Short Bowel Syndrome
What Is Short Bowel Syndrome?
Your bowels are made up of two parts -- the large intestine, also called the colon, and the small intestine. Short bowel syndrome usually affects people who’ve had a lot of their small intestine removed. Without this part, your body can’t get enough nutrients and water from the food you eat. This causes bowel troubles, like diarrhea, which can be dangerous if you go without treatment.
If you learn you have short bowel syndrome, know that doctors can do a lot of things to ease your symptoms and make sure you get the right nutrition. People who have the disease can lead active lives.
Over time, your body may adjust to having a shorter small intestine, and you may be able to take fewer medicines. The key is to stick to your treatment plan and get the support you need.
Overview: Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Causes
Adults usually have about 20 feet of small intestine. Those with short bowel syndrome usually have at least half of their small intestine missing or removed.
There are a lot of reasons why this might happen. Some babies are born with bowel problems that damage parts of the intestine. Others are just born with shorter bowels. Most often, short bowel syndrome happens after surgery to remove a large part of the small intestine.
Doctors may remove the small intestine as part of a treatment for:
- Crohn’s disease, a lifelong inflammatory bowel disease that causes belly pain, diarrhea, and other digestive problems
- Cancer
- Damage from cancer treatment, like radiation therapy
- Bowel injury
Symptoms
The main symptom of short bowel syndrome is diarrhea that doesn't go away. You or your child may also have:
Since your body has trouble getting nutrients and vitamins from food, it can also cause:
- Anemia (not enough red blood cells)
- Easy bruising
- Bone pain and osteoporosis (thinning and fragile bones)
- Trouble eating certain foods
Getting a Diagnosis
If you’re having any symptoms and you’ve had a lot of your small intestine removed, your doctor may already suspect short bowel syndrome. To be sure, he’ll do a physical exam and may run other tests, including:
- Blood tests
- Stool exam
- X-rays of your chest and belly
- Upper GI series, also called a barium X-ray. You’ll drink a special liquid that coats your throat, stomach, and small intestine to make them stand out on the X-ray image.
- CT scan, a powerful X-ray that makes detailed pictures inside your body
- Ultrasound, which uses sound waves to make images of your organs
- Bone density test
- Liver biopsy, when doctors remove a piece of tissue for testing. Most of the time, doctors make a small cut on your belly and use a hollow needle to get the cells they need. They use a CT scan or an ultrasound to see where to place the needle. The biopsy takes about 5 minutes, but you may need a few hours to recover.
Along with the tests, your doctor will probably also ask you questions about your symptoms, like:
- How are you feeling?
- When did your symptoms begin?
- Do you have any other medical conditions?
- How are your energy levels?
- Are you having any diarrhea?
- Do you have problems after you eat certain foods?
- What makes your symptoms better? What makes them worse?