Category: Uncategorized

Aloha my Pretties.

Scar adhesions caused by scar tissue from an abdominal surgery can be a root cause of SIBO. 10 years ago I gave birth to my magic Olivia. Olivia was born via emergency c section. I am going to share with you my birthing experience but, if you want to skip my birthing story and scroll down to the scar adhesion journey I am starting please do so. It is in bold below titled Physical therapy to address abdominal adhesions.

The day I gave birth I woke up and it felt like any other day. I got dressed and ready to do errands, which was getting game prizes for my upcoming baby shower. As the day progressed I was getting my matcha latte and egg salad sandwich (the only pregnancy craving I had) and while sitting in the parking lot I decided to go back home as I was not feeling well enough to do errands. I got home and took a short nap. When I woke up I had a headache like I had never experienced before. This sharp pain in my left eye and forehead. I stood up only to be stopped in my tracks by the pain emitting from my upper right abdomen. I began thinking I was going into labor but, was so confused that the pain was only coming from my upper right abdomen. I called my husband at the point when the pain was so intolerable I couldn’t even sit down. I couldn’t do anything but pace the house. He came home and took me to the ER immediately. On the way there I could only think about how terrible the pain was and confused how this could be labor pains. We checked in and I was immediately taken up to Labor & Delivery. I was hooked up to all the fetal montiors. I do not have a recollection of whatever else was happening. I remember staring at the ceiling in that room thinking I could not believe this was happening and that it was too early. Olivia wasn’t due for another month. I was terrified Olivia would not be ok if born that early. They said I was having contractions but, I did not feel any of them. I knew we were waiting for my OB to get to the hospital. This was around 9:30pm. They put padding in my bed and started me on a magnesium drip in efforts to avoid a seizure. I was in Eclampsia which is the most advanced stage of pre-eclampsia. The signs that pre-eclampsia is worsening and heading towards Eclampsia are: severe or persistent headaches, vision changes, intense pain in the upper right abdomen, extreme swelling in hands and face, mental confusion. This leads into seizures if not treated quicky. If Eclampsia is not treated immediately it can lead to: stroke, permanent organ damage, or be fatal for both mother and baby. Super fun right? It was horrifying. Thankfully I was not aware of how bad I was at the time.

I just want to take a minute here to remind women that if they think there is an issue while pregnant or otherwise, to be adament about it with their doctor. Three days prior I went to my OB because the edema I was experiencing was insane. My co workers that had given birth and my Mom said the amount of swelling I had was not normal. My feet were like marshmallows puffing out of my shoes. When I was pregnant I was a Makeup artist for Christian Dior. I was on my feet most of the day so I chalked it up to that. That day my OB should have put me on bed rest. I believe I was in pre-eclampsia then, and I told my OB I was afraid that was what was happening. I did the urine test per usual when I checked in but, I was telling her how rapidly I had begun gaining weight and reminded her I was petite when I started off pregnant. She asked ME if I thought I could keep working. If she had any inclination at all to put me on bedrest, she should have. I told her I thought I could but, that standing all day might be the problem. I was a people pleaser and did not advocate for myself well enough then. I wanted to be the woman that worked up to her due date and could do all the things. Truth was I was so fucking miserable from about month two onward. She told me to ask for a chair at work and and that was the end of that appointment. I did try to sit most of the day those next 3 days but, the swelling had not gone down much. I should have gone back to my OB and insisted that this swelling was not right.

Back to the birth day. My OB came into the room and put her Coach bag down, why this stuck with me I dont know. I was imaginig she was having a night with her family, business as usual while I was in this bed on the biggest day of my life worried for my baby’s life. To everyone else it was just a typical day. I’ve heard people who have just lost someone feel like this, like how is the World still going about as normal when this monumental thing is/has happened to me. They told me they would have to take me to the OR to perform an emergency c-section. I remember the spinal tap, the intense pressure and the fear that I would not be able to hold still like asked. They wheeled me into the OR room and moved me from one bed to another. I was given more anesthesia. My brain and body were numb but, I was fully awake and conscious of what was going on. Before surgery my OB started rubbing my back, I was shaking and I recall thinking that was such a shocking but nurturing thing to do. At no point did anyone tell me that I was going to be ok or that Olivia was going to be ok. That was the first sort of comfort I was shown, or acknowledgement that this whole thing was terrifying. As someone who already has medical anxiety this was top tier. My OB was the one that did the delivery of Olivia, there was a male doctor assisting her and I remember him aggressively pushing from the top of my abdomen down to my uterus several times. I was so confused about what he was doing. Olivia was breach. When Olivia was taken out I remember the silence. It was the loudest silence I have ever experienced. I didn’t hear her cry and I am not sure if I said out loud “why isn’t she crying” but I was definietly thinking it. Finally, I heard her cry and relief washed over me. My husband was in the room with me, I remember crying and I think saying his name after I heard Olivia cry. The doctors were finishing up on my abdomen but I don’t recall any of it, just that they were there. My husband leaned Olivia down near my head but I barely remember it, from pictures is basically how I know that happened. I have no memory past that. I woke up 2 days later and a nurse was taking blood. She told me they almost admitted me to ICU. From Eclampsia I had developed a more rare condition called HELLP Syndrome. H stands for “Hemolysis” which is the breaking down of red blood cells leaving them unable to carry enough oxygen to the body’s tissues. EL stands for “elevated liver enzymes” this indicates liver failure causing chemicals to leak into the bloodstream. LP stand for “low platelets” when too low there is a risk of dangerous bleeding from the inability to clot. The primary treatment for HELLP is delivery of the baby. If not treated quickly HELLP can lead to: liver rupture, kidney failure, and placental abruption. I am grateful I did not know any of this prior to delivery. I remember looking behind me at some point and there was a sign above my bed that said “bleeding risk”. I was thinking to myself what the hell happened to me.

