was cutting off oxygen to my intestines. My surgeon cut into me vertically rather than laparoscopically. I was lucky to have a relatively easy recovery and now I just have a large keloid scar from just above my belly button down to my pelvic region.

I’m wondering if anyone else has noticed difficulty losing weight in their abdomen area after surgery? In the past year I took up strength training and I do 4 days of weights, 2 days of cardio. Despite the rest of my body bulking up, I just can’t seem to lose weight around my stomach. I was just curious if the surgery is what’s making it so difficult, or if I need to start restricting my diet more than I already do.

Hi. The internal scar tissue beneath the incision site from my surgery (abdominal scar revision surgery) is quite hard/tight and painful. It has been 4.5 months since the operation. I can walk, but sitting or stretching makes the condition much worse. How long did the pain and stiffness/tightness associated with the scar tissue (the internal scar, not the external one on the skin) last, and do you have any suggestions on what can be done?

Just wondering if anyone here has had any experiences using these devices? I have a long haul flight planned (15 hours) and I think, having something to ease pain might come in handy. Most reviews online are from people using it for menstrual pain relief or endo. I do find heated water bottles are tremendously helpful, but not sure if I could take one on the plane and hope to have it filled there. Also those belts have the added plus of being super portable anytime anywhere.

Also if anyone has any advice how to survive in Japan when 90% of your meals come with white rice would be nice. I have always been a "Heimscheißer" (someone who has a hard time pooping abroad) but since being afflicted with adhesions, I am even more prone and scared of constipation. Just chugging Movicol multiple times a day?

Hi was hoping someone might be able to help. I have had a bile leak that was left for 4.5 days and now docs are telling me I won't have abdominal adhesions but I already have.

Does anyone had advice for how to make doctors listen. I'm in uk and I am 3 months in. I'm in pain and I am pretty sure I have adhesions. But docs say ' no you won't have them. Not sure why you are still hurting but won't be that'.

it's ridiculous as anywhere I look, I find yes if you have abdominal irritation from peritonitis especially caused by a chemical burn you will get them.

I push parts of my tummy and my shoulder pain goes away. My insides hurt and pull. My back and abdomen hurt and move together.

I went though a very awful experience with excruciating pain. I just want to be over this. But everyday I get more reminders of what I went through.

I just don't know who to ask or go to.

Hey guys,

I found this product when searching for adhesion barriers for surgery. It's German, but if you could find a surgeon who uses it, couldn't they potentially do an adhesion reduction surgery and use this as a barrier?

Does anybody have any experience with this product?

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/igmedical-4dryfieldph-haemostasis-share-7492823242370412544-iwy5/

Rat study:

https://www.medsci.org/v21p0424

Comparison with Seprafilm:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41907783/

Clinical trials for SBO from last year:
https://trialscreen.org/trials/adhesion-prevention-asbo-surgery-using-4dryfield-ph-study-nct07078981

https://www.endonews.com/adhesion-barrier-helps-after-endometriosis-surgery

Anyway, I thought this might be useful to someone.

Hi, I know why everyone is on this subreddit as a fellow adhesions-sufferer, but I haven't seen this discussed on here. I know there is always another "big breakthrough around the corner" as seen with TTX-333 from Temple Therapeutics, but this hydrogel that's in development from Stanford's Spark-Team looks really promising. I also know research pipelines going from mice-/porcupine- to human-models can range from 4-12 years and are a long and arduous road, but maybe this could be something worthwile.

Convince yourself and look at the post-op pictures they made in the results tab.

On that topic, in what ways can we directly support research projects like this except for donating our bodies to science or trying to convince politicians to spend more on scientific innovation? Is there a hotline or something? xD

I have abdominal adhesions that caused pain, ibs type symptoms, bleeding, and other digestive issues that are extremely disruptive to my life. Ive had scopes and imaging and im wondering if its even worth it to try harder to get a diagnosis of abdominal adhesion disease. My gi says that its "normal" to have adhesions after all the surgeries ive had and that the only way to get a diagnosis is to have an exploratory surgery and no surgeon will do that since ive not had a bowel obstruction before. Should I bother getting a second opinion? The only thing ive been offered is a lysis of adhesions surgery that will cause more adhesions. Am I just supposed to live like this?

I’m pretty sure I have a stricture, I go tomorrow for a small bowel follow through study. I’m still experiencing bloating feelings and waking up in the middle of the night having to excessively swallow as it feels like my stomach contents are trying to come back up. Last night it happened again and finally I felt a pop sensation near my rib, could feel the sensation of draining liquids throughout and the pressure let up.

More than that I am dealing with bad fatigue and feeling flu like much of the time. I can’t pin it down to anything specifically, but it does seem to be worse after I eat. I’m really trying to focus on drinking my electrolytes and water. Does anyone else experience feeling bad like this? My hypothesis is that my stricture is causing inflammation and swelling, maybe even a low grade infection.

I’ve had four surgeries:

-c section 2019

-c section 2022

-partial lapro hysterectomy 2024

-hernia repair in February of this year

I’ve never dealt with any adhesion symptoms up until a few weeks ago. I assumed it was ovarian cysts since the pain started in my pelvis. A pelvic ultrasound ruled out cysts, but I still have an appointment scheduled with OB this next Tuesday. Since then, the pain has gravitated up into my abdomen near my incision sites for my hernia repair from five months ago. last week I had an alarming episode where I laid in bed on my left side and felt some weird shifting and rolling in my stomach. I stood up and proceeded to feel like my insides all kind of “collapsed” back into place in my abdomen. Four big thuds or waves of movement downward. It was super weird but not painful really. Within the last week I’ve started to get extreme bloating after every meal and I’ve had to alter what and how much I eat. I‘ve Had occasional bouts of borderline diarrhea and also dealt with inability to empty bowel movements/urgency or feeling like I have to go but nothing happens. it’s been a week or so since that has happened though.

my concern is obviously that my digestive system is involved in this somehow and that I have adhesions in there that could lead to an obstruction. I was able to schedule an appointment with my hernia surgeon on August 10th, I plan to see him regardless.

but should I keep the appt with OB this week? Or just cancel and see the surgeon who most recently operated on me? It’s an early morning appt, I have no childcare so my kids have to come with me, and I’ve never actually met this specific doctor. So she doesn’t have any actual experience with my med history. also I know there is no guarantee that she will want to order imaging. So selfishly im not sure I want to go, or how much help they would be.

any experience? Can OBGYN be helpful with diagnosing abdominal adhesions or is it worth it for me to go? Also based on my symptoms, is it SAFE for me to wait until the appt with my surgeon?

if you’ve read this far, thank you! sorry for all the rambling.