Not gonna lie… I thought I was just constipated.
Like, really constipated.
The kind you joke about and promise to fix with more water tomorrow.
But a few days passed. Then more.
My stomach felt wrong. Not painful exactly. Just… off. Heavy. Tight. Uncooperative.
That’s when I started noticing what I now know were shocking signs of colon obstruction.
And yeah—writing that still makes my stomach drop a little.
I didn’t expect this to turn into anything serious.
I also didn’t expect how easy it was to ignore something that clearly wasn’t normal.
This isn’t medical advice.
It’s just me, being honest, about what I felt, what I missed, and what I wish I’d paid attention to sooner.
How This Started (And How I Totally Downplayed It)
I’ve always had a weird relationship with digestion.
Some weeks were fine. Some weren’t. Nothing dramatic.
So when I didn’t have a bowel movement for a few days, I shrugged it off.
I told myself:
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“Stress does this”
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“I ate junk”
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“Give it time”
Classic denial.
What I didn’t realize is that colon problems don’t always start loud.
Sometimes they creep in quietly and wait for you to dismiss them.
And oh, I dismissed them.
The First Sign I Ignored (Because It Seemed Embarrassingly Small)
The bloating.
Not the “I ate too much pizza” kind.
This felt tight. Stretched. Like my stomach had zero flexibility left.
By evening, I looked weirdly pregnant.
By morning, it hadn’t gone down.
What messed with me was the lack of pain at first.
Discomfort, yes. Sharp pain, no.
So I waited.
That was mistake number one.
11 Shocking Signs of Colon Obstruction I Wish I Took Seriously
I’m listing these exactly how I noticed them.
Not in textbook order. Just… real life order.
1. Persistent bloating that wouldn’t move
No burping relief.
No passing gas relief.
No position helped.
It felt trapped. Like something was blocking traffic.
2. Constipation that didn’t respond to anything
I tried:
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Water
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Fiber
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Walking
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Coffee (desperately)
Nothing worked.
Not even a tiny improvement.
That’s when I should’ve stopped self-diagnosing.
3. A weird fullness after barely eating
This surprised me.
I’d eat half a sandwich and feel stuffed.
Not satisfied. Stuffed.
Almost nauseous, but not quite.
4. Abdominal discomfort that felt “wrong,” not painful
This is hard to explain.
It wasn’t sharp.
It wasn’t crampy.
It was pressure.
Like something was swollen inside and didn’t belong there.
5. Gas that just… disappeared
This sounds small.
It isn’t.
No gas passing at all is not normal.
I didn’t know that then.
Now I do.
6. Nausea that came and went randomly
I wasn’t throwing up.
But I felt off.
Like my body was confused about what to do next.
7. Fatigue that made zero sense
I wasn’t sick.
I wasn’t overworked.
Yet I felt drained.
Digestive issues can mess with your whole system.
I learned that the annoying way.
8. Changes in stool shape (before it stopped completely)
When something did pass, it looked… wrong.
Thinner.
Incomplete.
I Googled it. Bad idea at 2 a.m.
9. Abdominal swelling you can actually see
This was the moment I stopped joking.
My stomach didn’t look like me anymore.
It looked tense. Shiny. Uncomfortable.
10. Pain that showed up late (and scared me)
The pain came after everything else.
That’s the messed up part.
By the time pain hits, things may already be serious.
11. A gut feeling that something wasn’t right
Call it intuition.
Call it anxiety.
But I knew.
I just didn’t want to accept it.
What I Got Completely Wrong at First
Honestly? A lot.
I thought colon obstruction meant instant, unbearable pain.
I thought it only happened to “older people.”
I thought constipation was harmless.
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
From what I’ve seen, at least, it can be sneaky.
And that makes it dangerous.
The Moment I Finally Took Action
It wasn’t the pain.
It was the absence of everything else.
No bowel movement.
No gas.
No relief.
My body felt stalled.
That’s when I stopped Googling and started listening.
And yes—I went to get medical help.
Because some things are bigger than pride or embarrassment.
Why These Symptoms Are Easy to Miss (And Why That’s a Problem)
Here’s the scary part.
Most of these signs overlap with “normal” digestive issues.
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Stress
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IBS
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Diet changes
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Dehydration
So we normalize them.
We wait.
Sometimes we wait too long.
Colon obstruction doesn’t always announce itself with sirens.
Sometimes it whispers.
Things I Tried That Did Not Help
I’m sharing this so you don’t repeat my mistakes.
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Taking more fiber (made it worse)
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Ignoring hunger cues
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Laxatives without guidance
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Waiting it out
If something is blocked, pushing more through doesn’t solve it.
It adds pressure.
I didn’t expect that at all.
What Actually Helped (Eventually)
This part matters.
Not because it’s a solution.
But because it’s a reality check.
What helped was getting evaluated properly.
Not guessing. Not hoping.
Colon issues need clarity, not courage.
How Long Did This Take to Escalate?
Faster than I thought.
Days—not months.
That surprised me.
I always assumed serious digestive problems were slow.
This wasn’t.
Would I Have Handled This Differently Now?
Absolutely.
I would’ve taken early warning signs seriously.
I would’ve stopped minimizing symptoms.
I would’ve asked for help sooner.
No hero points for suffering quietly.
Practical Takeaways (No Hype, Just Truth)
If you take anything from this, let it be these:
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Persistent bloating isn’t always harmless
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Constipation with no gas is a red flag
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Discomfort doesn’t need pain to be serious
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Trust patterns, not isolated symptoms
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Embarrassment delays care—don’t let it
And please—if you recognize shocking signs of colon obstruction in yourself, don’t wait for them to get dramatic.
They might not.
One Last Honest Thought
I used to think my body was just “sensitive.”
Now I know it was communicating.
I just wasn’t fluent yet.
So no—this isn’t about panic.
It’s about awareness.
If something feels off and stays off… listen.
That’s all I wish I’d done sooner.