I got to officially meet Olivia later on that second day. I had still been a bleeding and seizure risk prior to that. My Mom had flown in from Washington State that day to be with us. I have a photo of me holding Olivia for the first time, with my Mom there looking on and its a photo and moment I will treasure my entire life. My Mom’s declining health was one of the main reasons I wanted to get pregnent when I did. I was 32 when I got pregnant. I couldn’t imagine having a baby and my Mom not being part of that, or my child never meeting her. When I first held Olivia I just couldn’t beleive she was real. She was so tiny and so perfect. I was still a hot mess so I was not able to breast feed or hold her for long or do feedings. The first time I got out of bed after my c section was unbelievable. I had never felt pain like that. I thought this had to be how it felt to get hit by a car. The deep deep pain was nothing I coud have imagined. Walking down the hall to see Olivia in NICU was the slowest walk ever. I wanted to see her so bad but, one foot after another felt like an eternity. I got to bottle feed her for the first time. The next day a lactation nurse came in to help me breast feed for the first time. After Olivia latched I remember this overwhelming feeling of calm. We stayed in the hospital a total of 7 days. Olivia was born one month early with no issues except for inability to hold her own body temperature. Her lungs were fully developed and she is just absolute magic!

I encourage you to share your birth story no matter how major or minor you think it is. Child birth is a miracle and I still can’t get my head around how amazing the female body is. We are literal powerhouses and create life. I feel like it has been dulled down into “no big deal” because most women do it. It is still a major life moment for women. I’ve recently seen the quote “The World is just women and their children” and I love that. Share your birth story with someone, feel extremely powerful and proud of what your body has done and the journey you went on. You created life and that feels like fucking magic.

When Olivia was about 6 months old I started to experience this intense pain when my bladder was nearly emptied. To the point where I would yell out every single time, and the flow of urine would stop because the pain was so intense. This went on for over 4 years. I told my OB about it every year at my check up. On the 4th year she said “hmmm sounds like maybe scar tissue” and showed me an exercise to do to stretch my pelvic area. However, it had been 4 years at this point. Not long after that the bladder pain stopped but, then I developed SIBO. For me, SIBO went undiagnosed for about 1.5-2 years. I went to every specialist, naturopath etc. I was given: anxiety meds, allergy medicine, dismissed as new parent stress, chronic fatigue syndrome, autoimmune protocols, endless supplements that never helped. You name it. One of the last specialists I saw was a Gasterointerologist (GI doctor). He recommended I do a breath test for SIBO. (lactulose is better at diagnosing then gluclose if you’re given the choice just fyi). This was during Covid (they stopped all in person breath tests at this time) so they mailed me a breath test I would take at home and mail back in. My results came back extremely high for both Hydrogen and Methane. I was Methane dominant. (I will go into my detailed SIBO journey on a seperate post). I was so excited to have a diagnosis, to finally know what was happening since every test prior had come back normal. At that time, I had no idea what a literal hell SIBO is. Fast forward to today on what I am curently exploring trying to find my root case of SIBO. SIBO will always flare and relapse until you find the root cause. Just a reminder to you, SIBO is a symptom of something else going on in your body. Not a diagnosis of the actual root problem.

Physical therapy to address abdominal adhesions. I have thought basically from the beginning of my SIBO journey that c section scar adhesions could be my root cause. I expressed this to my GP and GI doctor. I was told the only way to find out was exploratory abdominal surgery, which would lead to more scar tissue. So I nixed that, until I was researching one night a week ago. I am currently in a SIBO flare caused by constipation for 5 days. I am trying my hardest for this to be a flare and not a relapse. In my research I came across “Visceral Manipulation”. I was looking up ways to find out if scar tissue adhesions can be diagnosed without having exploratory surgery. I worked in spas most of my life so I had heard of it but, did not know exctly what it is. Visceral Manipulation is: a gentle manual therapy that focuses on the internal organs such as liver, stomach, and intestines. It is based on the idea that your organs need to move freely as you breathe and move your body. When an organ cannot move properly due to surgery, scarring, posture, or injury-it can create “fixed points” of tension that lead to chronic pain or dysfunction in other parts of the body. The therapy is built on two types of internal movement. 1.Mobility-the movement of the organs in response to external forces. 2. Motility-a subtle, physiological motion inherent to the organ itself.

A practitioner who performs this is an Osteopath, or a Physical Therpist with specialized training, or a Massage Therapist certified in visceral techniques. The practitioner uses light, rhythmic pressure to “listen” to these movements with their hands. If they find an area of restricted motion, they apply precise force to help the organ regain its natural mobility. It is often seeked out for: Digestive issues such as bloating, constipation, GERD, and IBS. Post surgical scars to breakdown adhesions or internal scar tissue after abdominal or pelvic surgeries. Chronic Pain like lower back pain, sciatica, or neck pain that may be linked to tension in the abdominal cavity. Women’s health like pelvic pain, bladder issues, or discomfort following pregancy and delivery.

With an immense amount of hope and excitement I messaged my GP asking if she had any referrals for a Physical Therapist (PT) that was trained in visceral manipulation as well as the Barral method. Barral method was created by Osteopath Jean-Pierre Barral. He used ultrasound and fluoroscopy to document how his manual techniques changed the movement and blood flow of interal organs. He used the ‘listen” technique where the practitioner places a hand on the patients’ head and the other hand to move around the body feeling where the bodys’ “pull” is the strongest. His method teaches that the body knows where the primary problem is and the practitioner’s job is to simply follow the tension to its source, rather than just treating where it hurts.

My GP delivered (Dr. Pell you are a Queen), and gave me two referrals. I booked with Physical Therpist Dr Jenna who actually moved her schedule around to accomodate me the next day. I spoke to her directly on the phone for about 20 minutes explaining my situation and my previous c section and bladder pain. When I arrived she gave me a 10 minute visual learning experience focusing on the areas she would be addressing. I really appreciated that, I think we all grasp things better with a visual. For instance I had no idea the Uterus almost sits on top of the bladder. She had me stand up, she placed one hand on top of my head and hovered her other hand over other areas of my body. I could feel the energy circulating in my body, like a loop replaying from the top of my head to my toes. When she got to my pelvis the left side of my body felt like it jolted out momentarily. I audibly said “whoa!” and Dr Jenna said “oh you felt that?” I told her what I just experienced. She said she was getting movement in that area which signals a stress point where energy is not freely flowing. This is part of the Barral method technique that I mentioned above. I then layed on the bed fully dressed and pulled my shorts and underwear to where my c section scar was fully visible. She mythodically felt the scar and the skin arround it. I did end up removing my shorts because they had a bulky inner drawstring that was in the way. The appointement went from 11:15 until 1:15. For about 1.5 hours of that it was constant visceral manipulation. She added a red light on my abdomen that was warming and helps mitochrondia. She worked from my pelvis area, intestines, up to my liver and stomach, all the way to my sternum. At one point while she was working on my c section area she asked me to tell her about my birthing experience. I barely got a sentence out before I broke out in full ugly cry. My birthing experience was traumatic, all of it. And I never talk about it. Not the actual experience anyway and the fears I had and still re-live and hold onto from it. Dr Jenna was so calming and a warm support to let this out to. She asked me to rewrite the scary parts into a way that made me feel safe and warm. And so I did. She began working on my liver and told me she coud feel a shift in it and asked what I had just thought in order to have that energy shift. I told her I changed the scary parts into something nice. There were a couple moments I really focused on from my birthing experience and changed them. Dr Jenna then reminded me that Olivia is 10 years old now and she is ok and her and I both made it out ok. It was what I really needed, that I didn’t know I needed. Nobody in the whole birthing experince told me I was going to be ok and that Olivia was going to be ok. I didn’t know that was something my whole body needed to hear. So having Dr Jenna tell me that now, had an affect on my entire body. Throughout the appointment my stomach was making noises and I could feel it moving and gurgling. This is something I never experince now since SIBO. That alone was an indicator that whatever is happening is helping. At the end of the appointment with a tear stained face, (shout out to L’Oreal Telescopic lift mascara for barely smudging) I sat up and was hopeful. Dr Jenna suggested we do a combination of cranial sacrial therapy as well as the visceral manipulation, as she suspects I have emotional tension that also needs to be addressed.

It’s all tied to the Vagal Nerve, emotions and digestion. This is what I have thought for so many years, that the c section scar tissue has tethered to my small intestine and/or other organs. Also, that I am stuck in fight or flight which further has slowed my digestion/motility and general wellbeing. Dr Jenna confirmed that my bladder had been pulled up and tilted to the left from the c section scar tissue. She could feel my liver is sluggish which leads to Gallbladder issues ( I have Gallbladder sludge found by ultrasound). I had 2 out of 5 valves that were sluggish. I am still waiting back on her full summary. I am scheduled to see her once per week or bi weekly depending on how my body feels. I will keep you updated on my progress with this. I hope this gives someone reading it hope, and an option to explore. Everything is worth a try and your first instincts are first for a reason. Listen to yourself.

With love and laugh lines,

Heidi